Coherent Transients by Optical Phase Switching: Dephasing in LaCl3:Pr3+

Abstract

A novel coherent transient effect is observed following a rapid shift in the relative phase of an exciting laser and sample polarization. An analytical expression is derived for the signal which is a sum of exponentially decaying terms with characteristic times involving both $T_1$ and $T_2$. Phase switching is a powerful approach to the study of optical relaxation and is applied here to measure dephasing in La${\mathrm{Cl}}_3$: ${\mathrm{Pr}}^{3+}$.