All-optical electromagnetically induced transparency using one-dimensional coupled microcavities.

We report the first experimental realization of all-optical electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) via a pair of coherently interacting SiO2 microcavities in a one-dimensional SiO2/Si3N4 photonic crystal consisting of a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). The electromagnetic interactions between the coupled microcavities (CMCs), which possess distinct Q-factors, are controlled by varying the number of embedded SiO2/Si3N4 bilayers in the coupling DBR. In case of weak microcavity interactions, the reflectivity spectrum reveals an all-optical EIT resonance which splits into an Autler-Townes-like resonance under condition of strong microcavity coupling. Our results open up the way for implementing optical analogs of quantum coherence in much simpler one-dimensional structures. We also discuss potential applications of CMCs.