Holographic pulse shaping in organic media

In our system the index modulation is formed by cis-trans isomerization of an azo-dye in an organic matrix. The index modulation is recorded by 514 nm light. Data is encoded on the reflection grating by spatially modulating one of the recording beams. The holographic recording time is about 1 second and the dark decay time is several minutes. By matching the temporal structure of the driving field to the natural spatial or quantum resonances of a nonlinear system it is possible to strongly enhance nonlinear effects. Applications of this approach to optical switching and numerical simulations of shaped pulse propagation in nonlinear media are presented.