Broadening of EIT window by incoherent pumping in a three-level Λ system: Effect of homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening

Abstract

The interplay between dynamically induced coherence (DIC) and spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) can induce electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a three-level closed Λ system. When the contributions from these two coherences are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign at the resonances of both the coherent and probe fields, transparency of the probe light occurs at the resonance with absorption humps away from the resonance. We have demonstrated here that the broadening of the EIT window can be controlled by changing the strength of incoherent pumping. This is a new approach for achieving wide EIT window for lossless and distortionless transmission of light of large spectral width. The most attractive feature of this new method is that the FWHM (full width at half-maximum) of the EIT window is further increased when the broadening due to homogeneous/inhomogeneous decay is taken into consideration. This scheme can be applied in atoms/molecules where SGC can be invoked by dressing two closely spaced levels (e.g. hyperfine levels in atoms or rovibrational levels in molecules) by an external field. This effect has been demonstrated in a heteronuclear molecule (e.g. LiH) and examined the role of incoherent pumping for controlling the width of the EIT window in the presence and absence of homogeneous/inhomogeneous decay. The experimental realization of the widening of the EIT window in molecules has been discussed. Copyright © EPLA, 2008.