Abstract
Slow light based on transient spectral hole-burning is reported for emerald, Be3Al2Si6O18:Cr3+. Experiments were conducted in p polarization on the R-1(+/- 3/2) line (E-2 ->(4)A(2)) at 2.2 K in zero field and low magnetic fields B parallel to c. The hole width was strongly dependent on B parallel to c, and this allowed us to smoothly tune the pulse delay from 40 to 154 ns between zero field and B parallel to c = 15.2 mT. The latter corresponds to a group velocity of 16 km/s. Slow light in conjunction with a linear filter theory can be used as a powerful and accurate technique in time-resolved spectroscopy, e.g., to determine spectral hole-widths as a function of time. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America