The slow light effects of an amplitude modulated Gaussian (AMG) pulse in a cesium atomic vapor are presented. In a single-Λ type electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) medium, more severe distortion is observed for an AMG pulse than a Gaussian one. Using Fourier spectrum analysis, we find that the distortion, as well as the loss, is dominantly caused by linear absorption than dispersion. Accordingly, a compensation method is proposed to reshape the slow light pulse based on the transmission spectrum. In addition, we find a novel way to obtain simultaneous slow and fast light.
The slow light technology prompts the realization of the all-optical storage, by which one can store the information of different wavelengths at their corresponding locations. The induction of plasmon induced transparency (PIT) provides a reliable and easy implement way to achieve slow light transmission and optical storage on the nanometer scale. Meanwhile, the linewidth and position of the PIT can be adjusted by changing the parameters of materials and structures, rather than just depend on the atom level itself in Electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). More importantly, it can also be integrated with semiconductor devices on the chip, which is an exciting expectation for optoelectronic integration. PIT technology can pave a new way to optical information processing.
Electromagnetically induced transparency is a technique for eliminating the effect of a medium on a propagating beam of electromagnetic radiation. EIT may also be used, but under more limited conditions, to eliminate optical self-focusing and defocusing and to improve the transmission of laser beams through inhomogeneous refracting gases and metal vapors, as figure 1 illustrates. The technique may be used to create large populations of coherently driven uniformly phased atoms, thereby making possible new types of optoelectronic devices.