Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics
Magneto-optical switching and routing via coherently induced photonic band gaps in a drivenFe= 0↔Fg= 1 transition
Ren-Gang Wan, Jun Kou, Jiang Li, Yun Jiang, Jin-Yue Gao
Abstract
In an Fe = 0↔Fg = 1 transition interacting with a weak π-polarized probe and a strong σ-polarized standing-wave coupling, we obtain single or double photonic band gaps depending on the applied magnetic field. Moreover, the coherently induced two-photonic-band gap structure can be tuned by the magnitude of the magnetic field. Such a magnetic-field-dependent feature is exploited to devise magneto-optical switching and routing of two light pulses. The efficient magneto-optical control of light propagation may have applications in an optical network and optical information processing.