Short pulse-induced population inversion for continuum-continuum transitions

Takashi Nakajima, P. Lambropoulos

Steven T. Garner, Cyrus D. Cantrell

Using a semiclassical, effective-state approach to laser pulse propagation in a dilute gas of polyatomic molecules, a numerical model of multiphoton excitation which includes quasi- continuum transitions is used to calculate the effects of coherent propagation on multi-photon absorption. The initial laser field is assumed to be a quasimonochromatic Gaussian envelope which is nearly resonant with a portion of the lower vibrational states of the molecule. The molecular model consists of a single ground state and several bands of discrete states which are successively connected via electric dipole transitions. This model correctly mimics some of the major characteristics of multiphoton absorption, such as power threshold, fluence dependent absorption, and complete population inversion at high fluences. The model also allows for the calculation of the polarization induced in the medium by the electric field, and the subsequent influence that the polarization has on the field. As the pulse propagates, the Rabi oscillations induced in the lower level states become encoded onto the pulse, creating a series of peaks and troughs similar to the behavior of pulse propagation in two-level systems. Another coherent propagation effect which can change the excitation process is coherent sideband generation. The temporal distortions and the generation of new frequencies results in changes in the population distribution among the states, as well as changes in the total population transferred to the quasi-continuum. The pulse reshaping occurs while the total fluence of the pulse is decreasing due to energy loss to the quasi-continuum. The effective increase in total population transfer due to propagation effects is offset by the decrease in fluence. The resulting transfer of energy from the pulse to the molecule depends strongly on the initial characteristic of the pulse. These processes play an important role in any system where the efficient transfer of laser energy to the medium is required, such as laser-induced chemistry and laser isotope separation.

J. M. Villas-Bôas, Sergio E. Ulloa, Alexander O. Govorov

We develop a realistic model of Rabi oscillations in a quantum-dot photodiode. Based in a multiexciton density matrix formulation we show that for short pulses the two-level model fails and higher levels should be taken into account. This affects some of the experimental conclusions, such as the inferred efficiency of the state rotation (population inversion) and the deduced value of the dipole interaction. We also show that the damping observed cannot be explained using constant rates with fixed pulse duration. We demonstrate that the damping observed is in fact induced by an off-resonant excitation to or from the continuum of wetting layer states. Our model describes the nonlinear decoherence behavior observed in recent experiments.

P. L. Knight

Qianqian Ji, Rui Ma, Tianwei Jiang +1 more

Taking advantage of the short pulse duration and the high repetition rate of the fs pulse train, amplification without inversion (AWI) can be achieved in two- or three-level atomic systems. A modulation method using a static magnetic field to control such AWI gain in an atomic system is proposed. The schematic model of the 52S1/2−52P1/2 transition of 87Rb is adopted, and the results show that the system gain can be significantly enhanced and modulated by the magnetic field, while the population inversion can be almost completely suppressed. Moreover, the pulse number, pulse repetition period, and pulse area can also be utilized to modulate the AWI gain.

S. Pellegrin, A. Sarfati, V. M. Akulin