Ultrafast π-pulses for strong coherent excitation of a 171Yb+ ion

Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. Coherent excitation and stimulated emission from optical transitions has been proposed as a mechanism to generate strong coherent forces in atomic systems and as the basis for fast quantum gates in trapped ions. We have demonstrated driving coherent oscillations between the 2S1/2 and 2P1/2 states in trapped 171Yb+ with 2.5 ps pulses straddling the resonance at 369.5nm. At higher powers nearly full extinction was observed, demonstrating coherence, however residual detuning issues have precluded full coherent population transfer.