Optical decoherence and persistent spectral hole burning in Er:LiNbO3

Developing new resonant optical materials for spatial-spectral holography and quantum information applications requires detailed knowledge of the decoherence and population relaxation dynamics for the quantum states involved in the optical transitions, motivating the need for fundamental material studies. We report recent progress in studying these properties in erbium-doped lithium niobate at liquid helium temperatures. The influence of temperature, applied magnetic fields, measurement timescale, and dopant concentration were probed using photon echo spectroscopy and time-resolved spectral hole burning on the 1532 nm transition of Er³⁺:LiNbO₃. Effects of spectral diffusion due to interactions between Er³⁺ ions and between the Er³⁺ ion and ⁷Li and ⁹³Nb nuclear spins in the host lattice were observed. In addition, long-lived persistent spectral storage of seconds to minutes was observed due to non-equilibrium population redistribution among superhyperfine states.