Synopsis: Molecular Memory for Light

Toward Quantum Processing in Molecules: A THz-Bandwidth Coherent Memory for Light

http://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.111.083901

Philip J. Bustard, Rune Lausten, Duncan G. England, and Benjamin J. Sussman

Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 083901 (2013)

Published August 19, 2013

Quantum processors, like their classical counterparts, will need fast and reliable memories to store and retrieve information as superpositions of states. Researchers are pursuing several photonic technologies, among others, to achieve this by storing quantum information in specially prepared solids, ions, and atomic vapors. Philip Bustard and colleagues at the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, Ontario, have now investigated another kind of storage medium: the vibrational modes of molecules. Their experiments, published in Physical Review Letters, demonstrate that the system can act as a fast and efficient molecular quantum memory.