Discover
/
Article

Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

JUL 01, 1997
One can make opaque resonant transitions transparent to laser radiation, often with most of the atoms remaining in the ground state.
Stephen E. Harris

Electromagnetically induced transparency is a technique for eliminating the effect of a medium on a propagating beam of electromagnetic radiation. EIT may also be used, but under more limited conditions, to eliminate optical self‐focusing and defocusing and to improve the transmission of laser beams through inhomogeneous refracting gases and metal vapors, as figure 1 illustrates. The technique may be used to create large populations of coherently driven uniformly phased atoms, thereby making possible new types of optoelectronic devices.

This article is only available in PDF format

References

  1. 1. K.‐J. Boiler, A. Imamoglu, S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 2593 (1991). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    J. E. Field, K. H. Hahn, S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 3062 (1991).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  2. 2. G. Alzetta, A. Gozzini, L. Moi, G. Orriols, Nuovo Cimento B 36, 5 (1976).

  3. 3. O. A. Kocharovskaya, Ya. I. Khanin, Sov. Phys. JETP 63, 945 (1986). https://doi.org/SPHJAR
    M. B. Gornyi, B. G. Matisov, Yu. V. Rozhdestvenskii, Sov. Phys. JETP 68, 728 (1989).https://doi.org/SPHJAR

  4. 4. O. A. Kocharovskaya, Ya. I. Khanin, Sov. Phys. JETP Lett. 48, 630 (1988).
    S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 1033 (1989). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    M. O. Scully, S.‐Y. Zhu, A. Gavridiles, Phys. Rev. Lett. 62, 2813 (1989). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    A. Imamoglu, S. E. Harris, Opt. Lett. 14, 1344 (1989). https://doi.org/OPLEDP
    There is also earlier work:V. G. Arkhipkin, Yu. I. Heller, Phys. Lett. 98A, 12 (1983).
    Review articles on lasers without inversion are O. Kocharovskaya, Phys. Rep. 219, 175 (1992); https://doi.org/PRPLCM
    P. Mandel, Contemporary Physics 34, 235 (1993);
    M. O. Scully, Quantum Opt. 6, 203 (1994).https://doi.org/QUOPET

  5. 5. For some reviews and papers that discuss coherent population trapping and quantum interference, see the following.P. L. Knight, M. A. Lauder, B. J. Dalton, Phys. Rep. 190, 1 (1990). https://doi.org/PRPLCM
    B. D. Agap’ev, M. B. Gornyi, B. G. Matisov, Sov. Phys. Usp. 36, 763 (1993).
    E. Arimondo, Progress in Optics, E. Wolf, ed., Elsevier Science, Amsterdam (1996), p. 257.
    D. A. Cardimona, M. G. Raymer, C. R. StroudJr, J. Phys. B 15, 55 (1982). https://doi.org/JPAMA4
    A. Imamoglu, Phys. Rev. A 40, 2835 (1989).
    G. S. Agarwal, Phys. Rev. A 55, 2467 (1997).https://doi.org/PLRAAN

  6. 6. J. Oreg, F. T. Hioe, J. H. Eberly, Phys. Rev. A 29, 690 (1984). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    U. Gaubatz, P. Rudecki, M. Becker, S. Schiemann, M. Külz, K. Bergmann, Chem. Phys. Lett. 149, 463 (1988). https://doi.org/CHPLBC
    C. E. Carroll, F. T. Hioe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 68, 3523 (1992).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  7. 7. S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 552 (1993). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    G. S. Agarwal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 1351 (1993). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 52 (1994). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    E. Cerboneschi, E. Arimondo, Phys. Rev. A 52, R1823 (1995). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    S. E. Harris, Z.‐F. Luo, Phys. Rev. A 52, R928 (1995). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    J. H. Eberly, A. Rahman, R. Grobe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 3687 (1996). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    G. Vemuri, K. V. Vasavada, Opt. Commun. 129, 379 (1996).https://doi.org/OPCOB8

  8. 8. A. Kasapi, M. Jain, G. Y. Yin, S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 2447 (1995). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    A. Kasapi, G. Y. Yin, M. Jain, S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. A 53, 4547 (1996). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    S. E. Harris, J. E. Field, A. Kasapi, Phys. Rev. A 46, R29 (1992).https://doi.org/PLRAAN

  9. 9. R. Grobe, F. T. Hioe, J. H. Eberly, Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 3183 (1994). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    J. H. Eberly, M. L. Pons, H. R. Haq, Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 56 (1994). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    J. H. Eberly, Quantum Semiclassical Opt. 7, 373 (1995).

  10. 10. M. Fleischhauer, A. S. Manka, Phys. Rev. A 54, 794 (1996). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    I. E. Mazets, B. G. Matisov, Quantum Semiclassical Opt. 8, 909 (1996).

  11. 11. M. Jain, A. J. Merriam, A. Kasapi, G. Y. Yin, S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 4385 (1995). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    R. R. Moseley, S. Shepherd, D. J. Fulton, B. D. Sinclair, M. H. Dunn, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 670 (1995).

  12. 12. G. G. Padmabandu, G. R. Welch, I. N. Shubin, E. S. Fry, D. E. Nikonov, M. D. Lukin, M. O. Scully, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2053 (1996).

  13. 13. S. E. Harris, J. E. Field, A. Imamoglu, Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 1107 (1990). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    M. Jain, H. Xia, G. Y. Yin, A. J. Merriam, S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4326 (1996). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    A related earlier work is S. P. Tewari, G. S. Agarwal, Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 1811 (1986).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  14. 14. K. Hakuta, L. Marmet, B. P. Stoicheff, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 596 (1991).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  15. 15. J. Donoghue, M. Cronin‐Golomb, J. S. Kane, P. R. Hemmer, Opt. Lett. 16, 1313 (1991). https://doi.org/OPLEDP
    P. R. Hemmer, D. P. Katz, J. Donoghue, M. Cronin‐Golomb, M. S. Shahriar, P. Kumar, Opt. Lett. 20, 982 (1995). https://doi.org/OPLEDP
    H. Schmidt, A. Imamoglu, Opt. Lett. 21, 1936 (1996).https://doi.org/OPLEDP

  16. 16. M. O. Scully, M. Fleischhauer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 69, 1360 (1992). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    M. O. Scully, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67, 1855 (1991). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    A. S. Zibrov, M. D. Lukin, L. Hollberg, D. E. Nikonov, M. O. Scully, H. G. Robinson, V. L. Velichansky, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 3935 (1996).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  17. 17. M. Xiao, Y.‐Q. Li, S.‐Z. Jin, J. Gea‐Banacloche, Phys. Rev. Lett. 74, 666 (1995). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    J. Gea‐Banacloche, Y.‐Q. Li, S.‐Z. Jin, M. Xiao, Phys. Rev. A 51, 576 (1995). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    A. Kasapi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 1035 (1996).https://doi.org/PRLTAO

  18. 18. S. E. Harris, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 5357 (1996). https://doi.org/PRLTAO
    S. J. vanEnk, J. Zhang, P. Lambropoulos, Phys. Rev. A 50, 2777 (1994). https://doi.org/PLRAAN
    S. E. Harris, A. V. Sokolov, Phys. Rev. A(1997), to be published.

More about the Authors

Stephen E. Harris. Stanford University, Stanford, California.

Related content
/
Article
Figuring out how to communicate with the public can be overwhelming. Here’s some advice for getting started.
/
Article
Amid growing investment in planetary-scale climate intervention strategies that alter sunlight reflection, global communities deserve inclusive and accountable oversight of research.
/
Article
Although motivated by the fundamental exploration of the weirdness of the quantum world, the prizewinning experiments have led to a promising branch of quantum computing technology.
/
Article
As conventional lithium-ion battery technology approaches its theoretical limits, researchers are studying alternative architectures with solid electrolytes.
This Content Appeared In
pt-cover_1997_07.jpeg

Volume 50, Number 7

Get PT in your inbox

pt_newsletter_card_blue.png
PT The Week in Physics

A collection of PT's content from the previous week delivered every Monday.

pt_newsletter_card_darkblue.png
PT New Issue Alert

Be notified about the new issue with links to highlights and the full TOC.

pt_newsletter_card_pink.png
PT Webinars & White Papers

The latest webinars, white papers and other informational resources.

By signing up you agree to allow AIP to send you email newsletters. You further agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.