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We demonstrate high optical depths (50±5) that last for hours in rubidium-filled hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers, which represent a 1000× improvement over the operation times previously reported. We investigate the vapor generation mechanism using both a continuous wave and a pulsed light source, and find that the mechanism for generating the rubidium atoms is primarily due to thermal vaporization. The continuous generation of large vapor densities should enable measurements at the single-photon level by averaging over longer time scales.

We demonstrate frequency translation at microwatt pump power levels in Rubidium vapor confined to a hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber using four-wave mixing Bragg scattering. The 5S_1/2→5D_3/2 two-photon transition in Rb85 is employed for the four-wave mixing process. Using continuous-wave pump beams at 780 and 795 nm, a weak signal beam at 776 nm is translated to a wavelength of 762 nm with a 21% conversion efficiency at pump powers of 300 μW.