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AIP conference proceedings

Interaction of transient temporally modulated laser radiation with simple atomic systems

Yu Bai, William Randall Babbitt, Arjun G. Yodh, THOMAS W. MOSSBERG

Published Jan 1, 1986• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We point out that the frequency‐selective nature of the light‐matter interaction can be utilized to effect the storage of a spectral image (Fourier transform) of a temporally structured light pulse in the absorption profile of an inhomogeneously broadened atomic ensemble, and that the stored information can be subsequently recalled in the form of a free‐induction‐decay signal. Applications of this process to optical data storage are discussed. We also consider the interaction of a phase‐controlled, amplitude‐grated, resonant laser field with the atoms in a collimated atomic beam. We describe experiments wherein suitably prepared atoms are placed in pure stationary‐states (dressed states) of the atom + laser‐field system, and note that atoms in pure dressed states should have interesting spectral and dynamical properties.

DOI
10.1063/1.35709

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We point out that the frequency‐selective nature of the light‐matter interaction can be utilized to effect the storage of a spectral image (Fourier transform) of a temporally structured light pulse in the absorption profile of an inhomogeneously broadened atomic ensemble, and that the stored information can be subsequently recalled in the form of a free‐induction‐decay signal. Applications of this process to optical data storage are discussed. We also consider the interaction of a phase‐controlled, amplitude‐grated, resonant laser field with the atoms in a collimated atomic beam. We describe experiments wherein suitably prepared atoms are placed in pure stationary‐states (dressed states) of the atom + laser‐field system, and note that atoms in pure dressed states should have interesting spectral and dynamical properties.
We have performed an experiment in atomic Yb vapor which provides the first demonstration that complex laser pulse-shape information can be stored in and recalled from the spectral distribution of the population in one terminal level of an inhomogeneously broadened optical transition. The information is stored as a result of interference between two temporally separated laser excitation pulses, one of which possesses a complex temporal structure. It is recalled as a feature of a third-excitation-pulse-induced free-decay signal. Recalled signals up to one percent as intense as the original were observed.
We have studied the response of atoms in a dilute collimated atomic beam to transient phase-controlled resonant excitation fields. We demonstrate that the use of such excitation makes it possible to place the atoms into stationary states of the coupled atom-field system. We show that these states, which are easily visualized in the two-level-atom vector model, are equivalent to the dressed states of resonance fluorescence theory. Studies of atoms in pure dressed states should allow interesting tests of basic atom-field interactions.
We demonstrate that frequency-chirped laser excitation pulses may be employed to generate coherent transient signals possessing the same temporal profile as a particular excitation pulse. In comparison with the short, fixedfrequency pulses used in previous studies of this effect, chirped pulses can be temporally longer, of lower intensity, and hence easier to generate. The experiment was performed on the 555.6-nm transition of vapor-phase atomic ytterbium, and pulse-shape information was stored in a coherence between excited-state Zeeman levels. A simple theoretical analysis of our results is presented.
A simple method for observing coherent optical-transient phenomena is described. Effects such as photon echoes and free induction decay (FID) should allow studies of the dynamic properties of atoms, molecules, and solids on a time scale ranging from milliseconds to \ensuremath{\sim} 50 ps. The frequency of a cw dye laser is switched with an intracavity electro-optic modulator, producing in an external sample coherent transients which are detected in the forward beam. Measurements of long dephasing times are possible, as in FID, because the laser can oscillate indefinitely at the new frequency following a step-function switching pulse. Measurements of short decay times are also practical because the switching time is not restricted by the laser gain or cavity ringing time. In addition, the dye's dephasing time of a few picoseconds or less is too rapid to interfere with these observations. Since the pulse sequence can be preselected, the entire class of coherent optical transients is accessible. The method thus incorporates all of the advantages inherent in Stark switching, including heterodyne detection and high sensitivity, without being restricted to Stark-tunable systems. Laser frequency switching is discussed also in terms of a theoretical model which exposes the time-dependent properties of a phase-modulated cavity mode. Dephasing studies have been carried out thus far in atomic and molecular gases and low-temperature solids containing inorganic impurity ions or large organic molecules. The utility of the FID effect is emphasized where precise dephasing times are obtained from time-frequency Fourier transformation of FID signals using a digital computer. The first quantitative and detailed test of FID theory is provided by these experimental techniques.