Optics Letters
Demonstration of partial erasing of picosecond temporal optical data by use of accumulated photon echoes
Ryuzi Yano, Naoshi Uesugi
Abstract
We demonstrated partial erasing of temporal optical data on a picosecond time scale by use of accumulated photon echoes. In a photon-echo memory the temporal data at time tau are stored as a frequency grating of period 1/tau in the absorption spectrum of a material. Partial erasing of the temporal data is achieved by irradiation of the material with a pulse pair at time separation tau , but the phase of one of the pulses is shifted 180 degrees . This process does not produce a frequency grating, and no echo is emitted. The experiment was performed with a dye-doped polymer film. The 180 degrees phase shift was obtained by use of a half-wave plate.