Observation of photon echo in Er(3+):YAG at 1.527 microm

We report what is to our knowledge the first experimental observation of two- and three-pulse echoes in Er(3+) :YAG at 1.527microm . The experiment was performed on the transition from the (4)I(15/2) ground state to the lowest Stark level of the (4)I(13/2) excited state. The corresponding homogeneous dephasing time was measured to be approximately 50ns at 1 and 7K. In addition, three-pulse echo decay indicated a lifetime of the spectral grating of ~30micros . Implications of these results for optical data storage and optical signal processing are discussed.