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Topical Meeting on Optical Bistability (OB)

Polarization Switching with Sodium Vapour in a Fabry-Perot

M. W. Hamilton, Weston J. Sandle

Published Jan 1, 1983• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report results of an experiment which demonstrates switching of the polarization state of the output of a near-concentric Fabry-Perot containing sodium vapour, excited via the homogeneously broadened Dl transition. An example of the output, for linearly polarized laser input, at 1.5 GHz below line centre (illustrated in figure 1) shows switching with hysteresis at high input power (~400 mW) due to saturation, as well as the switching at lower power (~200 mW) due to optical pumping effects.

DOI
10.1364/obi.1983.fa2

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Results are given of an experiment which demonstrates switching of the polarization state of the output of a near-concentric Fabry-Perot containing sodium vapour, excited via the homogeneously broadened Dl transition. An example of the output, for linearly polarized laser input, at 1.5 GHz below line center shows switching with hysteresis at high input power (approximately 400 mW) due to saturation, as well as the switching at lower power (approximately mW) due to optical pumping effects. Purely absorptive polarization switching at approximately 50 mW input power was observed. Polarization switching has been predicted in the context of three state atoms in an optical cavity, and the lower power switchin has been previously observed using the inhomogeneously broadened Dl transition of sodium in a Fabry-Perot with the laser detuned above line center. By using argon buffer gas at up to 100 torr, importance of hyperfine structure and inhomogeneous broadening was reduced so as to make the transition approximate a J + 1/2 to J - 1/2 transition.

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•Jan 1, 1985•0 citations
We report results of an experiment which demonstrates switching of the polarization state of the output of a near-concentric Fabry-Perot containing sodium vapour, excited via the homogeneously broadened Dl transition. An example of the output, for linearly polarized laser input, at 1.5 GHz below line centre (illustrated in figure 1) shows switching with hysteresis at high input power (~400 mW) due to saturation, as well as the switching at lower power (~200 mW) due to optical pumping effects.
Results are given of an experiment which demonstrates switching of the polarization state of the output of a near-concentric Fabry-Perot containing sodium vapour, excited via the homogeneously broadened Dl transition. An example of the output, for linearly polarized laser input, at 1.5 GHz below line center shows switching with hysteresis at high input power (approximately 400 mW) due to saturation, as well as the switching at lower power (approximately mW) due to optical pumping effects. Purely absorptive polarization switching at approximately 50 mW input power was observed. Polarization switching has been predicted in the context of three state atoms in an optical cavity, and the lower power switchin has been previously observed using the inhomogeneously broadened Dl transition of sodium in a Fabry-Perot with the laser detuned above line center. By using argon buffer gas at up to 100 torr, importance of hyperfine structure and inhomogeneous broadening was reduced so as to make the transition approximate a J + 1/2 to J - 1/2 transition.
Experimental investigations of optical bistability (OB) for systems with degenerate lower states have up to now relied principally on atomic sodium [1-4]. The study of the influence of lower level coherence effects in OB [5] is greatly aided by the use of a nonlinear medium having a transition with integral electronic angular momentum character. A suitable choice upon which we report here is the 4f6 6s2 (7F1) to 4f6 6s6p (7Foo) 570.68-nm transition in SmI, driven by linearly polarized laser excitation in a near-concentric Fabry-Perot cavity. Unlike the case of the Na J = 1/2 to J = 1/2 D1 transition, for which polarization asymmetry in switching (PS) develops spontaneously [1-4], for the above transition we find that the symmetry in the polarization is conserved. No polarization differences of σ+ with respect to σ− develop in the output from the optical cavity. This behaviour accords with the theoretical expectation [6] that PS is suppressed by transverse optical pumping.
We report on the observation of critical slowing down and of self-pulsing in a Fabry-Perot resonator (FP) filled with sodium atoms under conditions of transverse optical pumping /1/. The experimental set-up (see Fig.1) is similar to the one used in steady-state bistability studies reported before /2/. The dye laser, optically isolated from the FP by means of a Faraday rotator (FR) is detuned from the Na D1-line by 10 to 20 GHz. The sodium sample (N ≃ 1013 cm–3, buffer gas: argon, p=200 mbar) is placed in a near confocal Fabry-Perot (Beam waist: 1 20 μm) and can be subjected to a transverse magnetic field B. The intensity of the laser beam can be switched by means of an electro-optic modulator(EOM), thus providing input-steps of variable height (power:5 – 50 mW). A polarizer P1 is used to either circularly or linearly polarize the input beam. The right– and left circular polarization components of the resonator output beam can be separated by means of a λ/4-plate and a polarizing beam splitter P2. A pair of photodiodes PDi is used for detection.
Experiments on the steady-state, nonlinear behavior of the 7F1^{7}\mathrm{F}_{1}7F1​${\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}^{7}$F0o{\mathrm{F}}_{0}^{\mathrm{o}}F0o​ 570.68-nm transition of atomic samarium in a laser-driven, near-concentric Fabry-Perot cavity are reported. For zero applied magnetic field, only simple optical bistability, symmetric in both ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{+}$ and ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ transmitted polarizations, is observed for a linearly polarized excitation beam. However, for a magnetic field applied parallel to the propagation direction, polarization-sensitive switching appears, with lowest power threshold near the edge of the Doppler-broadened region. Subsidiary measurements of atomic parameters are also given to enable the transition to be experimentally well characterized.
Optical tristability via optical pumping has been observed in the transmission of a Fabry-Perot interferometer containing Na vapor irradiated by light from a cw dye laser on the high-frequency wing of the D1{D}_{1}D1​ line. For linearly polarized incident light, three stable states appear in the polarization of the transmitted light: ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{+}$ dominant, ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\ensuremath{-}}$ dominant, and linear polarization.
Experiments were performed on a bistable system consisting of a low finesse cavity and sodium atoms as the nonlinear medium. The atoms were excited by a dye laser system tuned to the D lines. Both ring and Fabry-Perot configurations were employed, and steady-state as well as transient behaviour was investigated. Flat mirrors of approximately 93% reflectivity were used in all experiments. With sodium vapour as the medium, experiments were performed in steady state, and a marked difference was observed in the behaviour of the Fabry-Perot cavity as compared to the ring set-up. This discrepancy could be explained when the sodium transition was modelled as a three - level lambda -type system, where the Doppler width is of the same order of magnitude as the ground state splitting. In this case the atoms with a Doppler shift close to half the ground state splitting have a major influence on the macroscopic refractive index. Extensive computer simulations were performed using this three -level model, and good qualitative agreement between experiment and theory was obtained for both types of cavity. A vacuum system containing a multiple atomic beam apparatus was constructed in order to reduce the Doppler width. Both the ring and the Fabry-Perot configuration could be set up inside the vacuum chamber.. The steady-state experiments displayed bistability when the laser intensity, laser frequency or cavity frequency were cycled. At higher atomic densities the system showed instabilities and multiple switching.