Generation of a wave packet tailored to efficient free space excitation   of a single atom
  We demonstrate the generation of an optical dipole wave suitable for the process of efficiently coupling single quanta of light and matter in free space. We employ a parabolic mirror for the conversion of a transverse beam mode to a focused dipole wave and show the required spatial and temporal shaping of the mode incident onto the mirror. The results include a proof of principle correction of the parabolic mirror's aberrations. For the application of exciting an atom with a single photon pulse we demonstrate the creation of a suitable temporal pulse envelope. We infer coupling strengths of 89% and success probabilities of up to 87% for the application of exciting a single atom for the current experimental parameters. 
Andrea Golla, Benoit Chalopin, Marianne Bader, Irina Harder, Klaus   Mantel, Robert Maiwald, Norbert Lindlein, Markus Sonder...
quant-ph