Abstract

We observe spectral hole burning in a room-temperature optical fiber pumped by a spectrally broadened pump beam. This beam drives the stimulated Brillouin process, creating an inhomogeneously broadened resonance in the material whose shape can be engineered by tailoring the beam’s spectrum. A monochromatic saturating beam “burns” a narrow spectral hole that is $\sim {10}^4$ times narrower than the inhomogeneous width of the resonance. This research paves the way toward agile optical information processing and storage using standard telecommunication components.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

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