Controlled release of stored optical pulses in an atomic ensemble into two separate photonic channels

We report an experiment in which optical pulses stored in an atomic system can be controllably released into two different photonic channels. By controllably turning on the retrieve control pulses at either 795 or 780nm to read the stored optical pulses in a four-level double Λ-type atomic medium, we can obtain the released probe pulse at 795 or 780nm, respectively. These readout pulses can be further separated spatially and directed into different optical propagation channels through a grating. Such controlled release of stored optical pulses may extend the capabilities of the quantum information storage technique, and can have applications in multichannel all-optical switching, all-optical routing, quantum information processing, and image storage systems.