Recoil-induced resonances for optical switching

摘要

We have investigated recoil-induced resonances in laser-cooled atoms for the purpose of developing an optical switch. In contrast to our earlier experiments 8, we employ a system in which the trapping beams are left on during the course of the measurement. We not only find the expected narrow resonance but also a much wider resonance. The widths of the wide and narrow resonances differ by three orders of magnitude. In addition, the two resonances show different temporal dynamics. We explore the utility of each resonance as an optical switch.