title: Slow-light fourier transform interferometer.
abstract: We describe a new type of Fourier transform (FT) interferometer in which the tunable optical delay between the two arms is realized by using a continuously variable slow-light medium instead of a moving arm as in a conventional setup. The spectral resolution of such a FT interferometer exceeds that of a conventional setup of comparable size by a factor equal to the maximum group index of the slow-light medium. The scheme is experimentally demonstrated by using a rubidium atomic vapor cell as the tunable slow-light medium, and the spectral resolution is enhanced by a factor of approximately 100.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627 USA. zshi@optics.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Zhimin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: Ryan M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Camacho
authors.forename: Praveen K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Vudyasetu
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Howell