Coherent excitation of Rydberg atoms in micrometre-sized atomic vapour cells

The coherent control of mesoscopic ensembles of atoms and Rydberg atom blockade are the basis for proposed quantum devices such as integrable gates and single-photon sources. To date, experimental progress has been limited to complex experimental set-ups that use ultracold atoms. Here, we show that coherence times of similar to 100 ns are achievable with coherent Rydberg atom spectroscopy in micrometre-sized thermal vapour cells. We investigate states with principle quantum numbers between 30 and 50. Our results demonstrate that microcells with a size on the order of the blockade radius (similar to 2 mu m), at temperatures of 100-300 degrees C, are robust and promising candidates for investigating low-dimensional strongly interacting Rydberg gases, constructing quantum gates and building single-photon sources.