Time-Domain Optical Data Storage Using Eu3+ Ions in Crystals,
Abstract
The photon-echo memory, or the time-domain optical data storage, resembles the hole-burning memory in that the inhomogeneous absorption line of a material is employed as a storage medium and the information is stored in it as a frequency-dependent absorption change with the resolution determined by the homogeneous width. Having the common memory capacity N given by the inhomogeneous-to-homogeneous width ratio, both types of memories share common problems like low-temperature operation, spectral diffusion and so on. Although a storage medium is common, storage techniques are definitely different for the two memories. The photon-echo memory utilizes the temporal interference effect between a reference pulse and a data pulse and their interference pattern is stored as a population grating in the frequency domain. In this sense this is a time-domain analog of holography where the spatial interference pattern between a reference beam and a data beam is stored in a medium as a population grating in the real space. Like the spatially diffracted beam from the read beam gives the information stored in the hologram, the temporally diffracted pulse', or the photon echo, after the read pulse can give the information stored in the inhomogeneous distribution.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADP008269
Entities
People
- Masaharu Mitsunaga
Organizations
- NTT, Inc.