Abstract

We present a scheme for the realization of a stationary source of nonclassical light, which approximates very well a continuous single-photon source. It consists of a single four-level atom trapped inside a high-finesse optical cavity and Raman coupled to a cavity mode. A selectivity mechanism, based on a field-dependent Stark shift of electronic levels, prevents the occupation of two or more photon states of the quantized mode being excited. The output light of such a source exhibits sub-Poissonian photon-number statistics and antibunching behavior. © 2006 The American Physical Society.