Abstract

Faraday anomalous dispersion optical filters (FADOFs) are narrow bandwidth, wide field-of-view, Fourier transform-limited response time, ultrahigh optical noise rejection (>10⁻⁵) imaging optical filters. These devices are significantly simpler than the existing atomic resonance filters and offer more flexibility. Applications for the FA-DOFs include remote sensing, optical communications, and other applications where a weak signal is buried in a strong nonresonant background. A FADOF consists of an atomic Faraday cell between two crossed polarizers. This arrangement only transmits radiation whose polarization is rotated by 90°. If the Faraday cell atom density, length, and strength of the applied magnetic field are all properly adjusted, only a narrow band of frequencies will have their polarizations rotated by 90°; hence the FA-DOF has a harrow transmission band. We have previously reported a FADOF model for 780 nm in Rb.¹ Here we report the first results of a theoretical FADOF model for the Rb 795-nm transition.

© 1990 Optical Society of America