Slow and Superluminal Light Pulses Via EIT in a 20-m Acetylene-Filled Photonic Microcell

We have developed an all-fiber system where we generate electromagnetically induced transparencies in a 20-m acetylene-filled photonic microcell. Using this system, pulses of probe light were delayed and advanced by up to 5 and 1 ns, respectively. The delay/advance is tunable through the probe detuning and the coupling Rabi frequency. Through optimization of experimental parameters such as acetylene pressure, coupling laser power and decoherence rates it is shown that a pulse delay of 7 ns/m is possible. Limitations imposed on the fiber length by resonance group velocity dispersion and spectral reshaping are also discussed. In addition to optical buffering, we suggest a slow-light-based fiber optical gyroscope with an enhanced SNR of ~92.