Interference processes and gain without inversion in three-level systems

Peter B. Sellin, Geoffrey A. Wilson, Krishna K. Meduri +1 more

We experimentally study the production of laser gain (phase-insensitive optical amplification) with and without atomic population inversion in a doubly driven three-level system in atomic barium. The external fields are found to create inversionless gain and to enhance gain available in the presence of inversion. Laser oscillation based on enhanced gain is observed. In analysis of the driven system, we identify an irreversible multiphoton process that is intrinsically supportive of gain in the absence of population inversion. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

zahra taheri, Hamideh Kazemi, Mohammad Mahmoudi

A. S. Choe, Jongmin Lee

In a four-level -system interacting with three coherent laser pulses, interference between population inversions in coupled three-level ladders is examined. The interference effect, which affects the process and the completeness of the inversion, is represented by the two-photon coherence. It is shown that, in the adiabatic passage method, the phase and the scaling factor of the two-photon coherence are zero and a constant, respectively, resulting in no interference effect, but, in the optimal detuning method, they are strongly time dependent enough to represent the interference effect to change the process and the amount of inversion significantly. In the latter method, the ratio of Rabi frequencies for the four-level inversion to be completed, which is changed by the interference effect, is obtained.

J.N. Elgin, LI Fu-li

Gennady A. Koganov, R. Shuker

A three level scheme interacting with three laser fields is considered. It is found that two competing processes contribute to the absorption/dispersion on a particular transition: (i) one-photon processes governed by the field applied to that transition, and (ii) two-photon processes governed by the two laser fields applied to two other transitions. Interference between the two processes can be both constructive and destructive. It is shown that the net absorption/gain and dispersion can be controlled by the relative phases of the laser fields.

Richard B. Schulz