Room Temperature Persistent Spectral Hole Burning in Sm-Doped SrFCl 1/2 Br 1/2 Mixed Crystals

Two-photon persistent hole burning is observed at T = 296 K in 5 D 1 – 7 F 0 and 5 D 0 – 7 F 0 transitions of Sm 2+ ions in substitutionally disordered SrFCl 1/2 single crystals, showing the ratio of inhomogeneous to homogeneous linewidth of 20 ÷ 25. The minimum hole widths of 3.5 cm -1 and 2.6 cm -1 , respectively, were determined for these transitions. In fact, the applicability of persistent spectral hole burning, known as a low-temperature high-resolution spectroscopic method and a potential basis for the use of a new–spectral–dimension in optical data storage and processing, is demonstrated for the first time at room temperature in inorganic materials.