title: Stopped Light at High Storage Efficiency in a Pr^{3+}:Y_{2}SiO_{5} Crystal.
abstract: We demonstrate efficient storage and retrieval of light pulses by electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a Pr^{3+}:Y_{2}SiO_{5} crystal. Using a ring-type multipass configuration, we increase the optical depth (OD) of the medium up to a factor of 16 towards OD≈96. Combining the large optical depth with optimized conditions for EIT, we reach a light storage efficiency of (76.3±3.5)%. In addition, we perform extended systematic measurements of the storage efficiency versus optical depth, control Rabi frequency, and probe pulse duration. The data confirm the theoretically expected behavior of an EIT-driven solid-state memory.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schraft
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hain
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Nikolaus
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lorenz
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Hochschulstr. 6, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Halfmann