Continuous coherent transient optical processing in a solid

Optical coherent transient continuously programmed continuous processor

A novel technique for continuously programming an optical coherent transient spatial-spectral signal processor is proposed. The repeated application of two spatially distinct optical programming pulses to a nonpersistent hole-burning material writes an accumulated spatial-spectral population grating. An optical data stream is introduced on a third beam, resulting in a processor output signal that is spatially distinct from all the input pulses. Programming and processing take place simultaneously, asynchronously, and continuously. In the case of true-time delays, the efficiency that is achievable with currently available materials is of the order of that predicted for a perfect photon-gated device.

Observation of coherent transients by use of current switching of a semiconductor diode laser

We have observed optical free induction decay on the (3)H(6)(1) ? (3)H(4)(1) transition of Tm(3+) ions in LaF(3), using an external-cavity diode laser. The diode-laser frequency was switched by the application of a current step, and the resulting transient was detected by heterodyne beating with the laser at its new frequency. This provides a simple new way to measure coherent transients. The beat note shows a frequency chirp that gives a real-time measure of the diode-laser frequency. This result is attributed to changes in the laser lattice temperature on the microsecond time scale.

Impulse-equivalent time-domain optical memory

We propose a novel approach to time-domain storage of serial optical data. In this approach, two identical impulse-equivalent sequences are used as write and read pulses to store and later retrieve optical information. These pulse sequences are both amplitude and phase modulated in such a way that their autocorrelations resemble, as closely as theoretically possible, the autocorrelation of a single large brief pulse to ensure faithful data retrieval. Such impulse-equivalent sequences are known to exist for all lengths, permitting the storage of large-bandwidth data. The advantages of this approach include modest laser power requirement, high signal fidelity, and encrypted recording.