Spectral hole-burning and holography. I. Transmission and holographic detection of spectral holes

Abstract
Holographic detection is compared with the more common transmission method. The signal shapes of the optical holes determined by both techniques are studied theoretically and experimentally as a function of the burning fluence. From a comparison of the transmission signals and the holographic signals, the homogeneous linewidth can be determined. Experimental data was obtained from free base chlorin (1,2-dihydroporphyrin) in a polyvinylbutyral film at a temperature of 1.7 K. From these measurements a homogeneous linewidth of 350 MHz was determined. Limits of sensitivity of the holographic detection method are discussed.