Towards an efficient atomic frequency comb quantum memory
We present an efficient photon-echo experiment based on atomic frequency combs [Phys. Rev. A 79 (2009) 052329]. Echoes containing an energy of up to 35% of that of the input pulse are observed in a Pr3+ -doped Y2SiO5 crystal. This material allows for the precise spectral holeburning needed to make a sharp and highly absorbing comb structure. We compare our results with a simple theoretical model w