Multimode electromagnetically induced transparency on a single atomic line

We experimentally investigate electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) created on an inhomogeneously broadened 5S(1/2)-5P(1/2) transition in rubidium vapor using a control field of a complex temporal shape. A comb-shaped transparency spectrum enhances the delay-bandwidth product and the light storage capacity for a matched probe pulse by a factor of about 50 compared to a single EIT line (Yavuz 2007 Phys. Rev. A 75 031801). If the temporal mode of the control field is slowly changed while the probe is propagating through the EIT medium, the probe will adiabatically follow, providing a means to perform frequency conversion and optical routing.