Hole burning, Stark effect, and data storage

This paper investigates the effects of an external electric field on hole-burning processes. The photoprocess for hole burning involves the transformation of chlorin (dihydroporphyrin) into its phototautomer. Two-dimensional representations (voltage/frequency) of the transmittance and the change in optical density are illustrated for single and multiple hole burning. At 4.2 K a hole width of 25 kV/cm in electric field scanning range and of 3 GHz (0.1 cm−1) in optical frequency was achieved. The increase in the data storage capacity for optical memory devices offered by the electrical field parameter is discussed.