Abstract
We have observed photon-gated spectral hole burning, i.e., hole burning that occurs only in the presence of an additional gating-light source. Gating enhancement factors of 104 were observed. In BaClF:Sm2+ this involves two-step photoionization of Sm2+ and leads to persistent holes in the 4F0 → 5D0 (687.9-nm) and 7F0 → 5D1 (629.7-nm) absorption lines. The hole widths of 25 MHz at 2 K are much narrower than the inhomogeneous broadening of 16 GHz. The action spectrum of the gating shows a threshold behavior around 2.5 eV. Erasing studies show that Sm3+ acts as a trap for the released electrons. A remarkable and novel feature is that the holes can be recovered after temperature cycling to 300 K.
© 1985 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
R. M. Macfarlane and G. Wittmann
Opt. Lett. 21(16) 1289-1291 (1996)
R. M. Macfarlane and R. M. Shelby
Opt. Lett. 9(12) 533-535 (1984)
R. Kummer, C. Hecht, and A. Winnacker
Opt. Lett. 22(12) 916-918 (1997)