Regeneration of photon echoes with amplified photon echoes

Photon-echo-based devices have been proposed for many applications in data storage, image processing, and optical communications. Many of these applications would benefit if the output from the photon-echo process could be used as input in a second photon-echo process. We demonstrate the generation of such secondary echoes, using the amplified output from an initial photon-echo process. The amplification is performed with a Pr:ZBLAN fiber amplifier, which gives a gain of more than 300 at 606 nm when pumped with 320 mW of power at 476 nm.     

Superfluorescence-stimulated photon echoes

Two closely spaced 778 nm, 4-ps pulses, two-photon resonant with the 5S-5D transition in Rb vapor generate a ground state grating, which later is excited by a similar third pulse, producing conical yoked superfluorescence echo on the 5S-6P, 420-nm transition. The intensity of this emission as a function of the relative delay between the leading excitation pulses is governed by the dynamics of Doppler dephasing and rephasing. This is the first observation of an echo effect induced by a spontaneous relaxation process.     

Nutational stimulated photon echoes

Stimulated photon echoes (SPEs) with time duration comparable to the coherent lifetime and Rabi period have been investigated theoretically and experimentally with an angled beam configuration. The Rabi oscillation effects on both the transmitted field (optical nutation) and the SPE fields are explained by analytic solutions of Maxwell-Bloch equations. The theory also predicts that an echo can exist in the noncausal direction, and this was confirmed by experiments with Tm:YAG crystal.     

Demonstration of partial erasing of picosecond temporal optical data by use of accumulated photon echoes

We demonstrated partial erasing of temporal optical data on a picosecond time scale by use of accumulated photon echoes. In a photon-echo memory the temporal data at time tau are stored as a frequency grating of period 1/tau in the absorption spectrum of a material. Partial erasing of the temporal data is achieved by irradiation of the material with a pulse pair at time separation tau , but the phase of one of the pulses is shifted 180 degrees . This process does not produce a frequency grating, and no echo is emitted. The experiment was performed with a dye-doped polymer film. The 180 degrees phase shift was obtained by use of a half-wave plate.     

Femtosecond magnito-optics based on photon echoes

A textured three-layer ZnO/Si(P)/Si(B) film in an uniform longitudinal magnetic field with a stregth of 0.4 T exhibits the effect of the polarization plane’s rotation from a stimulated photon echo signal formed at room temperature on the exciton states. At time interval τ₁₂ set to zero and time interval τ₂₃ = 720 and 900 fs, the angles of rotation are 27° and 19°, respectively.     

Time-domain Fresnel-to-Fraunhofer diffraction with photon echoes

A photon echo experiment in Tm(3+):YAG is reported that shows, for the first time to the authors' knowledge, the time-domain equivalent of the transition from near- to far-field diffraction, including Talbot self-imaging effects. The experiment demonstrates the huge dispersion capability of photon echoes and opens the way to further exploration of space-time duality.     

Time-to-frequency Fourier transformation with photon echoes

We propose to use photon echoes in rare-earth-doped crystals to implement the Fourier-transform chirp algorithm. The process is considered for application to spectral analysis of fast radio-frequency signals. Compared with surface acoustic wave devices, the proposed scheme gives access to the larger bandwidths of rare-earth-doped crystals and greater flexibility. An experimental demonstration of the proposed process is reported.     

Theory of photon echoes in dressed atoms

A theory is presented which describes the formation of photon echoes in an atomic vapor when a cw laser field (the “dressing” field) drives an atomic transition while a sequence of pulses is applied to a coupled transition. It is found that, with a two-pulse excitation scheme, as many as nine echoes may be produced. The relationship of these “dressed-atom” echoes to conventional photon echoes is discussed.     

Total dephasing-rephasing balancing in Stark-pulse-modulated photon echoes

Using Stark-pulse-modulated photon echoes, we observe a novel type of rephasing phenomenon in a Eu(3+) - and Pr(3+) -codoped Y(2)SiO(5) crystal. By adjusting the Stark pulse during the rephasing and dephasing periods one can observe a full recovery of the photon echo, corresponding to perfect dephasing-rephasing balancing of the perturbations. We propose to use this effect as a spectroscopic technique to distinguish between reversible and irreversible Stark interactions.     

Surface photon echoes in the infrared range

We discuss the possibility of observing photon echoes in the infrared range from a surface monolayer. Three different detection schemes are considered: direct infrared detection, external up-conversion, and in-situ up-conversion. The external up-conversion scheme appears most promising, while the in-situ up-conversion scheme has the advantage of being highly surface specific. Dephasing relaxations of surface vibrational excitations should be measurable.     

Modulation of photon echoes in a three-level system

The modulated oscillations within the photon echo pulse in the nondegenerate three-level system with two close-lying levels are investigated. The frequency of the modulated oscillations is related to the energy difference between the close-lying levels. It allows to identify levels situated within Doppler width of the spectral line.     

Subpicosecond photon echoes by using nanosecond laser pulses

Subpicosecond time resolutions have been obtained in photon echoes when a sample was excited by two nanosecond dye laser pulses with a smooth and broad spectrum. The dye laser was pumped by second harmonics of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, and the pulse width was 10 ns. The sample was 3% Nd³⁺-doped silicate glass, and the center frequency of the dye laser was tuned at 5910 Å on resonance with the ⁴I_{$\text{9}\text{2}$} ? ²G_{$\text{7}\text{2}$}, ⁴G_{$\text{5}\text{2}$} transition of Nd³⁺. The homogeneous transverse relaxation time T₂ was measured to be 91 ps at 10 K in agreement with the previous measurements by picosecond pulses.     

Mixing collisions and quantum beats in photon echoes

The spectral line shifts Δ^(κ) due to the mixing collisions by means of the quantum beats of the photon echoes are analysed.     

Doubly resonant photon echoes in a three-level system

This paper deals with the photon echoes associated with two optical pulses of different frequencies, resonant to a three-level system, and reveals the existence of anomalous echoes, appearing at times corresponding to the correlations between the inhomogeneous broadenings for different spectral lines. The intensities, direction of propagation and polarizations of the echoes are analyzed quantitatively.     

Application of photon echoes to electronic relaxation in molecular crystals

The possibility of using photon echoes to elucidate the pathways of intramolecular electronic relaxation in molecular crystals is discussed.