Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5402539 | Journal of Luminescence | 2010 | 8 Pages |
We report the fabrication and characterization of a Ti4+:Tm3+:LiNbO3 optical waveguide in view of photon-echo quantum memory applications. Specifically, we investigated room- and cryogenic-temperature properties of the waveguide, and the Tm3+ ions, via absorption, spectral hole burning, photon echo, and Stark spectroscopy. For the Tm3+ ions, we found radiative lifetimes of 82μs and 2.4 ms for the H43 and F43 levels, respectively, and a 44% branching ratio from the H43 to the F43 level. We also measured an optical coherence time of 1.6μs for the H63âH43, 795 nm wavelength transition, and investigated the limitation of spectral diffusion to spectral hole burning. Upon application of magnetic fields of a few hundred Gauss, we observed persistent spectral holes with lifetimes up to seconds. Furthermore, we measured a linear Stark shift of 25kHzcm/V. Our results are promising for integrated, electro-optical, waveguide quantum memory for photons.