Persistant Spectral Hole-Burning: Photon-Gating and Fundamental Statistical Limits
Abstract
Fundamental limits on frequency-domain optical storage using persistent spectral hole-burning follow from both the expected configuration of the storage system and from physical effects such as the photophysics of the light-induced reaction in the material, photon quantum (shot) noise, and statistical fluctuations in additive random quantities. When frequency-domain reading and writing in focused spots is considered, the large class of single-photon materials can be shown to have serious limitations from a single-to-noise point of view. This has stimulated interest in photon-grated material which effectively have a threshold in the writing process, controlled by a second light beam of a different color. Fundamental statistical limits on persistent spectral hole-burning can also be illustrated using recent measurements of statistical fine structure in solids. Other recent experiments in which the absorption spectrum of a single absorbing molecule in a solid was measured represent an extreme limit on persistent spectral hole-burning effects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 03, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA216084
Entities
People
- W. E. Moerner
Organizations
- International Business Machines Corporation (Armonk, NY)