Diffusion-free image storage in hot atomic vapor

Abstract

The ability to directly store optical images in atomic vapor has many potential applications, but the diffusion of atoms severely limits the image resolution and storage duration. In this paper, we report an experimental demonstration on diffusion-free storage of optical images in hot atomic vapor. By encoding two-dimensional images in incoherent light and making use of the correlation imaging technique, we overcome the effect of atomic diffusion on the all-optical image storage in atomic vapor.