Coherent saturation removal in time-domain optical memory by storage of frequency-chirped data pulses

We report a novel technique for storing digital optical data in coherent time-domain optical memory to circumvent the problem of coherent saturation. In this technique, the carrier frequency of a data stream to be stored is slowly chirped so its power is spread over the data bandwidth for maximum data storage. In a proof-of-concept experiment, a total of 500 bits of data were stored at a rate of 20 Mbits/s in a 45-MHz-wide channel within the inhomogeneous line of the (7)F(0)-(5)D(l) transition in Eu(3+):Y(2)SiO(5). The result suggests a minimum storage density of ~1.5 Gbits/cm(3) for this transition. Issues related to the storage of frequency-chirped data, such as the optimum chirp width and the saturation owing to peak-sidelobe interference, are also discussed.