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Optics Letters

All-optical gel memory

Michael Canva, Fréderic Chaput, Jean‐Pierre Boilot, G. Le Saux, Patrick Georges, Alain Brun

Published Feb 1, 1992• 38 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have studied the behavior of organic molecules (Rhodamine 640) that are encaged in a matrix synthesized by the sol-gel process. By applying a strong optical-polarized electric field, we can control the alignment of the molecules within the sample and locally create a birefringent effect. Using this sample in a Kerr experiment, we obtained a transmission ratio of 6%. Since the birefringent effect lasts at least several days, this type of sample could be used in an optical process for storage of information. Moreover, we show that such information can be deleted and rewritten repetitively.

DOI
10.1364/ol.17.000218

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We have studied the behavior of organic molecules (Rhodamine 640) that are encaged in a matrix synthesized by the sol-gel process. By applying a strong optical-polarized electric field, we can control the alignment of the molecules within the sample and locally create a birefringent effect. Using this sample in a Kerr experiment, we obtained a transmission ratio of 6%. Since the birefringent effect lasts at least several days, this type of sample could be used in an optical process for storage of information. Moreover, we show that such information can be deleted and rewritten repetitively.
We show that including highly polarizable dopants in the pores of a xerogel matrix leads to interesting optical properties and applications, such as an all-optical molecular memory device. By submitting the sample to ultrashort linearly polarized optical pulses, we demonstrate that the dopants tend to align along the direction of the electric field of the optical wave like in classical optical Kerr effect, and that the new alignment of the molecules is partially maintained. We study the influence of the matrix-dopant interactions on this phenomenon. For example, for rhodamine-like molecules, we establish that the alignment ability as well as the relaxation times depend strongly on the structure of the gel network and on the coupling intensity between the host matrix and the guest molecule.
Temperature-dependent (1.2–2.1 K) photon echo measurements have been performed on quinizarin and rhodamine 101 doped into aluminosilica sol-gel glasses as well as rhodamine 101 doped poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) polymer. We observe a temperature-dependent homogeneous linewidth for both quinizarin and rhodamine in the aluminosilica xerogel (ASX) matrix proportional to T2, in contrast to the T1.3±0.1 linewidth dependence typically observed for a variety of organic and inorganic glass hosts in this temperature range (including rhodamine 101 doped PMMA). The contrasting optical dephasing results for the ASX glass and PMMA suggest that the ASX glass may have unique two-level-system dynamics.
Abstract We present a new scheme to report on the effects of a five-level chiral atomic medium on the lateral Goos–Hänchen (GH) shift in Gaussian probe beams via Kerr nonlinearity (KNL) and local field effects. The physical realization of birefringence in absorption, dispersion, reflection and transmission beams is investigated, with special emphasis on the manipulation of absolute and fractional change in lateral GH shifts in birefringence transmission and reflection beams, via local fields and Kerr nonlinearity. We have employed a semiclassical atomic density-matrix formalism so as to obtain the expression for electric and magnetic susceptibilities of the chiral medium and the corresponding chirality coefficients in conjunction with Kerr and local fields, both separately and in combination. Stationary-phase theory is used to compute GH shift from the calculated birefringent reflection and transmission coefficients of probe beams. A negative and positive GH shift is observed in reflection and transmission beams, respectively, subjected to local field and Kerr effect. In contrast, a positive GH shift is observed in both reflection and transmission beams in the presence of both local field and Kerr effects. The local and Kerr fields also alter the divergence angle between left and right circularly polarized birefringence beams. GH shift depends on incident angle and probe detuning. The anisotropy of medium is lessened by switching ON the Kerr field in the medium. We observed a positive fractional change of ±30% in the GH shift in the birefringence reflection beam in the presence of a local field without KNL, while a 20% fractional GH shift was observed in the presence of both local field and KNL effects. Our results suggest promising applications in nonlinear optical, plasmonic and biophotonic devices for the manipulation of light propagation and optical signal processing.
Persistent spectral hole burning (PSHB) in organic molecules doped in a polymer matrix at low temperatures allows optical recording of information in the dimensions of frequency and time, as well as in space and externally applied electric field. We use this special property to demonstrate new types of holograms, which extend conventional spatial-domain optical data storage into the new dimensions. Basic aspects of recording and playback of holograms by persistent spectral hole burning, including relation between frequency- and time-domain response function, is discussed. This paper is elucidating inherent relations between the time- and frequency-domain versions of PSHB holography. We show that by multiplexing holograms in the frequency dimension, we can store a large number (up to 12 000) of image holograms using a single spectral hole burning sample. In the time domain, we show storage and reproduction of ultrashort time-space images on the scale of 10 -12 −10 -13 s. Experiments demonstrating unusual hologram properties, such as causality-related asymmetry of diffraction, inversion of time coordinate, and ultrafast processing, are presented.