Optical hole-burning within the 574.2 nm line of the F centre in CaO

Abstract

The authors report the observations of long-lived optical holes burned in the 1A1g to 3T1u zero-phonon line of the F center in CaO. Splitting of the holes in a magnetic field is shown to be consistent with the data obtained from optically detected magnetic resonance measurements of the 3T1u state. Stark measurements are reported but not all the electric field broadening is found to be reversible and this effect is not explained. The Stark shifts are minimal and inconsistent with values given previously. Hole-burning in the 571 nm zero-phonon line of an orthorhombic centre is briefly reported.