A study of coherent nonlinear processes in dense media with continuous and pulsed laser fields
Aihua Zhang
Coherent nonlinear effects such as Electromagnetically Induced Transparency\n(EIT), Coherent Population Trapping (CPT), and Slow light are studied in thermal\nRb vapor by both continuous and pulsed laser fields. This work primarily includes\nthree parts: (I) mode-locked rubidium laser and its applications (II) enhanced coupling\nbetween optical and sound waves in the forward direction via ultra-slow light\n(III) optical steering via ultra-slow light in rubidium vapor.\nIn part(I), I describe the construction and study of a mode-locked rubidium laser\noperating at the Rb D1 line using an active mode-locking technique inside the laser\ncavity. The mode-locked laser field is used to observe coherent effects in a dense\nrubidium gas.\nIn part(II), I experimentally demonstrate enhanced acoustic-optic coupling that\noccurs when the velocity of sound is close to the group velocity of light. Dragging of\nthe light by effective motion of the gas in a Rb cell is the origin of enhanced coupling.\nGood agreement between theory and experiment is found.\nIn part(III), I experimentally demonstrate optical beam deflection in coherently\ndriven rubidium vapor due to the steep refraction index profile in the region of EIT.
•Jul 14, 2010•0 citations