Continuous coherent transient optical processing in a solid
M. Zhu, William Randall Babbitt, C. Michael Jefferson
We report what is to our knowledge the first experimental demonstration of a continuous coherent transient optical processor. A 13-bit pattern was stored as a spectral population grating in the Eu3+-ion ground state in a Eu3+:Y2SiO5 crystal. A 3120-bit data stream was processed continuously, yielding a cross-correlation signal that agreed well with theory. The data stream’s duration exceeded both the absorbing transition’s homogenous transverse dephasing time and upper-state lifetime. This experiment showed that by permanently storing the pattern as a population grating in the absorber’s ground state, coherent transient optical devices provide continuous, real-time data processing capability.
Optics Letters•Dec 15, 1995•23 citations