Abstract

There has been much recent interest in the use of optical photon echoes for information storage and processing [1]. However, experimental demonstrations have so far been restricted to spectral hole burning materials operating at liquid He temperatures. Information has been stored using microwave spin echoes in room temperature materials [2], but the data rates and storage densities achievable are orders of magnitude below those of optical echo techniques. The present scheme, which makes use of an optically excited microwave spin echo, is capable of data rates and storage densities comparable to the optical echo techniques, but potentially at much higher temperatures. In contrast to multilevel optical echoes, the Raman excited microwave coherences can store information which is spread over times much longer than the homogeneous decay time of the optical coherence.

© 1992 Optical Society of America