Coherent transients by optical phase switching: Dephasing in LaCl3: Pr3+

A novel coherent transient effect is observed following a rapid shift in the relative phase of an exciting laser and sample polarization. An analytical expression is derived for the signal which is a sum of exponentially decaying terms with characteristic times involving both T1 and T2. Phase switching is a powerful approach to the study of optical relaxation and is applied here to measure dephasing in LaCl3: Pr3+. © 1980 The American Physical Society.