Nonlinear optics in dense atomic vapors

Abstract

In this thesis, two building blocks for our next generation single-photon source, based on thermal rubidium Rydberg atoms, have been investigated. One of these is the coherent excitation of atoms with lasers in a four-wave mixing process on the nanosecond timescale. The second effect is the light-induced atomic desorption, where the atomic density is increased by an off-resonant laser pulse in a micrometer sized vapor cell on the nanosecond timescale.