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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Gradient Echo Quantum Memory in Warm Atomic Vapor
Published on: November 11, 2013
Super-resolving frequency measurement with mode-selective quantum memory
Shicheng Zhang1, Aonan Zhang1,2, Ilse Maillette de Buy Wenniger1
1Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Abstract:
High-precision optical frequency measurement underpins modern science and technology, yet conventional spectroscopic techniques struggle to resolve sublinewidth spectral features. Here we introduce a platform for super-resolved frequency estimation based on a mode-selective atomic Raman quantum memory implemented in warm caesium vapour. By precisely engineering the light-matter interaction, the memory coherently stores the optimal temporal mode with high fidelity and retrieves it on demand, achieving mode crosstalk as low as 0.34%. To estimate the separation between two spectral lines, we experimentally measure the mean squared error of the frequency estimate, reaching a sensitivity of 1/20 of the linewidth and a (34 ± 4)-fold enhancement in precision over direct intensity measurements. This enhanced frequency resolution, combined with on-demand storage, retrieval and mode-conversion capabilities, establishes a pathway towards multifunctional memory-based time-frequency sensors and their integration within quantum networks.
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