Optical Dark Rogue Wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frisquet, Benoit; Kibler, Bertrand; Morin, Philippe; Baronio, Fabio; Conforti, Matteo; Millot, Guy; Wabnitz, Stefan

2016-02-01

Photonics enables to develop simple lab experiments that mimic water rogue wave generation phenomena, as well as relativistic gravitational effects such as event horizons, gravitational lensing and Hawking radiation. The basis for analog gravity experiments is light propagation through an effective moving medium obtained via the nonlinear response of the material. So far, analogue gravity kinematics was reproduced in scalar optical wave propagation test models. Multimode and spatiotemporal nonlinear interactions exhibit a rich spectrum of excitations, which may substantially expand the range of rogue wave phenomena, and lead to novel space-time analogies, for example with multi-particle interactions. By injecting two colliding and modulated pumps with orthogonal states of polarization in a randomly birefringent telecommunication optical fiber, we provide the first experimental demonstration of an optical dark rogue wave. We also introduce the concept of multi-component analog gravity, whereby localized spatiotemporal horizons are associated with the dark rogue wave solution of the two-component nonlinear Schrödinger system.

Optical Dark Rogue Wave.

PubMed

Frisquet, Benoit; Kibler, Bertrand; Morin, Philippe; Baronio, Fabio; Conforti, Matteo; Millot, Guy; Wabnitz, Stefan

2016-02-11

Photonics enables to develop simple lab experiments that mimic water rogue wave generation phenomena, as well as relativistic gravitational effects such as event horizons, gravitational lensing and Hawking radiation. The basis for analog gravity experiments is light propagation through an effective moving medium obtained via the nonlinear response of the material. So far, analogue gravity kinematics was reproduced in scalar optical wave propagation test models. Multimode and spatiotemporal nonlinear interactions exhibit a rich spectrum of excitations, which may substantially expand the range of rogue wave phenomena, and lead to novel space-time analogies, for example with multi-particle interactions. By injecting two colliding and modulated pumps with orthogonal states of polarization in a randomly birefringent telecommunication optical fiber, we provide the first experimental demonstration of an optical dark rogue wave. We also introduce the concept of multi-component analog gravity, whereby localized spatiotemporal horizons are associated with the dark rogue wave solution of the two-component nonlinear Schrödinger system.

Optical Dark Rogue Wave

PubMed Central

Frisquet, Benoit; Kibler, Bertrand; Morin, Philippe; Baronio, Fabio; Conforti, Matteo; Millot, Guy; Wabnitz, Stefan

2016-01-01

Photonics enables to develop simple lab experiments that mimic water rogue wave generation phenomena, as well as relativistic gravitational effects such as event horizons, gravitational lensing and Hawking radiation. The basis for analog gravity experiments is light propagation through an effective moving medium obtained via the nonlinear response of the material. So far, analogue gravity kinematics was reproduced in scalar optical wave propagation test models. Multimode and spatiotemporal nonlinear interactions exhibit a rich spectrum of excitations, which may substantially expand the range of rogue wave phenomena, and lead to novel space-time analogies, for example with multi-particle interactions. By injecting two colliding and modulated pumps with orthogonal states of polarization in a randomly birefringent telecommunication optical fiber, we provide the first experimental demonstration of an optical dark rogue wave. We also introduce the concept of multi-component analog gravity, whereby localized spatiotemporal horizons are associated with the dark rogue wave solution of the two-component nonlinear Schrödinger system. PMID:26864099

Nonlinear magneto-plasmonics

DOE PAGES

Zheng, Wei; Liu, Xiao; Hanbicki, Aubrey T.; ...

2015-10-19

Nonlinear magneto-plasmonics (NMP) describes systems where nonlinear optics, magnetics and plasmonics are all involved. In such systems, nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr effect (nonlinear MOKE) plays an important role as a characterization method, and Surface Plasmons (SPs) work as catalyst to induce many new effects. Magnetization-induced second-harmonic generation (MSHG) is the major nonlinear magneto-optical process involved. The new effects include enhanced MSHG, controlled and enhanced magnetic contrast, etc. Nanostructures such as thin films, nanoparticles, nanogratings, and nanoarrays are critical for the excitation of SPs, which makes NMP an interdisciplinary research field in nanoscience and nanotechnology. In this review article, we organize recentmore » work in this field into two categories: surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) representing propagating surface plasmons, and localized surface plasmons (LSPs), also called particle plasmons. We review the structures, experiments, findings, and the applications of NMP from various groups.« less

Optical wave turbulence and the condensation of light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bortolozzo, Umberto; Laurie, Jason; Nazarenko, Sergey; Residori, Stefania

2009-11-01

In an optical experiment, we report a wave turbulence regime that, starting with weakly nonlinear waves with randomized phases, shows an inverse cascade of photons towards the lowest wavenumbers. We show that the cascade is induced by a six-wave resonant interaction process and is characterized by increasing nonlinearity. At low wavenumbers the nonlinearity becomes strong and leads to modulational instability developing into solitons, whose number is decreasing further along the beam.

A multistate pH-triggered nonlinear optical switch.

PubMed

Castet, Frédéric; Champagne, Benoît; Pina, Fernando; Rodriguez, Vincent

2014-08-04

By using hyper-Rayleigh scattering experiments and quantum-chemical calculations, we demonstrate that nonlinear optics can be used to probe unequivocally, within a non-destructive process, the multiple electronic states that are activated upon pH- and light-triggered transformations of the 4'-hydroxyflavylium ion. These results open new perspectives in the design of molecular-scale high-density optical memory. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Two-Phonon Absorption

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, M. W.

2007-01-01

A nonlinear aspect of the acousto-optic interaction that is analogous to multi-photon absorption is discussed. An experiment is described in which the second-order acousto-optically scattered intensity is measured and found to scale with the square of the acoustic intensity. This experiment using a commercially available acousto-optic modulator is…

Studies of the underlying mechanisms for optical nonlinearities of blue phase liquid crystals (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chun-Wei; Khoo, Iam Choon; Zhao, Shuo; Lin, Tsung-Hsien; Ho, Tsung-Jui

2015-10-01

We have investigated the mechanisms responsible for nonlinear optical processes occurring in azobenzene-doped blue phase liquid crystals (BPLC), which exhibit two thermodynamically stable BPs: BPI and BPII. In coherent two wave-mixing experiments, a slow (minutes) and a fast (few milliseconds) side diffractions are observed. The underlying mechanisms were disclosed by monitoring the dynamics of grating formation and relaxation as well as by some supplementary experiments. We found the photothermal indexing and dye/LC intermolecular torque leading to lattice distortion to be the dominant mechanisms for the observed nonlinear response in BPLC. Moreover, the response time of the nonlinear optical process varied with operating phase. The rise time of the thermal indexing process was in good agreement with our findings on the temperature dependence of BP refractive index: τ(ISO) > τ(BPI) > τ(BPII). The relaxation time of the torque-induced lattice distortion was analogue to its electrostriction counterpart: τ'(BPI) > τ'(BPII). In a separate experiment, lattice swelling with selective reflection of <110> direction changed from green to red was also observed. This was attributable to the isomerization-induced change in cholesteric pitch, which directly affects the lattice spacing. The phenomenon was confirmed by measuring the optical rotatory power of the BPLC.

NONLINEAR OPTICAL EFFECTS AND FIBER OPTICS: Modulation of radiation in a fiber Sagnac interferometer induced by an external field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakhidov, É. A.; Kasymdzhanov, M. A.; Mirtadzhiev, F. M.; Tartakovskiĭ, G. Kh; Khabibullaev, P. K.

1988-12-01

A study was made of the influence of the Kerr nonlinearity of a fiber waveguide on fluctuations of the output signal from a fiber-optic interferometer. The intensity fluctuations were modeled using the radiation from a pulsed high-power laser with a controlled intensity and pulse profile. Interferograms of the output radiation were obtained for different interferometer configurations. A comparison of the experiment and theory made it possible to explain the observed changes in the signal and to estimate the phase noise due to the Kerr nonlinearity in the investigated fiber waveguide.

All-optical control of group velocity dispersion in tellurite photonic crystal fibers.

PubMed

Liu, Lai; Tian, Qijun; Liao, Meisong; Zhao, Dan; Qin, Guanshi; Ohishi, Yasutake; Qin, Weiping

2012-12-15

We demonstrate all-optical control of group velocity dispersion (GVD) via optical Kerr effect in highly nonlinear tellurite photonic crystal fibers. The redshift of the zero-dispersion wavelength is over 307 nm, measured by soliton self-frequency shift cancellation, when the pump peak power of a 1.56 μm femtosecond fiber laser is increased to 11.6 kW. The all-optical control of GVD not only offers a new platform for constructing all-optical-control photonic devices but also promises a new class of experiments in nonlinear fiber optics and light-matter interactions.

Attosecond nonlinear optics using gigawatt-scale isolated attosecond pulses

PubMed Central

Takahashi, Eiji J.; Lan, Pengfei; Mücke, Oliver D.; Nabekawa, Yasuo; Midorikawa, Katsumi

2013-01-01

High-energy isolated attosecond pulses required for the most intriguing nonlinear attosecond experiments as well as for attosecond-pump/attosecond-probe spectroscopy are still lacking at present. Here we propose and demonstrate a robust generation method of intense isolated attosecond pulses, which enable us to perform a nonlinear attosecond optics experiment. By combining a two-colour field synthesis and an energy-scaling method of high-order harmonic generation, the maximum pulse energy of the isolated attosecond pulse reaches as high as 1.3 μJ. The generated pulse with a duration of 500 as, as characterized by a nonlinear autocorrelation measurement, is the shortest and highest-energy pulse ever with the ability to induce nonlinear phenomena. The peak power of our tabletop light source reaches 2.6 GW, which even surpasses that of an extreme-ultraviolet free-electron laser. PMID:24158092

Low-cost nonlinear optics experiment for undergraduate instructional laboratory and lecture demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turchiello, Rozane de F.; Pereira, Luiz A. A.; Gómez, Sergio L.

2017-07-01

This paper presents a simple and affordable experiment on the thermal lens effect, suitable for an undergraduate educational laboratory or as a tabletop demonstration in a lecture on nonlinear optics. Such an experiment exploits the formation of a lens in an absorbing medium illuminated by a laser beam with a Gaussian intensity profile. As an absorber, we use a commercial soy sauce, which exhibits a strong thermal lensing effect. Additionally, we show how to measure the radius of a Gaussian beam using the knife-edge method, and how to estimate the focal length of the induced thermal lens.

Enhanced nonlinear optical response of an endohedral metallofullerene through metal-to-cage charge transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heflin, J. R.; Marciu, D.; Figura, C.; Wang, S.; Burbank, P.; Stevenson, S.; Dorn, H. C.

1998-06-01

A new mechanism for increasing the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, χ(3), is described for endohedral metallofullerenes. A two to three orders of magnitude increase in the nonlinear response is reported for degenerate four-wave mixing experiments conducted with solutions of Er2@C82 (isomer III) relative to empty-cage fullerenes. A value of -8.7×10-32esu is found for the molecular susceptibility, γxyyx, of Er2@C82 compared to previously reported values of γxxxx=3×10-34 esu and γxyyx=4×10-35 esu for C60. The results confirm the importance of the metal-to-cage charge-transfer mechanism for enhancing the nonlinear optical response in endohedral metallofullerenes.

NONLINEAR OPTICAL EFFECTS AND FIBER OPTICS: Theory of four-wave mixing in photorefractive media when the response of a medium is nonlinear in respect of the modulation parameter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zozulya, A. A.

1988-12-01

A theoretical model is constructed for four-wave mixing in a photorefractive crystal where a transmission grating is formed by the drift-diffusion nonlinearity mechanism in the absence of an external electrostatic field and the response of the medium is nonlinear in respect of the modulation parameter. A comparison is made with a model in which the response of the medium is linear in respect of the modulation parameter. Theoretical models of four-wave and two-wave mixing are also compared with experiments.

Size dependent nonlinear optical properties of spin coated zinc oxide-polystyrene nanocomposite films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeeju, Pullarkat P.; Jayalekshmi, S.; Chandrasekharan, K.; Sudheesh, P.

2012-11-01

Using simple wet chemical method at room temperature, zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles embedded in polystyrene (PS) matrix were synthesized. The size of the ZnO nanoparticles could be varied by varying the precursor concentration, reaction time and stirring speed. Transparent films of ZnO/PS nanocomposites of thickness around 1 μm were coated on ultrasonically cleaned glass substrates by spin coating. The optical absorptive nonlinearity in ZnO/PS nanocomposite films was investigated using open aperture Z-scan technique with nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The results indicate optical limiting type nonlinearity in the films due to two-photon absorption in ZnO. These films also show a self-defocusing type negative nonlinear refraction in closed aperture Z-scan experiment. The observed nonlinear absorption is strongly dependent on particle size and the normalized transmittance could be reduced to as low as 0.43 by the suitable choice of the ZnO nanoparticle size. These composite films can hence be used as efficient optical limiters for sensor protection. The much-pronounced nonlinear response of these composite films, compared to pure ZnO, combined with the improved stability of ZnO nanoparticles in the PS matrix offer prospects of application of these composite films in the fabrication of stable non-linear optical devices.

Enabling the detection of UV signal in multimodal nonlinear microscopy with catalogue lens components.

PubMed

Vogel, Martin; Wingert, Axel; Fink, Rainer H A; Hagl, Christian; Ganikhanov, Feruz; Pfeffer, Christian P

2015-10-01

Using an optical system made from fused silica catalogue optical components, third-order nonlinear microscopy has been enabled on conventional Ti:sapphire laser-based multiphoton microscopy setups. The optical system is designed using two lens groups with straightforward adaptation to other microscope stands when one of the lens groups is exchanged. Within the theoretical design, the optical system collects and transmits light with wavelengths between the near ultraviolet and the near infrared from an object field of at least 1 mm in diameter within a resulting numerical aperture of up to 0.56. The numerical aperture can be controlled with a variable aperture stop between the two lens groups of the condenser. We demonstrate this new detection capability in third harmonic generation imaging experiments at the harmonic wavelength of ∼300 nm and in multimodal nonlinear optical imaging experiments using third-order sum frequency generation and coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy so that the wavelengths of the detected signals range from ∼300 nm to ∼660 nm. © 2015 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2015 Royal Microscopical Society.

Theory of plasmonic effects in nonlinear optics: the case of graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rostami, Habib; Katsnelson, Mikhail I.; Polini, Marco; Mikhail I. Katsnelson Collaboration; Habib Rostami; Marco Polini Collaboration

The nonlinear optical properties of two-dimensional electronic systems are beginning to attract considerable interest both in the theoretical and experimental sectors. Recent experiments on the nonlinear optical properties of graphene reveal considerably strong third harmonic generation and four-wave mixing of this single-atomic-layer electronic system. We develop a large-N theory of electron-electron interaction corrections to multi-legged Feynman diagrams describing second- and third-order nonlinear response functions. Our theory is completely general and is useful to understand all second- and third-order nonlinear effects, including harmonic generation, wave mixing, and photon drag. We apply our theoretical framework to the case of graphene, by carrying out microscopic calculations of the second- and third-order nonlinear response functions of an interacting two-dimensional gas of massless Dirac fermions. We compare our results with recent measurements, where all-optical launching of graphene plasmons has been achieved. This work was supported by Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant agreement No. 696656 GrapheneCore, and the ERC Advanced Grant 338957 FEMTO/NANO (M.I.K.).

Photodeposition of Thin Polydiacetylene Films from Solution that Exhibit Large Third-Order Optical Nonlinearities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paley, M. S.; Frazier, D. O.; Abdeldayem, H.; McManus, S. P.

1994-01-01

One promising class of organic compounds for applications in the field of nonlinear optics (NLO) are polydiacetylenes, which are of interest because they are highly conjugated polymers capable of exhibiting very large optical nonlinearities with fast response times. During the course of crystal growth studies in anticipation of a space experiment, we discovered a novel, simple method for the formation of polydiacetylene thin films by photodeposition from monomer solutions onto quartz or glass substrates. Characterization of these PDAMNA films is not trivial; they are not soluble in common organic solvents, which makes the standard solution-based methods of polymer analysis useless.

Highly Non-Linear Optical (NLO) organic crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, J. Milton

1987-01-01

This research project involves the synthesis and characterization of organic materials having powerful nonlinear optical (NLO) properties and the growth of highly ordered crystals and monomolecular films of these materials. Research in four areas is discussed: theoretical design of new materials, characterization of NLO materials, synthesis of new materials and development of coupling procedures for forming layered films, and improvement of the techniques for vapor phase and solution phase growth of high quality organic crystals. Knowledge gained from these experiments will form the basis for experiments in the growth of these crystals.

Dynamics of shaping ultrashort optical dissipative solitary pulses in the actively mode-locked semiconductor laser with an external long-haul single-mode fiber cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcherbakov, Alexandre S.; Moreno Zarate, Pedro

2010-02-01

We describe the conditions of shaping regular trains of optical dissipative solitary pulses, excited by multi-pulse sequences of periodic modulating signals, in the actively mode-locked semiconductor laser heterostructure with an external long-haul single-mode silicon fiber exhibiting square-law dispersion, cubic Kerr nonlinearity, and linear optical losses. The presented model for the analysis includes three principal contributions associated with the modulated gain, optical losses, as well as linear and nonlinear phase shifts. In fact, the trains of optical dissipative solitary pulses appear within simultaneous presenting and a balance of mutually compensating interactions between the second-order dispersion and cubic-law Kerr nonlinearity as well as between active medium gain and linear optical losses in the combined cavity. Within such a model, a contribution of the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau operator to shaping the parameters of optical dissipative solitary pulses is described via exploiting an approximate variational procedure involving the technique of trial functions. Finally, the results of the illustrating proof-of-principle experiments are briefly presented and discussed in terms of optical dissipative solitary pulses.

Optical Nonlinearities in Semiconductors for Limiting.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yuan-Yen

I have conducted detailed experimental and theoretical studies of the nonlinear optical properties of semiconductor materials useful for optical limiting. I have constructed optical limiters utilizing two-photon absorption along with photogenerated carrier defocusing as well as the bound electronic nonlinearity using the semiconducting material ZnSe. I have optimized the focusing geometry to achieve a large dynamic range while maintaining a low limiting energy for the device. The ZnSe monolithic optical limiter has achieved a limiting energy as low as 13 nJ (corresponding to 300W peak power) and a dynamic range as large as 10 ^5 at 532 nm using psec pulses. Theoretical analysis showed that the ZnSe device has a broad-band response covering the wavelength range from 550 nm to 800 nm. Moreover, I found that existing theoretical models (e.g. the Auston model and the band-resonant model using Boltzmann statistics) adequately describe the photo-generated carriers refractive nonlinearity in ZnSe. Material nonlinear optical parameters, such as the two-photon absorption coefficient beta _2 = 5.5 cm/GW, the refraction per unit carrier density sigma_{rm n} = -0.8cdot 10^ {-21}cm^3 and the bound electronic refraction n_2 = -4cdot 10^{ -11}esu, have been measured via time-integrated beam distortion experiments in the near field. A numerical code has been written to simulate the beam distortion in order to extract the previously mentioned material parameters. In addition, I have performed time-resolved distortion measurements that provide an intuitive picture of the carrier generation process via two-photon absorption. I also characterized the optical nonlinearities in a ZnSe Fabry-Perot thin film structure (an interference filter). I concluded that the nonlinear absorption alone in the thin film is insufficient to build an effective optical limiter, as it did not show a net change in refraction using psec pulses. An innovative numerical program was developed to simulate the nonlinear beam propagation inside the Fabry-Perot structure. For comparison, pump-probe experiments were performed using both thin film and bulk ZnSe. The results showed relatively long carrier lifetimes (>300 psec) in both samples. A numerical code was written to fit the pump-probe experimental results. The fitting yielded that carrier lifetimes (recombination through traps), radiative decay rate, two-photon absorption coefficient as well as the free carrier absorption coefficient for ZnSe bulk material.

Ultrafast Optical Modulation of Second- and Third-Harmonic Generation from Cut-Disk-Based Metasurfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sartorello, Giovanni; Olivier, Nicolas; Zhang, Jingjing

2016-08-17

We design and fabricate a metasurface composed of gold cut-disk resonators that exhibits a strong coherent nonlinear response. We experimentally demonstrate all-optical modulation of both second- and third-harmonic signals on a subpicosecond time scale. Pump probe experiments and numerical models show that the observed effects are due to the ultrafast response of the electronic excitations in the metal under external illumination. These effects pave the way for the development of novel active nonlinear metasurfaces with controllable and switchable coherent nonlinear response.

Impact of initial pulse shape on the nonlinear spectral compression in optical fibre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boscolo, Sonia; Chaussard, Frederic; Andresen, Esben; Rigneault, Hervé; Finot, Christophe

2018-02-01

We theoretically study the effects of the temporal intensity profile of the initial pulse on the nonlinear propagation spectral compression process arising from nonlinear propagation in an optical fibre. Various linearly chirped input pulse profiles are considered, and their dynamics is explained with the aid of time-frequency representations. While initially parabolic-shaped pulses show enhanced spectral compression compared to Gaussian pulses, no significant spectral narrowing occurs when initially super-Gaussian pulses are used. Triangular pulses lead to a spectral interference phenomenon similar to the Fresnel bi-prism experiment.

Free-carrier-induced soliton fission unveiled by in situ measurements in nanophotonic waveguides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Husko, Chad; Wulf, Matthias; Lefrancois, Simon

Solitons are localized waves formed by a balance of focusing and defocusing effects. These nonlinear waves exist in diverse forms of matter yet exhibit similar properties including stability, periodic recurrence and particle-like trajectories. One important property is soliton fission, a process by which an energetic higher-order soliton breaks apart due to dispersive or nonlinear perturbations. Here we demonstrate through both experiment and theory that nonlinear photocarrier generation can induce soliton fission. Using near-field measurements, we directly observe the nonlinear spatial and temporal evolution of optical pulses in situ in a nanophotonic semiconductor waveguide. We develop an analytic formalism describing themore » free-carrier dispersion (FCD) perturbation and show the experiment exceeds the minimum threshold by an order of magnitude. We confirm these observations with a numerical nonlinear Schrodinger equation model. Finally, these results provide a fundamental explanation and physical scaling of optical pulse evolution in free-carrier media and could enable improved supercontinuum sources in gas based and integrated semiconductor waveguides.« less

Free-carrier-induced soliton fission unveiled by in situ measurements in nanophotonic waveguides

DOE PAGES

Husko, Chad; Wulf, Matthias; Lefrancois, Simon; ...

2016-04-15

Solitons are localized waves formed by a balance of focusing and defocusing effects. These nonlinear waves exist in diverse forms of matter yet exhibit similar properties including stability, periodic recurrence and particle-like trajectories. One important property is soliton fission, a process by which an energetic higher-order soliton breaks apart due to dispersive or nonlinear perturbations. Here we demonstrate through both experiment and theory that nonlinear photocarrier generation can induce soliton fission. Using near-field measurements, we directly observe the nonlinear spatial and temporal evolution of optical pulses in situ in a nanophotonic semiconductor waveguide. We develop an analytic formalism describing themore » free-carrier dispersion (FCD) perturbation and show the experiment exceeds the minimum threshold by an order of magnitude. We confirm these observations with a numerical nonlinear Schrodinger equation model. Finally, these results provide a fundamental explanation and physical scaling of optical pulse evolution in free-carrier media and could enable improved supercontinuum sources in gas based and integrated semiconductor waveguides.« less

Nonlinear ultrafast optical response in organic molecular crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Talat S.; Turkowski, Volodymyr; Leuenberger, Michael N.

2012-02-01

We analyze possible nonlinear excitonic effects in the organic molecule crystals by using a combined time-dependent DFT and many-body approach. In particular, we analyze possible effects of the time-dependent (retarded)interaction between different types of excitations, Frenkel excitons, charge transfer excitons and excimers, on the electric and the optical response of the system. We pay special attention to the case of constant electric field and ultrafast pulses, including that of four-wave mixing experiments. As a specific application we examine the optical excitations of pentacene nanocrystals and compare the results with available experimental data.[1] Our results demostrate that the nonlinear effects can play an important role in the optical response of these systems. [1] A. Kabakchiev, ``Scanning Tunneling Luminescence of Pentacene Nanocrystals'', PhD Thesis (EPFL, Lausanne, 2010).

Optical Pattern Formation in Spatially Bunched Atoms: A Self-Consistent Model and Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmittberger, Bonnie L.; Gauthier, Daniel J.

2014-05-01

The nonlinear optics and optomechanical physics communities use different theoretical models to describe how optical fields interact with a sample of atoms. There does not yet exist a model that is valid for finite atomic temperatures but that also produces the zero temperature results that are generally assumed in optomechanical systems. We present a self-consistent model that is valid for all atomic temperatures and accounts for the back-action of the atoms on the optical fields. Our model provides new insights into the competing effects of the bunching-induced nonlinearity and the saturable nonlinearity. We show that it is crucial to keep the fifth and seventh-order nonlinearities that arise when there exists atomic bunching, even at very low optical field intensities. We go on to apply this model to the results of our experimental system where we observe spontaneous, multimode, transverse optical pattern formation at ultra-low light levels. We show that our model accurately predicts our experimentally observed threshold for optical pattern formation, which is the lowest threshold ever reported for pattern formation. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the NSF through Grant #PHY-1206040.

Experimental study of the reversible behavior of modulational instability in optical fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Simaeys, Gaetan; Emplit, Philippe; Haelterman, Marc

2002-03-01

We report what is to our knowledge the first clear-cut experimental evidence of the reversibility of modulational instability in dispersive Kerr media. It was possible to perform this experiment with standard telecommunication fiber because we used a specially designed 550-ps square-pulse laser source based on the two-wavelength configuration of a nonlinear optical loop mirror. Our observations demonstrate that reversibility is due to well-balanced and synchronous energy transfer among a significant number of spectral wave components. These results provide what we believe is the first evidence, in the field of nonlinear optics, of the universal Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence phenomenon that has been predicted for a large number of conservative nonlinear systems, including those described by a nonlinear Schrödinger equation that is relevant to the context of the present study.

Apparatus and method for characterizing ultrafast polarization varying optical pulses

DOEpatents

Smirl, Arthur; Trebino, Rick P.

1999-08-10

Practical techniques are described for characterizing ultrafast potentially ultraweak, ultrashort optical pulses. The techniques are particularly suited to the measurement of signals from nonlinear optical materials characterization experiments, whose signals are generally too weak for full characterization using conventional techniques.

Origin of optical non-linear response in TiN owing to excitation dynamics of surface plasmon resonance electronic oscillations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Divya, S.; Nampoori, V. P. N.; Radhakrishnan, P.; Mujeeb, A.

2014-08-01

TiN nanoparticles of average size 55 nm were investigated for their optical non-linear properties. During the experiment the irradiated laser wavelength coincided with the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of the nanoparticle. The large non-linearity of the nanoparticle was attributed to the plasmon resonance, which largely enhanced the local field within the nanoparticle. Both open and closed aperture Z-scan experiments were performed and the corresponding optical constants were explored. The post-excitation absorption spectra revealed the interesting phenomenon of photo fragmentation leading to the blue shift in band gap and red shift in the SPR. The results are discussed in terms of enhanced interparticle interaction simultaneous with size reduction. Here, the optical constants being intrinsic constants for a particular sample change unusually with laser power intensity. The dependence of χ(3) is discussed in terms of the size variation caused by photo fragmentation. The studies proved that the TiN nanoparticles are potential candidates in photonics technology offering huge scope to study unexplored research for various expedient applications.

Apparatus and method for characterizing ultrafast polarization varying optical pulses

DOEpatents

Smirl, A.; Trebino, R.P.

1999-08-10

Practical techniques are described for characterizing ultrafast potentially ultraweak, ultrashort optical pulses. The techniques are particularly suited to the measurement of signals from nonlinear optical materials characterization experiments, whose signals are generally too weak for full characterization using conventional techniques. 2 figs.

Optical Random Riemann Waves in Integrable Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Randoux, Stéphane; Gustave, François; Suret, Pierre; El, Gennady

2017-06-01

We examine integrable turbulence (IT) in the framework of the defocusing cubic one-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation. This is done theoretically and experimentally, by realizing an optical fiber experiment in which the defocusing Kerr nonlinearity strongly dominates linear dispersive effects. Using a dispersive-hydrodynamic approach, we show that the development of IT can be divided into two distinct stages, the initial, prebreaking stage being described by a system of interacting random Riemann waves. We explain the low-tailed statistics of the wave intensity in IT and show that the Riemann invariants of the asymptotic nonlinear geometric optics system represent the observable quantities that provide new insight into statistical features of the initial stage of the IT development by exhibiting stationary probability density functions.

From laser spectroscopy research to nonlinear optics instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de la Rosa, M. I.; Pérez, C.; Grützmacher, K.

2005-10-01

In this paper we describe how to join the two fundamental activities of a university professor: research and teaching. The work of our research team is devoted to the applications of two photon polarization spectroscopy to plasmas and combustion processes diagnostics. As a result of this work now we have powerful equipment and experience on nonlinear processes. Therefore, we decided to offer Nonlinear Optics as an elective subject, to the students in the last year of the Physics Degree at Valladolid University. We conclude that research at the University acquires its total significance when it is applied to the student's instruction.

Nonlinear Fano-Resonant Dielectric Metasurfaces

DOE PAGES

Yang, Yuanmu; Wang, Wenyi; Boulesbaa, Abdelaziz; ...

2015-10-26

Strong nonlinear light matter interaction is highly sought-after for a variety of applications including lasing and all-optical light modulation. Recently, resonant plasmonic structures have been considered promising candidates for enhancing nonlinear optical processes due to their ability to greatly enhance the optical near-field; however, their small mode volumes prevent the inherently large nonlinear susceptibility of the metal from being efficiently exploited. We present an alternative approach that utilizes a Fano-resonant silicon metasurface. The metasurface results in strong near-field enhancement within the volume of the silicon resonator while minimizing two photon absorption. Here, we measure a third harmonic generation enhancement factormore » of 1.5 105 with respect to an unpatterned silicon film and an absolute conversion efficiency of 1.2 10 6 with a peak pump intensity of 3.2 GW cm 2. The enhanced nonlinearity, combined with a sharp linear transmittance spectrum, results in transmission modulation with a modulation depth of 36%. Finally, the modulation mechanism is studied by pump probe experiments« less

Generation of Caustics and Rogue Waves from Nonlinear Instability.

PubMed

Safari, Akbar; Fickler, Robert; Padgett, Miles J; Boyd, Robert W

2017-11-17

Caustics are phenomena in which nature concentrates the energy of waves and may exhibit rogue-type behavior. Although they are known mostly in optics, caustics are intrinsic to all wave phenomena. As we demonstrate in this Letter, the formation of caustics and consequently rogue events in linear systems requires strong phase fluctuations. We show that nonlinear phase shifts can generate sharp caustics from even small fluctuations. Moreover, in that the wave amplitude increases dramatically in caustics, nonlinearity is usually inevitable. We perform an experiment in an optical system with Kerr nonlinearity, simulate the results based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, and achieve perfect agreement. As the same theoretical framework is used to describe other wave systems such as large-scale water waves, our results may also aid the understanding of ocean phenomena.

Generation of Caustics and Rogue Waves from Nonlinear Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safari, Akbar; Fickler, Robert; Padgett, Miles J.; Boyd, Robert W.

2017-11-01

Caustics are phenomena in which nature concentrates the energy of waves and may exhibit rogue-type behavior. Although they are known mostly in optics, caustics are intrinsic to all wave phenomena. As we demonstrate in this Letter, the formation of caustics and consequently rogue events in linear systems requires strong phase fluctuations. We show that nonlinear phase shifts can generate sharp caustics from even small fluctuations. Moreover, in that the wave amplitude increases dramatically in caustics, nonlinearity is usually inevitable. We perform an experiment in an optical system with Kerr nonlinearity, simulate the results based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, and achieve perfect agreement. As the same theoretical framework is used to describe other wave systems such as large-scale water waves, our results may also aid the understanding of ocean phenomena.

Nonlinear Errors Resulting from Ghost Reflection and Its Coupling with Optical Mixing in Heterodyne Laser Interferometers

PubMed Central

Fu, Haijin; Wang, Yue; Tan, Jiubin; Fan, Zhigang

2018-01-01

Even after the Heydemann correction, residual nonlinear errors, ranging from hundreds of picometers to several nanometers, are still found in heterodyne laser interferometers. This is a crucial factor impeding the realization of picometer level metrology, but its source and mechanism have barely been investigated. To study this problem, a novel nonlinear model based on optical mixing and coupling with ghost reflection is proposed and then verified by experiments. After intense investigation of this new model’s influence, results indicate that new additional high-order and negative-order nonlinear harmonics, arising from ghost reflection and its coupling with optical mixing, have only a negligible contribution to the overall nonlinear error. In real applications, any effect on the Lissajous trajectory might be invisible due to the small ghost reflectance. However, even a tiny ghost reflection can significantly worsen the effectiveness of the Heydemann correction, or even make this correction completely ineffective, i.e., compensation makes the error larger rather than smaller. Moreover, the residual nonlinear error after correction is dominated only by ghost reflectance. PMID:29498685

On the dynamic readout characteristic of nonlinear super-resolution optical storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Jingsong

2013-03-01

Researchers have developed nonlinear super-resolution optical storage for the past twenty years. However, several concerns remain, including (1) the presence of readout threshold power; (2) the increase of threshold power with the reduction of the mark size, and (3) the increase of the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) at the initial stage and then decrease with the increase of readout laser power or laser irradiation time. The present work calculates and analyzes the super-resolution spot formed by the thin film masks and the readout threshold power characteristic according to the derived formula and based on the nonlinear saturable absorption characteristic and threshold of structural change. The obtained theoretical calculation and experimental data answer the concerns regarding the dynamic readout threshold characteristic and CNR dependence on laser power and irradiation time. The near-field optical spot scanning experiment further verifies the super-resolution spot formation produced through the nonlinear thin film masks.

Nonlinear optical properties of As20S80 system chalcogenide glass using Z-scan and its strip waveguide under bandgap light using the self-phase modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, L. E.; He, P. P.; Chen, B. X.; Iso, M.

2017-02-01

Optical nonlinearities in the undoped As20S80, low doped P2As20S78 and Sn1As20S79 chacogenide glasses are investigated by using Z-scan method. These experiments show that at 1064 nm the figure of merit (FOM) for As20S80 is ˜1.02, while for Sn1As20S79 increases to ˜1.42, and for P2As20S78 decreases to ˜0.83. These resulted data indicate the addition of Sn in As20S80 system chalcogenide glass can enhance FOM due to creating narrow energy gaps. In addition, the self-phase modulation (SPM) width experiment for Sn1As20S79 strip waveguide displays that the full width half maximum (FWHM) of spectral width increases approximately 0.8 nm under the induction of bandgap light, meaning that the bandgap light can induce to enhance its optical nonlinearity with the nonlinear refractive index of n2≅5.27×10-14 cm2/W.

Application of discrete solvent reaction field model with self-consistent atomic charges and atomic polarizabilities to calculate the χ(1) and χ(2) of organic molecular crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Shih-I.

2018-01-01

We use the discrete solvent reaction field model to evaluate the linear and second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities of 3-methyl-4-nitropyridine-1-oxyde crystal. In this approach, crystal environment is created by supercell architecture. A self-consistent procedure is used to obtain charges and polarizabilities for environmental atoms. Impact of atomic polarizabilities on the properties of interest is highlighted. This approach is shown to give the second-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities within error bar of experiment as well as the linear optical susceptibilities in the same order as experiment. Similar quality of calculations are also applied to both 4-N,N-dimethylamino-3-acetamidonitrobenzene and 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline crystals.

Real-time measurements of spontaneous breathers and rogue wave events in optical fibre modulation instability

PubMed Central

Närhi, Mikko; Wetzel, Benjamin; Billet, Cyril; Toenger, Shanti; Sylvestre, Thibaut; Merolla, Jean-Marc; Morandotti, Roberto; Dias, Frederic; Genty, Goëry; Dudley, John M.

2016-01-01

Modulation instability is a fundamental process of nonlinear science, leading to the unstable breakup of a constant amplitude solution of a physical system. There has been particular interest in studying modulation instability in the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation, a generic model for a host of nonlinear systems including superfluids, fibre optics, plasmas and Bose–Einstein condensates. Modulation instability is also a significant area of study in the context of understanding the emergence of high amplitude events that satisfy rogue wave statistical criteria. Here, exploiting advances in ultrafast optical metrology, we perform real-time measurements in an optical fibre system of the unstable breakup of a continuous wave field, simultaneously characterizing emergent modulation instability breather pulses and their associated statistics. Our results allow quantitative comparison between experiment, modelling and theory, and are expected to open new perspectives on studies of instability dynamics in physics. PMID:27991513

Piecewise compensation for the nonlinear error of fiber-optic gyroscope scale factor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yonggang; Wu, Xunfeng; Yuan, Shun; Wu, Lei

2013-08-01

Fiber-Optic Gyroscope (FOG) scale factor nonlinear error will result in errors in Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (SINS). In order to reduce nonlinear error of FOG scale factor in SINS, a compensation method is proposed in this paper based on curve piecewise fitting of FOG output. Firstly, reasons which can result in FOG scale factor error are introduced and the definition of nonlinear degree is provided. Then we introduce the method to divide the output range of FOG into several small pieces, and curve fitting is performed in each output range of FOG to obtain scale factor parameter. Different scale factor parameters of FOG are used in different pieces to improve FOG output precision. These parameters are identified by using three-axis turntable, and nonlinear error of FOG scale factor can be reduced. Finally, three-axis swing experiment of SINS verifies that the proposed method can reduce attitude output errors of SINS by compensating the nonlinear error of FOG scale factor and improve the precision of navigation. The results of experiments also demonstrate that the compensation scheme is easy to implement. It can effectively compensate the nonlinear error of FOG scale factor with slightly increased computation complexity. This method can be used in inertial technology based on FOG to improve precision.

Single-shot observation of optical rogue waves in integrable turbulence using time microscopy

PubMed Central

Suret, Pierre; Koussaifi, Rebecca El; Tikan, Alexey; Evain, Clément; Randoux, Stéphane; Szwaj, Christophe; Bielawski, Serge

2016-01-01

Optical fibres are favourable tabletop laboratories to investigate both coherent and incoherent nonlinear waves. In particular, exact solutions of the one-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation such as fundamental solitons or solitons on finite background can be generated by launching periodic, specifically designed coherent waves in optical fibres. It is an open fundamental question to know whether these coherent structures can emerge from the nonlinear propagation of random waves. However the typical sub-picosecond timescale prevented—up to now—time-resolved observations of the awaited dynamics. Here, we report temporal ‘snapshots' of random light using a specially designed ‘time-microscope'. Ultrafast structures having peak powers much larger than the average optical power are generated from the propagation of partially coherent waves in optical fibre and are recorded with 250 femtoseconds resolution. Our experiment demonstrates the central role played by ‘breather-like' structures such as the Peregrine soliton in the emergence of heavy-tailed statistics in integrable turbulence. PMID:27713416

Direct measurements of multi-photon induced nonlinear lattice dynamics in semiconductors via time-resolved x-ray scattering.

PubMed

Williams, G Jackson; Lee, Sooheyong; Walko, Donald A; Watson, Michael A; Jo, Wonhuyk; Lee, Dong Ryeol; Landahl, Eric C

2016-12-22

Nonlinear optical phenomena in semiconductors present several fundamental problems in modern optics that are of great importance for the development of optoelectronic devices. In particular, the details of photo-induced lattice dynamics at early time-scales prior to carrier recombination remain poorly understood. We demonstrate the first integrated measurements of both optical and structural, material-dependent quantities while also inferring the bulk impulsive strain profile by using high spatial-resolution time-resolved x-ray scattering (TRXS) on bulk crystalline gallium arsenide. Our findings reveal distinctive laser-fluence dependent crystal lattice responses, which are not described by previous TRXS experiments or models. The initial linear expansion of the crystal upon laser excitation stagnates at a laser fluence corresponding to the saturation of the free carrier density before resuming expansion in a third regime at higher fluences where two-photon absorption becomes dominant. Our interpretations of the lattice dynamics as nonlinear optical effects are confirmed by numerical simulations and by additional measurements in an n-type semiconductor that allows higher-order nonlinear optical processes to be directly observed as modulations of x-ray diffraction lineshapes.

Direct measurements of multi-photon induced nonlinear lattice dynamics in semiconductors via time-resolved x-ray scattering

DOE PAGES

Williams, G. Jackson; Lee, Sooheyong; Walko, Donald A.; ...

2016-12-22

Nonlinear optical phenomena in semiconductors present several fundamental problems in modern optics that are of great importance for the development of optoelectronic devices. In particular, the details of photo-induced lattice dynamics at early time-scales prior to carrier recombination remain poorly understood. We demonstrate the first integrated measurements of both optical and structural, material-dependent quantities while also inferring the bulk impulsive strain profile by using high spatial-resolution time-resolved x-ray scattering (TRXS) on bulk crystalline gallium arsenide. Our findings reveal distinctive laser-fluence dependent crystal lattice responses, which are not described by previous TRXS experiments or models. The initial linear expansion of themore » crystal upon laser excitation stagnates at a laser fluence corresponding to the saturation of the free carrier density before resuming expansion in a third regime at higher fluences where two-photon absorption becomes dominant. Our interpretations of the lattice dynamics as nonlinear optical effects are confirmed by numerical simulations and by additional measurements in an n-type semiconductor that allows higher-order nonlinear optical processes to be directly observed as modulations of x-ray diffraction lineshapes.« less

Direct measurements of multi-photon induced nonlinear lattice dynamics in semiconductors via time-resolved x-ray scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, G. Jackson; Lee, Sooheyong; Walko, Donald A.

Nonlinear optical phenomena in semiconductors present several fundamental problems in modern optics that are of great importance for the development of optoelectronic devices. In particular, the details of photo-induced lattice dynamics at early time-scales prior to carrier recombination remain poorly understood. We demonstrate the first integrated measurements of both optical and structural, material-dependent quantities while also inferring the bulk impulsive strain profile by using high spatial-resolution time-resolved x-ray scattering (TRXS) on bulk crystalline gallium arsenide. Our findings reveal distinctive laser-fluence dependent crystal lattice responses, which are not described by previous TRXS experiments or models. The initial linear expansion of themore » crystal upon laser excitation stagnates at a laser fluence corresponding to the saturation of the free carrier density before resuming expansion in a third regime at higher fluences where two-photon absorption becomes dominant. Our interpretations of the lattice dynamics as nonlinear optical effects are confirmed by numerical simulations and by additional measurements in an n-type semiconductor that allows higher-order nonlinear optical processes to be directly observed as modulations of x-ray diffraction lineshapes.« less

Optical Wave Turbulence and Wave Condensation in a Nonlinear Optical Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laurie, Jason; Bortolozzo, Umberto; Nazarenko, Sergey; Residori, Stefania

We present theory, numerical simulations and experimental observations of a 1D optical wave system. We show that this system is of a dual cascade type, namely, the energy cascading directly to small scales, and the photons or wave action cascading to large scales. In the optical context the inverse cascade is particularly interesting because it means the condensation of photons. We show that the cascades are induced by a six-wave resonant interaction process described by weak turbulence theory. We show that by starting with weakly nonlinear randomized waves as an initial condition, there exists an inverse cascade of photons towards the lowest wavenumbers. During the cascade nonlinearity becomes strong at low wavenumbers and, due to the focusing nature of the nonlinearity, it leads to modulational instability resulting in the formation of solitons. Further interaction of the solitons among themselves and with incoherent waves leads to the final condensate state dominated by a single strong soliton. In addition, we show the existence of the direct energy cascade numerically and that it agrees with the wave turbulence prediction.

Studies of central interactions of Si ions at 14.5 x A GeV/c in Au and Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eiseman, S. E.; Etkin, A.; Foley, K. J.; Hackenburg, R. W.; Longacre, R. S.; Love, W. A.; Morris, T. W.; Platner, E. D.; Saulys, A. C.; Lindenbaum, S. J.

Understanding the growth and saturation of parametric instabilities in laser-produced plasmas requires knowledge of the nonlinear properties of the instabilities and their interaction with each other. Nonlinear behavior of parametric instabilities, which are usually associated with unique optical features, were evidenced in numerous experiments on a variety of laser facilities. Four examples of nonlinear behavior in laser-produced plasmas are discussed: nonlinear stimulated Brillouin scattering spectra, suppression of stimulated Raman scattering by stimulated Brillouin scattering, the parametric decay instability and the onset of turbulence, and the transition to bursting behavior of the two-plasmon decay instability. Experiments are discussed that demonstrate the nonlinear effects which occur as a consequence.

Nonlinear optical detection of electron transfer adiabaticity in metal polypyridyl complexes.

PubMed

Miller, Stephen A; Moran, Andrew M

2010-02-11

Nonlinear optical signatures of electron transfer (ET) adiabaticity are investigated in a prototypical metal polypyridyl system, Os(II)(bpy)(3), known to possess large interligand couplings. Together with a theoretical model, transient absorption anisotropy (TAA) experiments show that field-matter interactions occur with diabatic basis states despite these large couplings. In addition, activated and activationless interligand ET mechanisms are distinguished with a series of TAA experiments in which the pump pulse frequency is tuned over a wide range. At lower pump frequencies, activated interligand ET, which occurs with a time constant of approximately 600 fs, is the dominant mechanism. However, an activationless mechanism becomes most prominent when the pump pulse is tuned by only 800 cm(-1) to higher frequency. This sensitivity of the ET mechanism to the pump frequency agrees with earlier experimental work that estimated an activation energy barrier of 875 cm(-1). The premise of signal interpretation in this paper is that the basis states appropriate for modeling nonradiative relaxation also govern the optical response. Model calculations suggest that optical nonlinearities corresponding to diabatic and adiabatic bases are readily distinguished with TAA experiments. In the diabatic basis, field-matter interaction sequences are restricted to terms in which the pump and probe pulses interact with the same transition dipoles, whereas the adiabatic basis imposes no such restriction and supports a class of coherent cross terms in the nonlinear response function. It is suggested that TAA should be preferred to alternative methods of studying ET adiabaticity that vary solvents and/or temperature. Altering the solvent, for example, generally also impacts solvent reorganization energies and the free energies of the donor and acceptor states. Parallels are discussed between the present work and research aimed at understanding energy transfer mechanisms in molecular aggregates.

Nonlinear optical properties of organic materials V; Proceedings of the 5th Meeting, San Diego, CA, July 22-24, 1992

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, David J.

The present volume on nonlinear optical properties of organic materials discusses organic nonlinear optics, polymers for nonlinear optics, characterization of nonlinear properties, photorefractive and second-order materials, harmonic generation in organic materials, and devices and applications. Particular attention is given to organic semiconductor-doped polymer glasses as novel nonlinear media, heterocyclic nonlinear optical materials, loss measurements in electrooptic polymer waveguides, the phase-matched second-harmonic generation in planar waveguides, electrooptic measurements in poled polymers, transient effects in spatial light modulation by nonlinearity-absorbing molecules, the electrooptic effects in organic single crystals, surface acoustic wave propagation in an organic nonlinear optical crystal, nonlinear optics of astaxanthin thin films; and advanced high-temperature polymers for integrated optical waveguides. (No individual items are abstracted in this volume)

Fibre-optic nonlinear optical microscopy and endoscopy.

PubMed

Fu, L; Gu, M

2007-06-01

Nonlinear optical microscopy has been an indispensable laboratory tool of high-resolution imaging in thick tissue and live animals. Rapid developments of fibre-optic components in terms of growing functionality and decreasing size provide enormous opportunities for innovations in nonlinear optical microscopy. Fibre-based nonlinear optical endoscopy is the sole instrumentation to permit the cellular imaging within hollow tissue tracts or solid organs that are inaccessible to a conventional optical microscope. This article reviews the current development of fibre-optic nonlinear optical microscopy and endoscopy, which includes crucial technologies for miniaturized nonlinear optical microscopy and their embodiments of endoscopic systems. A particular attention is given to several classes of photonic crystal fibres that have been applied to nonlinear optical microscopy due to their unique properties for ultrashort pulse delivery and signal collection. Furthermore, fibre-optic nonlinear optical imaging systems can be classified into portable microscopes suitable for imaging behaving animals, rigid endoscopes that allow for deep tissue imaging with minimally invasive manners, and flexible endoscopes enabling imaging of internal organs. Fibre-optic nonlinear optical endoscopy is coming of age and a paradigm shift leading to optical microscope tools for early cancer detection and minimally invasive surgery.

Third-order nonlinear optical properties of organic azo dyes by using strength of nonlinearity parameter and Z-scan technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Motiei, H.; Jafari, A.; Naderali, R.

2017-02-01

In this paper, two chemically synthesized organic azo dyes, 2-(2,5-Dichloro-phenyazo)-5,5-dimethyl-cyclohexane-1,3-dione (azo dye (i)) and 5,5-Dimethyl-2-tolylazo-cyclohexane-1,3-dione (azo dye (ii)), have been studied from optical Kerr nonlinearity point of view. These materials were characterized by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. Experiments were performed using a continous wave diode-pumped laser at 532 nm wavelength in three intensities of the laser beam. Nonlinear absorption (β), refractive index (n2) and third-order susceptibility (χ (3)) of dyes, were calculated. Nonlinear absorption coefficient of dyes have been calculated from two methods; 1) using theoretical fits and experimental data in the Z-scan technique, 2) using the strength of nonlinearity curves. The values of β obtained from both of the methods were approximately the same. The results demonstrated that azo dye (ii) displays better nonlinearity and has a lower two-photon absorption threshold than azo dye (i). Calculated parameter related to strength of nonlinearity for azo dye (ii) was higher than azo dye (i), It may be due to presence of methyl in azo dye (ii) instead of chlorine in azo dye (i). Furthermore, The measured values of third order susceptibility of azo dyes were from the order of 10-9 esu . These azo dyes can be suitable candidate for optical switching devices.

Transverse effects in nonlinear optics: Toward the photon superfluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCormick, Colin Fraser

Nonlinear optics displays a wealth of transverse effects. These effects are particularly rich in the presence of an optical cavity. Many considerations suggest that in a Kerr nonlinear cavity a new state of light known as a "photon superfluid" can form, with strong analogies to atomic superfluids. The conditions for the formation of the photon superfluid include requirements on the cavity, input light fields and the nonlinear medium as well as various timescales. The most favorable candidate nonlinear medium for observing the photon super-fluid is an atomic vapor. With a strong and fast Kerr effect, atomic vapors also have the advantage of a Kerr coefficient that is tunable in both magnitude and sign. A series of z-scan experiments in far-detuned atomic rubidium vapor is reported, measuring the Kerr coefficient and determining its functional dependence on detuning to be that of a Doppler-broadened two-level model with adiabatic following of the electric field by the atom pseudomoment. Saturation effects are found to be important. Z-scan measurements for detunings within the Doppler profile are shown to agree well with numerical simulations based on the Doppler-broadened model. Agreement between absorptive and refractive non-linear coefficients is evidence of the Kramers-Kronig relations at work, even in this nonlinear system. The formation of the photon superfluid is discussed and the calculation of a new process, nearly collinear four-wave mixing, is presented. This process is essentially an inverse beam filamentation that is likely to be the underlying physical mechanism for transverse cooling and condensation of photons in a nonlinear optical cavity. Nearly collinear four-wave mixing may also be related to phenomena in general nonlinear physics, including modulation instability and Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence.

Laser beam propagation through bulk nonlinear media: Numerical simulation and experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kovsh, Dmitriy I.

This dissertation describes our efforts in modeling the propagation of high intensity laser pulses through optical systems consisting of one or multiple nonlinear elements. These nonlinear elements can be up to 103 times thicker than the depth of focus of the laser beam, so that the beam size changes drastically within the medium. The set of computer codes developed are organized in a software package (NLO_BPM). The ultrafast nonlinearities of the bound-electronic n2 and two-photon absorption as well as time dependent excited-state, free-carrier and thermal nonlinearities are included in the codes for modeling propagation of picosecond to nanosecond pulses and pulse trains. Various cylindrically symmetric spatial distributions of the input beam are modeled. We use the cylindrical symmetry typical of laser outputs to reduce the CPU and memory requirements making modeling a real- time task on PC's. The hydrodynamic equations describing the rarefaction of the medium due to heating and electrostriction are solved in the transient regime to determine refractive index changes on a nanosecond time scale. This effect can be simplified in some cases by an approximation that assumes an instantaneous expansion. We also find that the index change obtained from the photo-acoustic equation overshoots its steady-state value once the ratio between the pulse width and the acoustic transit time is greater than unity. We numerically study the sensitivity of the closed- aperture Z-scan experiment to nonlinear refraction for various input beam profiles. If the beam has a ring structure with a minimum (or zero) on axis in the far field, the sensitivity of Z-scan measurements can be increased by up to one order of magnitude. The linear propagation module integrated with the nonlinear beam propagation codes allows the simulation of typical experiments such as Z-scan and optical limiting experiments. We have used these codes to model the performance of optical limiters. We study two of the most promising limiter designs: the monolithic self-protective semiconductor limiter (MONOPOL) and a multi-cell tandem limiter based on a liquid solution of reverse saturable absorbing organic dye. The numerical outputs show good agreement with experimental results up to input energies where nonlinear scattering becomes significant.

Frequency-domain nonlinear optics in two-dimensionally patterned quasi-phase-matching media.

PubMed

Phillips, C R; Mayer, B W; Gallmann, L; Keller, U

2016-07-11

Advances in the amplification and manipulation of ultrashort laser pulses have led to revolutions in several areas. Examples include chirped pulse amplification for generating high peak-power lasers, power-scalable amplification techniques, pulse shaping via modulation of spatially-dispersed laser pulses, and efficient frequency-mixing in quasi-phase-matched nonlinear crystals to access new spectral regions. In this work, we introduce and demonstrate a new platform for nonlinear optics which has the potential to combine these separate functionalities (pulse amplification, frequency transfer, and pulse shaping) into a single monolithic device that is bandwidth- and power-scalable. The approach is based on two-dimensional (2D) patterning of quasi-phase-matching (QPM) gratings combined with optical parametric interactions involving spatially dispersed laser pulses. Our proof of principle experiment demonstrates this technique via mid-infrared optical parametric chirped pulse amplification of few-cycle pulses. Additionally, we present a detailed theoretical and numerical analysis of such 2D-QPM devices and how they can be designed.

Using naturally occurring polysaccharides to align molecules with nonlinear optical activity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prasthofer, Thomas

1996-01-01

The Biophysics and Advanced Materials Branch of the Microgravity Science and Applications Division at Marshall Space Flight Center has been investigating polymers with the potential for nonlinear optical (NLO) applications for a number of years. Some of the potential applications for NLO materials include optical communications, computing, and switching. To this point the branch's research has involved polydiacetylenes, phthalocyanins, and other synthetic polymers which have inherent NLO properties. The aim of the present research is to investigate the possibility of using naturally occurring polymers such as polysaccharides or proteins to trap and align small organic molecules with useful NLO properties. Ordering molecules with NLO properties enhances 3rd order nonlinear effects and is required for 2nd order nonlinear effects. Potential advantages of such a system are the flexibility to use different small molecules with varying chemical and optical properties, the stability and cost of the polymers, and the ability to form thin, optically transparent films. Since the quality of any polymer films depends on optimizing ordering and minimizing defects, this work is particularly well suited for microgravity experiments. Polysaccharide and protein polymers form microscopic crystallites which must align to form ordered arrays. The ordered association of crystallites is disrupted by gravity effects and NASA research on protein crystal growth has demonstrated that low gravity conditions can improve crystal quality.

Nonlinear optical whispering gallery mode resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ilchenko, Vladimir (Inventor); Matsko, Andrey B. (Inventor); Savchenkov, Anatoliy (Inventor); Maleki, Lutfollah (Inventor)

2005-01-01

Whispering gallery mode (WGM) optical resonators comprising nonlinear optical materials, where the nonlinear optical material of a WGM resonator includes a plurality of sectors within the optical resonator and nonlinear coefficients of two adjacent sectors are oppositely poled.

Coupling nonlinear optical waves to photoreactive and phase-separating soft matter: Current status and perspectives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biria, Saeid; Morim, Derek R.; An Tsao, Fu; Saravanamuttu, Kalaichelvi; Hosein, Ian D.

2017-10-01

Nonlinear optics and polymer systems are distinct fields that have been studied for decades. These two fields intersect with the observation of nonlinear wave propagation in photoreactive polymer systems. This has led to studies on the nonlinear dynamics of transmitted light in polymer media, particularly for optical self-trapping and optical modulation instability. The irreversibility of polymerization leads to permanent capture of nonlinear optical patterns in the polymer structure, which is a new synthetic route to complex structured soft materials. Over time more intricate polymer systems are employed, whereby nonlinear optical dynamics can couple to nonlinear chemical dynamics, opening opportunities for self-organization. This paper discusses the work to date on nonlinear optical pattern formation processes in polymers. A brief overview of nonlinear optical phenomenon is provided to set the stage for understanding their effects. We review the accomplishments of the field on studying nonlinear waveform propagation in photopolymerizable systems, then discuss our most recent progress in coupling nonlinear optical pattern formation to polymer blends and phase separation. To this end, perspectives on future directions and areas of sustained inquiry are provided. This review highlights the significant opportunity in exploiting nonlinear optical pattern formation in soft matter for the discovery of new light-directed and light-stimulated materials phenomenon, and in turn, soft matter provides a platform by which new nonlinear optical phenomenon may be discovered.

High-speed optical three-axis vector magnetometry based on nonlinear Hanle effect in rubidium vapor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azizbekyan, Hrayr; Shmavonyan, Svetlana; Khanbekyan, Aleksandr; Movsisyan, Marina; Papoyan, Aram

2017-07-01

The magnetic-field-compensation optical vector magnetometer based on the nonlinear Hanle effect in alkali metal vapor allowing two-axis measurement operation has been further elaborated for three-axis performance, along with significant reduction of measurement time. The upgrade was achieved by implementing a two-beam resonant excitation configuration and a fast maximum searching algorithm. Results of the proof-of-concept experiments, demonstrating 1 μT B-field resolution, are presented. The applied interest and capability of the proposed technique is analyzed.

Terahertz wave electro-optic measurements with optical spectral filtering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ilyakov, I. E., E-mail: igor-ilyakov@mail.ru; Shishkin, B. V.; Kitaeva, G. Kh.

We propose electro-optic detection techniques based on variations of the laser pulse spectrum induced during pulse co-propagation with terahertz wave radiation in a nonlinear crystal. Quantitative comparison with two other detection methods is made. Substantial improvement of the sensitivity compared to the standard electro-optic detection technique (at high frequencies) and to the previously shown technique based on laser pulse energy changes is demonstrated in experiment.

Investigation of third-order nonlinear and optical power limiting properties of terphenyl derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamath, Laxminarayana; Manjunatha, K. B.; Shettigar, Seetharam; Umesh, G.; Narayana, B.; Samshuddin, S.; Sarojini, B. K.

2014-03-01

A series of new chalcones containing terphenyl as a core and with different functional groups has been successfully synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation method in search of new nonlinear optical (NLO) materials. Molecular structural characterization for the compounds was achieved by FTIR and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The third-order NLO absorption and refraction coefficients were simultaneously determined by Z-scan technique. The measurements were performed at 532 nm with 7 ns laser pulses using a Nd:YAG laser in solution form. The Z-scan experiments reveal that the compounds exhibit strong nonlinear refraction coefficient of the order 10-11 esu and the molecular two photon absorption cross section is 10-46 cm4 s/photon. The results also show that the structures of the compounds have great impact on NLO properties. The compounds show optical power limiting behavior due to two-photon absorption (TPA).

Optical authentication based on moiré effect of nonlinear gratings in phase space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Meihua; He, Wenqi; Wu, Jiachen; Lu, Dajiang; Liu, Xiaoli; Peng, Xiang

2015-12-01

An optical authentication scheme based on the moiré effect of nonlinear gratings in phase space is proposed. According to the phase function relationship of the moiré effect in phase space, an arbitrary authentication image can be encoded into two nonlinear gratings which serve as the authentication lock (AL) and the authentication key (AK). The AL is stored in the authentication system while the AK is assigned to the authorized user. The authentication procedure can be performed using an optoelectronic approach, while the design process is accomplished by a digital approach. Furthermore, this optical authentication scheme can be extended for multiple users with different security levels. The proposed scheme can not only verify the legality of a user identity, but can also discriminate and control the security levels of legal users. Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments are provided to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Nonlinear bleaching, absorption, and scattering of 532-nm-irradiated plasmonic nanoparticles

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liberman, V.; Sworin, M.; Kingsborough, R. P.

2013-02-07

Single-pulse irradiation of Au and Ag suspensions of nanospheres and nanodisks with 532-nm 4-ns pulses has identified complex optical nonlinearities while minimizing material damage. For all materials tested, we observe competition between saturable absorption (SA) and reverse SA (RSA), with RSA behavior dominating for intensities above {approx}50 MW/cm{sup 2}. Due to reduced laser damage in single-pulse experiments, the observed intrinsic nonlinear absorption coefficients are the highest reported to date for Au nanoparticles. We find size dependence to the nonlinear absorption enhancement for Au nanoparticles, peaking in magnitude for 80-nm nanospheres and falling off at larger sizes. The nonlinear absorption coefficientsmore » for Au and Ag spheres are comparable in magnitude. On the other hand, the nonlinear absorption for Ag disks, when corrected for volume fraction, is several times higher. These trends in nonlinear absorption are correlated to local electric field enhancement through quasi-static mean-field theory. Through variable size aperture measurements, we also separate nonlinear scattering from nonlinear absorption. For all materials tested, we find that nonlinear scattering is highly directional and that its magnitude is comparable to that of nonlinear absorption. These results indicate methods to improve the efficacy of plasmonic nanoparticles as optical limiters in pulsed laser systems.« less

Real-time optical image processing techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Hua-Kuang

1988-01-01

Nonlinear real-time optical processing on spatial pulse frequency modulation has been pursued through the analysis, design, and fabrication of pulse frequency modulated halftone screens and the modification of micro-channel spatial light modulators (MSLMs). Micro-channel spatial light modulators are modified via the Fabry-Perot method to achieve the high gamma operation required for non-linear operation. Real-time nonlinear processing was performed using the halftone screen and MSLM. The experiments showed the effectiveness of the thresholding and also showed the needs of higher SBP for image processing. The Hughes LCLV has been characterized and found to yield high gamma (about 1.7) when operated in low frequency and low bias mode. Cascading of two LCLVs should also provide enough gamma for nonlinear processing. In this case, the SBP of the LCLV is sufficient but the uniformity of the LCLV needs improvement. These include image correlation, computer generation of holograms, pseudo-color image encoding for image enhancement, and associative-retrieval in neural processing. The discovery of the only known optical method for dynamic range compression of an input image in real-time by using GaAs photorefractive crystals is reported. Finally, a new architecture for non-linear multiple sensory, neural processing has been suggested.

Time-reversed wave mixing in nonlinear optics

PubMed Central

Zheng, Yuanlin; Ren, Huaijin; Wan, Wenjie; Chen, Xianfeng

2013-01-01

Time-reversal symmetry is important to optics. Optical processes can run in a forward or backward direction through time when such symmetry is preserved. In linear optics, a time-reversed process of laser emission can enable total absorption of coherent light fields inside an optical cavity of loss by time-reversing the original gain medium. Nonlinearity, however, can often destroy such symmetry in nonlinear optics, making it difficult to study time-reversal symmetry with nonlinear optical wave mixings. Here we demonstrate time-reversed wave mixings for optical second harmonic generation (SHG) and optical parametric amplification (OPA) by exploring this well-known but underappreciated symmetry in nonlinear optics. This allows us to observe the annihilation of coherent beams. Our study offers new avenues for flexible control in nonlinear optics and has potential applications in efficient wavelength conversion, all-optical computing. PMID:24247906

Pulse duration dependent nonlinear optical response in black phosphorus dispersions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Shana; He, Zhiliang; Liang, Guowen; Chen, Si; Ge, Yanqi; Sang, David K.; Lu, Jianxin; Lu, Shunbin; Wen, Qiao; Zhang, Han

2018-01-01

Black phosphorus (BP), is the most thermodynamically stable allotrope of phosphorus, the narrow direct band gap and the strong light-matter interaction make BP a promising nonlinear optical (NLO) nano-material. In this paper, we use the open aperture Z- scan method to measure the NLO property of BP dispersion. Saturable absorption was observed in the BP material through the excitation of Ti: sapphire laser at 800 nm. Three different excitation pulse duration (100 fs, 1 ps and 10 ps) were used in the experiments, and BP exhibited different NLO performance. The results show that nonlinear absorption coefficient and figure of merit of BP nanosheets are proportional to the pulse duration while saturable intensity is opposite to pulse duration.

Higher-order modulation instability in nonlinear fiber optics.

PubMed

Erkintalo, Miro; Hammani, Kamal; Kibler, Bertrand; Finot, Christophe; Akhmediev, Nail; Dudley, John M; Genty, Goëry

2011-12-16

We report theoretical, numerical, and experimental studies of higher-order modulation instability in the focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation. This higher-order instability arises from the nonlinear superposition of elementary instabilities, associated with initial single breather evolution followed by a regime of complex, yet deterministic, pulse splitting. We analytically describe the process using the Darboux transformation and compare with experiments in optical fiber. We show how a suitably low frequency modulation on a continuous wave field induces higher-order modulation instability splitting with the pulse characteristics at different phases of evolution related by a simple scaling relationship. We anticipate that similar processes are likely to be observed in many other systems including plasmas, Bose-Einstein condensates, and deep water waves. © 2011 American Physical Society

Nonlinear graphene plasmonics

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The rapid development of graphene has opened up exciting new fields in graphene plasmonics and nonlinear optics. Graphene's unique two-dimensional band structure provides extraordinary linear and nonlinear optical properties, which have led to extreme optical confinement in graphene plasmonics and ultrahigh nonlinear optical coefficients, respectively. The synergy between graphene's linear and nonlinear optical properties gave rise to nonlinear graphene plasmonics, which greatly augments graphene-based nonlinear device performance beyond a billion-fold. This nascent field of research will eventually find far-reaching revolutionary technological applications that require device miniaturization, low power consumption and a broad range of operating wavelengths approaching the far-infrared, such as optical computing, medical instrumentation and security applications. PMID:29118665

Nonlinear graphene plasmonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ooi, Kelvin J. A.; Tan, Dawn T. H.

2017-10-01

The rapid development of graphene has opened up exciting new fields in graphene plasmonics and nonlinear optics. Graphene's unique two-dimensional band structure provides extraordinary linear and nonlinear optical properties, which have led to extreme optical confinement in graphene plasmonics and ultrahigh nonlinear optical coefficients, respectively. The synergy between graphene's linear and nonlinear optical properties gave rise to nonlinear graphene plasmonics, which greatly augments graphene-based nonlinear device performance beyond a billion-fold. This nascent field of research will eventually find far-reaching revolutionary technological applications that require device miniaturization, low power consumption and a broad range of operating wavelengths approaching the far-infrared, such as optical computing, medical instrumentation and security applications.

Unsymmetrical squaraines for nonlinear optical materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marder, Seth R. (Inventor); Chen, Chin-Ti (Inventor); Cheng, Lap-Tak (Inventor)

1996-01-01

Compositions for use in non-linear optical devices. The compositions have first molecular electronic hyperpolarizability (.beta.) either positive or negative in sign and therefore display second order non-linear optical properties when incorporated into non-linear optical devices.

Semiclassical Path Integral Calculation of Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Provazza, Justin; Segatta, Francesco; Garavelli, Marco; Coker, David F

2018-02-13

Computation of nonlinear optical response functions allows for an in-depth connection between theory and experiment. Experimentally recorded spectra provide a high density of information, but to objectively disentangle overlapping signals and to reach a detailed and reliable understanding of the system dynamics, measurements must be integrated with theoretical approaches. Here, we present a new, highly accurate and efficient trajectory-based semiclassical path integral method for computing higher order nonlinear optical response functions for non-Markovian open quantum systems. The approach is, in principle, applicable to general Hamiltonians and does not require any restrictions on the form of the intrasystem or system-bath couplings. This method is systematically improvable and is shown to be valid in parameter regimes where perturbation theory-based methods qualitatively breakdown. As a test of the methodology presented here, we study a system-bath model for a coupled dimer for which we compare against numerically exact results and standard approximate perturbation theory-based calculations. Additionally, we study a monomer with discrete vibronic states that serves as the starting point for future investigation of vibronic signatures in nonlinear electronic spectroscopy.

Theoretical and experimental study on PMD-supported transmission using polarization diversity in coherent optical OFDM systems.

PubMed

Shieh, W; Yi, X; Ma, Y; Tang, Y

2007-08-06

In this paper, we conduct theoretical and experimental study on the PMD-supported transmission with coherent optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (CO-OFDM). We first present the model for the optical fiber communication channel in the presence of the polarization effects. It shows that the optical fiber channel model can be treated as a special kind of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) model, namely, a two-input two-output (TITO) model which is intrinsically represented by a two-element Jones vector familiar to the optical communications community. The detailed discussions on various coherent optical MIMO-OFDM (CO-MIMO-OFDM) models are presented. Furthermore, we show the first experiment of polarization-diversity detection in CO-OFDM systems. In particular, a CO-OFDM signal at 10.7 Gb/s is successfully recovered after 900 ps differential-group-delay (DGD) and 1000-km transmission through SSMF fiber without optical dispersion compensation. The transmission experiment with higher-order PMD further confirms the immunity of the CO-OFDM signal to PMD in the transmission fiber. The nonlinearity performance of PMD-supported transmission is also reported. For the first time, nonlinear phase noise mitigation based on receiver digital signal processing is experimentally demonstrated for CO-OFDM transmission.

Nonlinear Polarimetric Microscopy for Biomedical Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samim, Masood

A framework for the nonlinear optical polarimetry and polarimetric microscopy is developed. Mathematical equations are derived in terms of linear and nonlinear Stokes Mueller formalism, which comprehensively characterize the polarization properties of the incoming and outgoing radiations, and provide structural information about the organization of the investigated materials. The algebraic formalism developed in this thesis simplifies many predictions for a nonlinear polarimetry study and provides an intuitive understanding of various polarization properties for radiations and the intervening medium. For polarimetric microscopy experiments, a custom fast-scanning differential polarization microscope is developed, which is also capable of real-time three-dimensional imaging. The setup is equipped with a pair of high-speed resonant and galvanometric scanning mirrors, and supplemented by advanced adaptive optics and data acquisition modules. The scanning mirrors when combined with the adaptive optics deformable mirror enable fast 3D imaging. Deformable membrane mirrors and genetic algorithm optimization routines are employed to improve the imaging conditions including correcting the optical aberrations, maximizing signal intensities, and minimizing point-spread-functions of the focal volume. A field-programmable-gate array (FPGA) chip is exploited to rapidly acquire and process the multidimensional data. Using the nonlinear optical polarimetry framework and the home-built polarization microscope, a few biologically important tissues are measured and analyzed to gain insight as to their structure and dynamics. The structure and distribution of muscle sarcomere myosins, connective tissue collagen, carbohydrate-rich starch, and fruit fly eye retinal molecules are characterized with revealing polarization studies. In each case, using the theoretical framework, polarization sensitive data are analyzed to decipher the molecular orientations and nonlinear optical susceptibilities. The developed nonlinear optical polarimetric microscopy is applicable to a wide variety of structural studies on ordered materials, and provides a non-invasive possibility to study the structural organization and dynamics within biological samples. For example, the technique is well suited for studies of a muscle contraction, histopathology of collagen structure for cancer tissue diagnostics, investigations of the polysacharide structural organization within a starch granule of a plant, or developmental study of the retina in an eye, among other applications.

Enhancement of two photon absorption with Ni doping in the dilute magnetic semiconductor ZnO crystalline nanorods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rana, Amit Kumar; Kumar, Yogendra; Arjunan, M.S.

2015-12-07

In this letter, we have investigated the third-order optical nonlinearities of high-quality Ni doped ZnO nanorods crystallized in wurtzite lattice, prepared by the wet chemical method. In our experiments, we found that the two photon absorption coefficient (β) increases by as much as 14 times, i.e., 7.6 ± 0.4 to 112 ± 6 cm/GW, when the Ni doping is increased from 0% to 10%. The substantial enhancement in β is discussed in terms of the bandgap scaling and Ni doping. Furthermore, we also show that the optical bandgap measured by UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopies, continuously redshift with increasing Ni doping concentration.more » We envision that the strong nonlinear optical properties together with their dilute magnetic effects, they form an important class of materials for potential applications in magneto-optical and integrated optical chips.« less

Enhancement of two photon absorption with Ni doping in the dilute magnetic semiconductor ZnO crystalline nanorods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rana, Amit Kumar; J, Aneesh; Kumar, Yogendra; M. S, Arjunan; Adarsh, K. V.; Sen, Somaditya; Shirage, Parasharam M.

2015-12-01

In this letter, we have investigated the third-order optical nonlinearities of high-quality Ni doped ZnO nanorods crystallized in wurtzite lattice, prepared by the wet chemical method. In our experiments, we found that the two photon absorption coefficient (β) increases by as much as 14 times, i.e., 7.6 ± 0.4 to 112 ± 6 cm/GW, when the Ni doping is increased from 0% to 10%. The substantial enhancement in β is discussed in terms of the bandgap scaling and Ni doping. Furthermore, we also show that the optical bandgap measured by UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopies, continuously redshift with increasing Ni doping concentration. We envision that the strong nonlinear optical properties together with their dilute magnetic effects, they form an important class of materials for potential applications in magneto-optical and integrated optical chips.

Time-resolved analysis of nonlinear optical limiting for laser synthesized carbon nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, G. X.; Hong, M. H.

2010-11-01

Nonlinear optical limiting materials have attracted much research interest in recent years. Carbon nanoparticles suspended in liquids show a strong nonlinear optical limiting function. It is important to investigate the nonlinear optical limiting process of carbon nanoparticles for further improving their nonlinear optical limiting performance. In this study, carbon nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation of a carbon target in tetrahydrofuran (THF). Optical limiting properties of the samples were studied with 532-nm laser light, which is in the most sensitive wavelength band for human eyes. The shape of the laser pulse plays an important role for initializing the nonlinear optical limiting effect. Time-resolved analysis of laser pulses discovered 3 fluence stages of optical limiting. Theoretical simulation indicates that the optical limiting is initialized by a near-field optical enhancement effect.

Nonlinear Optics and Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abdeldayem, Hossin A. (Editor); Frazier, Donald O. (Editor)

2007-01-01

Nonlinear optics is the result of laser beam interaction with materials and started with the advent of lasers in the early 1960s. The field is growing daily and plays a major role in emerging photonic technology. Nonlinear optics play a major role in many of the optical applications such as optical signal processing, optical computers, ultrafast switches, ultra-short pulsed lasers, sensors, laser amplifiers, and many others. This special review volume on Nonlinear Optics and Applications is intended for those who want to be aware of the most recent technology. This book presents a survey of the recent advances of nonlinear optical applications. Emphasis will be on novel devices and materials, switching technology, optical computing, and important experimental results. Recent developments in topics which are of historical interest to researchers, and in the same time of potential use in the fields of all-optical communication and computing technologies, are also included. Additionally, a few new related topics which might provoke discussion are presented. The book includes chapters on nonlinear optics and applications; the nonlinear Schrodinger and associated equations that model spatio-temporal propagation; the supercontinuum light source; wideband ultrashort pulse fiber laser sources; lattice fabrication as well as their linear and nonlinear light guiding properties; the second-order EO effect (Pockels), the third-order (Kerr) and thermo-optical effects in optical waveguides and their applications in optical communication; and, the effect of magnetic field and its role in nonlinear optics, among other chapters.

Femtosecond Nonlinearities in Indium Gallium Arsenic Phosphide Diode Lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Katherine Lavin

Semiconductor optical amplifiers are receiving increasing attention for possible applications to broadband optical communication and switching systems. In this thesis we report the results of an extensive experimental study of the ultrafast gain and refractive index nonlinearities in 1.5 μm InGaAsP laser diode amplifiers. The temporal resolution afforded by the femtosecond optical pulses used in these experiments allows us to study carrier interactions with other carriers as well as carrier interactions with the lattice. The 100-200 fs optical pulses used in the pump -probe experiments are generated by an Additive Pulse Modelocked color center laser. The measured group velocity dispersion in the diodes ranged from -0.6 to -0.95 mu m^{-1 }. Differences in the group velocity for TE - and TM-polarized pulses suggested that cross-polarized pump-probe pulses walk off from each other in the diode. This walk-off can diminish the time resolution of some experiments. A novel heterodyne pump-probe technique was developed to distinguish collinear, copolarized, pump and probe pulses that were nominally at the same wavelength. Comparing cross-polarized and copolarized pump-probe results yielded new information about the physical mechanisms responsible for nonlinear gain in the diodes. We observed a gain compression across the entire bandwidth of the diode, associated with carrier heating. The hot carrier distribution cooled back to the lattice temperature with a 0.6 to 1.0 ps time constant, depending on the device structure. In addition, we observed a 0.1 to 0.25 ps delay in onset of carrier heating. Large gain compression due to two photon absorption was also observed. A small portion of the nonlinear gain is attributed to spectral hole burning. Pulsewidth-dependent output saturation energies were explained by a rate equation model that included the effect of carrier heating. Measurements of pump-induced probe phase changes revealed index nonlinearities due to delayed carrier heating and an instantaneous electronic, or virtual process. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617 -253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.).

Fresnel formulas for the forced electromagnetic pulses and their application for optical-to-terahertz conversion in nonlinear crystals.

PubMed

Bakunov, M I; Maslov, A V; Bodrov, S B

2007-11-16

We show that the usual Fresnel formulas for a free-propagating pulse are not applicable for a forced terahertz electromagnetic pulse supported by an optical pulse at the end of a nonlinear crystal. The correct linear reflection and transmission coefficients that we derive show that such pulses can experience a gain or loss at the boundary. This energy change depends on linear dielectric constants only. We also predict a regime where a complete disappearance of the forced pulse under oblique incidence occurs, an effect that has no counterpart for free-propagating pulses.

Nonlinear unitary transformations of space-variant polarized light fields from self-induced geometric-phase optical elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kravets, Nina; Brasselet, Etienne

2018-01-01

We propose to couple the optical orientational nonlinearities of liquid crystals with their ability to self-organize to tailor them to control space-variant-polarized optical fields in a nonlinear manner. Experimental demonstration is made using a liquid crystal light valve that behaves like a light-driven geometric phase optical element. We also unveil two original nonlinear optical processes, namely self-induced separability and nonseparability. These results contribute to the advancement of nonlinear singular optics that is still in its infancy despite 25 years of effort, which may foster the development of nonlinear protocols to manipulate high-dimensional optical information both in the classical and quantum regimes.

Real-Time Optical Image Processing Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-10-31

pursued through the analysis, design, and fabrication of pulse frequency modulated halftone screens and the modification of micro-chan- nel spatial...required for non-linear operation. Real-time nonlinear processing was performed using the halftone screen and MSLM. The experiments showed the effectiveness...pulse frequency modulation has been pursued through the analysis, design, and fabrication of pulse frequency modulated halftone screens and the

Improved transparency--nonlinearity trade-off with boroxine-based octupolar molecules.

PubMed

Alcaraz, Gilles; Euzenat, Lisenn; Mongin, Olivier; Katan, Claudine; Ledoux, Isabelle; Zyss, Joseph; Blanchard-Desce, Mireille; Vaultier, Michel

2003-11-21

A series of octupolar molecules derived from the boroxine framework were designed and their optical nonlinearities were investigated by performing harmonic light scattering experiments in solution; the molecules were found to combine excellent transparency in the near UV-visible region (lambdamax < or = 280 nm) and significant first-order hyperpolarisabilities (up to beta(0) = 56 x 10(-30) esu).

Applications of the Infrared Free Electron Laser in Nonlinear and Time-Resolved Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fann, Wunshain

1990-01-01

Free Electron Lasers (FEL) have been envisioned as novel radiation sources tunable over a wide spectral range. In this dissertation I report two types of experiments that used the infrared FEL, Mark III, to study nonlinear optical properties of conjugated polymers and the possibility of long lived vibrational excitations in acetanilide, a hydrogen-bonded molecular crystal.

Nonlinear optical switching and optical limiting in colloidal CdSe quantum dots investigated by nanosecond Z-scan measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valligatla, Sreeramulu; Haldar, Krishna Kanta; Patra, Amitava; Desai, Narayana Rao

2016-10-01

The semiconductor nanocrystals are found to be promising class of third order nonlinear optical materials because of quantum confinement effects. Here, we highlight the nonlinear optical switching and optical limiting of cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) using nanosecond Z-scan measurement. The intensity dependent nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of CdSe QDs were investigated by applying the Z-scan technique with 532 nm, nanosecond laser pulses. At lower intensities, the nonlinear process is dominated by saturable absorption (SA) and it is changed to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) at higher intensities. The SA behaviour is attributed to the ground state bleaching and the RSA is ascribed to free carrier absorption (FCA) of CdSe QDs. The nonlinear optical switching behaviour and reverse saturable absorption makes CdSe QDs are good candidate for all-optical device and optical limiting applications.

Semiconductor Nonlinear Waveguide Devices and Integrated-Mirror Etalons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chuang, Chih-Li.

This dissertation investigates different III-V semiconductor devices for applications in nonlinear photonics. These include passive and active nonlinear directional couplers, current-controlled optical phase shifter, and integrated -mirror etalons. A novel method to find the propagation constants of an optical waveguide is introduced. The same method is applied, with minor modifications, to find the coupling length of a directional coupler. The method presented provides a tool for the design of optical waveguide devices. The design, fabrication, and performance of a nonlinear directional coupler are presented. This device uses light intensity to control the direction of light coming out. This is achieved through photo-generated-carriers mechanism in the picosecond regime and through the optical Stark effect in the femtosecond regime. A two-transverse -dimensions beam-propagation computation is used to model the switching behavior in the nonlinear directional coupler. It is found that, by considering the pulse degradation effect, the computation agrees well with experiments. The possibility of operating a nonlinear directional coupler with gain is investigated. It is concluded that by injecting current into the nonlinear directional coupler does not provide the advantages hoped for and the modelling using 2-D beam -propagation methods verifies that. Using current injection to change the refractive index of a waveguide, an optical phase shifter is constructed. This device has the merit of delivering large phase shift with almost no intensity modulation. A phase shift as large as 3pi is produced in a waveguide 400 μm in length. Finally, a new structure, grown by the molecular beam epitaxy machine, is described. The structure consists of two quarter-wave stacks and a spacer layer to form an integrated-mirror etalon. The theory, design principles, spectral analyses are discussed with design examples to clarify the ideas. Emphasis is given to the vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser constructed from this structure. Here we demonstrated the cw operation of the VCSEL at room temperature.

All-optical regenerator of multi-channel signals.

PubMed

Li, Lu; Patki, Pallavi G; Kwon, Young B; Stelmakh, Veronika; Campbell, Brandon D; Annamalai, Muthiah; Lakoba, Taras I; Vasilyev, Michael

2017-10-12

One of the main reasons why nonlinear-optical signal processing (regeneration, logic, etc.) has not yet become a practical alternative to electronic processing is that the all-optical elements with nonlinear input-output relationship have remained inherently single-channel devices (just like their electronic counterparts) and, hence, cannot fully utilise the parallel processing potential of optical fibres and amplifiers. The nonlinear input-output transfer function requires strong optical nonlinearity, e.g. self-phase modulation, which, for fundamental reasons, is always accompanied by cross-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. In processing multiple wavelength-division-multiplexing channels, large cross-phase modulation and four-wave mixing crosstalks among the channels destroy signal quality. Here we describe a solution to this problem: an optical signal processor employing a group-delay-managed nonlinear medium where strong self-phase modulation is achieved without such nonlinear crosstalk. We demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, simultaneous all-optical regeneration of up to 16 wavelength-division-multiplexing channels by one device. This multi-channel concept can be extended to other nonlinear-optical processing schemes.Nonlinear optical processing devices are not yet fully practical as they are single channel. Here the authors demonstrate all-optical regeneration of up to 16 channels by one device, employing a group-delay-managed nonlinear medium where strong self-phase modulation is achieved without nonlinear inter-channel crosstalk.

Electromagnetically Induced Absorption (EIA) and a ``Twist'' on Nonlinear Magneto-optical Rotation (NMOR) with Cold Atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunz, Paul; Meyer, David; Quraishi, Qudsia

2015-05-01

Within the class of nonlinear optical effects that exhibit sub-natural linewidth features, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and nonlinear magneto-optical rotation (NMOR) stand out as having made dramatic impacts on various applications including atomic clocks, magnetometry, and single photon storage. A related effect, known as electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA), has received less attention in the literature. Here, we report on the first observation of EIA in cold atoms using the Hanle configuration, where a single laser beam is used to both pump and probe the atoms while sweeping a magnetic field through zero along the beam direction. We find that, associated with the EIA peak, a ``twist'' appears in the corresponding NMOR signal. A similar twist has been previously noted by Budker et al., in the context of warm vapor optical magnetometry, and was ascribed to optical pumping through nearby hyperfine levels. By studying this feature through numerical simulations and cold atom experiments, thus rendering the hyperfine levels well resolved, we enhance the understanding of the optical pumping mechanism behind it, and elucidate its relation to EIA. Finally, we demonstrate a useful application of these studies through a simple and rapid method for nulling background magnetic fields within our atom chip apparatus.

Nonlinear absorption properties of ZnO and Al doped ZnO thin films under continuous and pulsed modes of operations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandeep, K. M.; Bhat, Shreesha; Dharmaprakash, S. M.

2018-06-01

In the present investigation, we present the variations in nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of undoped and Al doped ZnO (AZO) films under two different off-resonant regimes using continuous and pulsed mode lasers. Z-scan open aperture experiment is performed to quantify nonlinear absorption constant and imaginary component of third order susceptibility. Reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and saturable absorption (SA) behaviors are noticed in both undoped and AZO films under pulsed mode and continuous wavelength (CW) regime respectively. The RSA and SA behavior observed in the films are attributed to two photon absorption (TPA) and thermal lensing properties respectively. The thermal lensing is assisted by the thermo-optic effects within the films due to the continuous illumination of the laser.

Er:Yb phosphate glass laser with nonlinear absorber for phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhirnov, A. A.; Pnev, A. B.; Svelto, C.; Norgia, M.; Pesatori, A.; Galzerano, G.; Laporta, P.; Shelestov, D. A.; Karasik, V. E.

2017-11-01

A novel laser for phase-sensitive optical time-domain reflectometry (Φ-OTDR) is presented. The advantages of a compact solid-state laser are listed, current problems are shown. Experiments with a microchip single-optical-element laser, from setup construction to usage in Φ-OTDR system, are presented. New laser scheme with two-photon intracavity absorber is suggested and its advantages are described.

Sensitivity of corneal biomechanical and optical behavior to material parameters using design of experiments method.

PubMed

Xu, Mengchen; Lerner, Amy L; Funkenbusch, Paul D; Richhariya, Ashutosh; Yoon, Geunyoung

2018-02-01

The optical performance of the human cornea under intraocular pressure (IOP) is the result of complex material properties and their interactions. The measurement of the numerous material parameters that define this material behavior may be key in the refinement of patient-specific models. The goal of this study was to investigate the relative contribution of these parameters to the biomechanical and optical responses of human cornea predicted by a widely accepted anisotropic hyperelastic finite element model, with regional variations in the alignment of fibers. Design of experiments methods were used to quantify the relative importance of material properties including matrix stiffness, fiber stiffness, fiber nonlinearity and fiber dispersion under physiological IOP. Our sensitivity results showed that corneal apical displacement was influenced nearly evenly by matrix stiffness, fiber stiffness and nonlinearity. However, the variations in corneal optical aberrations (refractive power and spherical aberration) were primarily dependent on the value of the matrix stiffness. The optical aberrations predicted by variations in this material parameter were sufficiently large to predict clinically important changes in retinal image quality. Therefore, well-characterized individual variations in matrix stiffness could be critical in cornea modeling in order to reliably predict optical behavior under different IOPs or after corneal surgery.

Focal-Plane Imaging of Crossed Beams in Nonlinear Optics Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bivolaru, Daniel; Herring, G. C.

2007-01-01

An application of focal-plane imaging that can be used as a real time diagnostic of beam crossing in various optical techniques is reported. We discuss two specific versions and demonstrate the capability of maximizing system performance with an example in a combined dual-pump coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering interferometric Rayleigh scattering experiment (CARS-IRS). We find that this imaging diagnostic significantly reduces beam alignment time and loss of CARS-IRS signals due to inadvertent misalignments.

Nonlinear optical response in graphene nanoribbons: The critical role of electron scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karimi, F.; Davoody, A. H.; Knezevic, I.

2018-06-01

Nonlinear nanophotonics has many potential applications, such as in mode locking, frequency-comb generation, and all-optical switching. The development of materials with large nonlinear susceptibility is key to realizing nonlinear nanophotonics. Nanostructured graphene systems, such as graphene nanoribbons and nanoislands, have been predicted to have a strong plasmon-enhanced nonlinear optical behavior in the nonretarded regime. Plasmons concentrate the light field down to subwavelength scales and can enhance the nonlinear optical effects; however, plasmon resonances are narrowband and sensitive to the nanostructure geometry. Here we show that graphene nanoribbons, particularly armchair graphene nanoribbons, have a remarkably strong nonlinear optical response in the long-wavelength regime and over a broad frequency range, from terahertz to the near infrared. We use a quantum-mechanical master equation with a detailed treatment of scattering and show that, in the retarded regime, electron scattering has a critical effect on the optical nonlinearity of graphene nanoribbons, which cannot be captured via the commonly used relaxation-time approximation. At terahertz frequencies, where intraband optical transitions dominate, the strong nonlinearity (in particular, third-order Kerr nonlinearity) stems from the jagged shape of the electron energy distribution, caused by the interband electron scattering mechanisms along with the intraband inelastic scattering mechanisms. We show that the relaxation-time approximation fails to capture this quantum-mechanical phenomenon and results in a significant underestimation of the intraband nonlinearity. At the midinfrared to near infrared frequencies, where interband optical transitions dominate, the Kerr nonlinearity is significantly overestimated within the relaxation-time approximation. These findings unveil the critical effect of electron scattering on the optical nonlinearity of nanostructured graphene, and also underscore the capability of this class of materials for nonlinear nanophotonic applications.

Growth of thin films of dicyanovinylanisole on quartz and teflon-coated quartz by physical vapor transport

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, Earl F.

1994-01-01

Organic compounds offer the possibility of molecular engineering in order to optimize the nonlinearity and minimize damage due to the high-power lasers used in nonlinear optical devices. Recently dicyanovinylanisole (DIVA), ((2-methoxyphenyl) methylenepropanedinitrile) has been shown to have a second order nonlinearity 40 times that of alpha-quartz. Debe et. al. have shown that a high degree of orientational order exists for thin films of phthalocyanine grown by physical vapor transport in microgravity. The microgravity environment eliminates convective flow and was critical to the formation of highly ordered dense continuous films in these samples. This work seeks to discover the parameters necessary for the production of thin continuous films of high optical quality in Earth gravity. These parameters must be known before the experiment can be planned for growing DIVA in a microgravity environment. The microgravity grown films are expected to be denser and of better optical quality than the unit gravity films as was observed in the phthalocyanine films.

Blind deconvolution post-processing of images corrected by adaptive optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christou, Julian C.

1995-08-01

Experience with the adaptive optics system at the Starfire Optical Range has shown that the point spread function is non-uniform and varies both spatially and temporally as well as being object dependent. Because of this, the application of a standard linear and non-linear deconvolution algorithms make it difficult to deconvolve out the point spread function. In this paper we demonstrate the application of a blind deconvolution algorithm to adaptive optics compensated data where a separate point spread function is not needed.

Non-linear glasses and metaglasses for photonics, a review: Part II. Kerr nonlinearity and metaglasses of positive and negative refraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romaniuk, Ryszard S.

2008-01-01

This is the second part of a paper on nonlinear properties of optical glasses and metaglasses. A subject of the paper is a review of the basic properties of several families of high optical quality glasses for photonics. The emphasis is put on nonlinear properties of these glasses, including nonlinearities of higher order. Nonlinear effects were debated and systematized. Interactions between optical wave of high power density with glass were described. All parameters of the glass increasing the optical nonlinearities were categorized. Optical nonlinearities in glasses were grouped into the following categories: time and frequency domain, amplitude and phase, resonant and non-resonant, elastic and inelastic, lossy and lossless, reversible and irreversible, instant and slow, adiabatic and non-adiabatic, with virtual versus real excitation of glass, destroying and non-destroying, etc. Nonlinear effects in glasses are based on the following effects: optical, thermal, mechanical and/or acoustic, electrical, magnetic, density and refraction modulation, chemical, etc.

Polarization Shaping for Control of Nonlinear Propagation.

PubMed

Bouchard, Frédéric; Larocque, Hugo; Yao, Alison M; Travis, Christopher; De Leon, Israel; Rubano, Andrea; Karimi, Ebrahim; Oppo, Gian-Luca; Boyd, Robert W

2016-12-02

We study the nonlinear optical propagation of two different classes of light beams with space-varying polarization-radially symmetric vector beams and Poincaré beams with lemon and star topologies-in a rubidium vapor cell. Unlike Laguerre-Gauss and other types of beams that quickly experience instabilities, we observe that their propagation is not marked by beam breakup while still exhibiting traits such as nonlinear confinement and self-focusing. Our results suggest that, by tailoring the spatial structure of the polarization, the effects of nonlinear propagation can be effectively controlled. These findings provide a novel approach to transport high-power light beams in nonlinear media with controllable distortions to their spatial structure and polarization properties.

Fundamental Limits:. Developing New Tools for a Better Understanding of Second-Order Molecular Nonlinear Optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Moreno, Javier; Clays, Koen

The generalized Thomas-Kuhn sum rules are used to characterize the nonlinear optical response of organic chromophores in terms of fundamental parameters that can be measured experimentally. The nonlinear optical performance of organic molecules is evaluated from the combination of hyper-Rayleigh scattering measurements and the analysis in terms of the fundamental limits. Different strategies for the enhancement of nonlinear optical behavior at the molecular and supramolecular level are evaluated and new paradigms for the design of more efficient nonlinear optical molecules are proposed and investigated.

A novel optical fibre doped with the nano-material as InP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xi; Lee, Ly Guat; Zhang, Ru

2007-11-01

As the key of these optical devices which are widely used in the communication system, high nonlinear optical fibre will play an important role in the future optical fibre communication. With recent growth of nano-technology, researchers are hoping to obtain some kinds of optical fibre by combining the optical fibre with the nanotechnology. According to this current situation, the optical fibre doped with nano-material as InP (indium phosphide) is manufactured by using the MCVD (modified chemical vapor deposition) technology after our comprehensive consideration of many relative factors. Proved by experiments, this novel optical fibre has an excellent waveguide characteristic. After a consideration of the model of this novel optical fibre, its propagation constant β has been simulated by using the FEM (finite element method), and the graphs of presentation of magnetic field of the core are also obtained. In accordance with the results, the effective refractive index n eff = 1.401 has be calculated. Both the calculated result and the simulated graphs are matching well with the test, and this result is a step-stone bridge for future research of nonlinear parameter on this novel optical fiber.

Transient Negative Optical Nonlinearity of Indium Oxide Nanorod Arrays in the Full-Visible Range

DOE PAGES

Guo, Peijun; Chang, Robert P. H.; Schaller, Richard D.

2017-06-09

Dynamic control of the optical response of materials at visible wavelengths is key to future metamaterials and photonic integrated circuits. Here we demonstrate large amplitude, negative optical nonlinearity (Δ n from -0.05 to -0.09) of indium oxide nanorod arrays in the full-visible range. We experimentally quantify and theoretically calculate the optical nonlinearity, which arises from the modifications of interband optical transitions. Furthermore, the approach towards negative optical nonlinearity can be generalized to other transparent semiconductors and opens door to reconfigurable, sub-wavelength optical components.

Z-scan: A simple technique for determination of third-order optical nonlinearity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Singh, Vijender, E-mail: chahal-gju@rediffmail.com; Aghamkar, Praveen, E-mail: p-aghamkar@yahoo.co.in

Z-scan is a simple experimental technique to measure intensity dependent nonlinear susceptibilities of third-order nonlinear optical materials. This technique is used to measure the sign and magnitude of both real and imaginary part of the third order nonlinear susceptibility (χ{sup (3)}) of nonlinear optical materials. In this paper, we investigate third-order nonlinear optical properties of Ag-polymer composite film by using single beam z-scan technique with Q-switched, frequency doubled Nd: YAG laser (λ=532 nm) at 5 ns pulse. The values of nonlinear absorption coefficient (β), nonlinear refractive index (n{sub 2}) and third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ{sup (3)}) of permethylazine were found to bemore » 9.64 × 10{sup −7} cm/W, 8.55 × 10{sup −12} cm{sup 2}/W and 5.48 × 10{sup −10} esu, respectively.« less

Nonlinear optical oscillation dynamics in high-Q lithium niobate microresonators.

PubMed

Sun, Xuan; Liang, Hanxiao; Luo, Rui; Jiang, Wei C; Zhang, Xi-Cheng; Lin, Qiang

2017-06-12

Recent advance of lithium niobate microphotonic devices enables the exploration of intriguing nonlinear optical effects. We show complex nonlinear oscillation dynamics in high-Q lithium niobate microresonators that results from unique competition between the thermo-optic nonlinearity and the photorefractive effect, distinctive to other device systems and mechanisms ever reported. The observed phenomena are well described by our theory. This exploration helps understand the nonlinear optical behavior of high-Q lithium niobate microphotonic devices which would be crucial for future application of on-chip nonlinear lithium niobate photonics.

All-optical switch with two periodically modulated nonlinear waveguides.

PubMed

Xie, Qiongtao; Luo, Xiaobing; Wu, Biao

2010-02-01

We propose a type of all-optical switch which consists of two periodically modulated nonlinear optical waveguides placed in parallel. Compared to the all-optical switch based on the traditional nonlinear directional coupler without periodic modulation, this all-optical switch has much lower switching threshold power and sharper switching width.

Method to improve optical parametric oscillator beam quality

DOEpatents

Smith, Arlee V.; Alford, William J.; Bowers, Mark S.

2003-11-11

A method to improving optical parametric oscillator (OPO) beam quality having an optical pump, which generates a pump beam at a pump frequency greater than a desired signal frequency, a nonlinear optical medium oriented so that a signal wave at the desired signal frequency and a corresponding idler wave are produced when the pump beam (wave) propagates through the nonlinear optical medium, resulting in beam walk off of the signal and idler waves, and an optical cavity which directs the signal wave to repeatedly pass through the nonlinear optical medium, said optical cavity comprising an equivalently even number of non-planar mirrors that produce image rotation on each pass through the nonlinear optical medium. Utilizing beam walk off where the signal wave and said idler wave have nonparallel Poynting vectors in the nonlinear medium and image rotation, a correlation zone of distance equal to approximately .rho.L.sub.crystal is created which, through multiple passes through the nonlinear medium, improves the beam quality of the OPO output.

Optical parametric osicllators with improved beam quality

DOEpatents

Smith, Arlee V.; Alford, William J.

2003-11-11

An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) having an optical pump, which generates a pump beam at a pump frequency greater than a desired signal frequency, a nonlinear optical medium oriented so that a signal wave at the desired signal frequency and a corresponding idler wave are produced when the pump beam (wave) propagates through the nonlinear optical medium, resulting in beam walk off of the signal and idler waves, and an optical cavity which directs the signal wave to repeatedly pass through the nonlinear optical medium, said optical cavity comprising an equivalently even number of non-planar mirrors that produce image rotation on each pass through the nonlinear optical medium. Utilizing beam walk off where the signal wave and said idler wave have nonparallel Poynting vectors in the nonlinear medium and image rotation, a correlation zone of distance equal to approximately .rho.L.sub.crystal is created which, through multiple passes through the nonlinear medium, improves the beam quality of the OPO output.

Improving demodulation accuracy of low-coherence interferometer against spatial-frequency nonlinearity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shuang; Liu, Tiegen; Jiang, Junfeng; Liu, Kun; Yin, Jinde; Wu, Fan; Zhao, Bofu; Xue, Lei; Mei, Yunqiao; Wu, Zhenhai

2013-12-01

We present an effective method to compensate the spatial-frequency nonlinearity for polarized low-coherence interferometer with location-dependent dispersion element. Through the use of location-dependent dispersive characteristics, the method establishes the exact relationship between wave number and discrete Fourier transform (DFT) serial number. The jump errors in traditional absolute phase algorithm are also avoided with nonlinearity compensation. We carried out experiments with an optical fiber Fabry-Perot (F-P) pressure sensing system to verify the effectiveness. The demodulated error is less than 0.139kPa in the range of 170kPa when using our nonlinearity compensation process in the demodulation.

Nonlinear photonic metasurfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guixin; Zhang, Shuang; Zentgraf, Thomas

2017-03-01

Compared with conventional optical elements, 2D photonic metasurfaces, consisting of arrays of antennas with subwavelength thickness (the 'meta-atoms'), enable the manipulation of light-matter interactions on more compact platforms. The use of metasurfaces with spatially varying arrangements of meta-atoms that have subwavelength lateral resolution allows control of the polarization, phase and amplitude of light. Many exotic phenomena have been successfully demonstrated in linear optics; however, to meet the growing demand for the integration of more functionalities into a single optoelectronic circuit, the tailorable nonlinear optical properties of metasurfaces will also need to be exploited. In this Review, we discuss the design of nonlinear photonic metasurfaces — in particular, the criteria for choosing the materials and symmetries of the meta-atoms — for the realization of nonlinear optical chirality, nonlinear geometric Berry phase and nonlinear wavefront engineering. Finally, we survey the application of nonlinear photonic metasurfaces in optical switching and modulation, and we conclude with an outlook on their use for terahertz nonlinear optics and quantum information processing.

Investigation on nonlinear optical properties of MoS2 nanoflakes grown on silicon and quartz substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayesteh, Samaneh; Zahra Mortazavi, Seyedeh; Reyhani, Ali

2018-05-01

In this study, MoS2 nanoflakes were directly grown on different substrates—Si/SiO2 and quartz—by one-step thermal chemical vapor deposition using MoO3 and sulfide powders as precursors. Scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction patterns demonstrated the formation of MoS2 structures on both substrates. Moreover, UV-visible and photoluminescence analysis confirmed the formation of MoS2 few-layer structures. According to Raman spectroscopy, by assessment of the line width and frequency shift differences between the and A 1g, it was inferred that the MoS2 grown on the silicon substrate was monolayer and that grown on the quartz substrate was multilayer. In addition, open-aperture and close-aperture Z-scan techniques were employed to study the nonlinear optical properties including nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of the grown MoS2. All experiments were performed using a diode laser with a wavelength of 532 nm as the light source. It is noticeable that both samples demonstrate obvious self-defocusing behavior. The monolayer MoS2 grown on the silicon substrate displayed considerable two-photon absorption while, the multilayer MoS2 synthesized on the quartz exhibited saturable absorption. In general, few-layered MoS2 would be useful for the development of nanophotonic devices like optical limiters, optical switchers, etc.

Nonlinear multilayers as optical limiters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turner-Valle, Jennifer Anne

1998-10-01

In this work we present a non-iterative technique for computing the steady-state optical properties of nonlinear multilayers and we examine nonlinear multilayer designs for optical limiters. Optical limiters are filters with intensity-dependent transmission designed to curtail the transmission of incident light above a threshold irradiance value in order to protect optical sensors from damage due to intense light. Thin film multilayers composed of nonlinear materials exhibiting an intensity-dependent refractive index are used as the basis for optical limiter designs in order to enhance the nonlinear filter response by magnifying the electric field in the nonlinear materials through interference effects. The nonlinear multilayer designs considered in this work are based on linear optical interference filter designs which are selected for their spectral properties and electric field distributions. Quarter wave stacks and cavity filters are examined for their suitability as sensor protectors and their manufacturability. The underlying non-iterative technique used to calculate the optical response of these filters derives from recognizing that the multi-valued calculation of output irradiance as a function of incident irradiance may be turned into a single-valued calculation of incident irradiance as a function of output irradiance. Finally, the benefits and drawbacks of using nonlinear multilayer for optical limiting are examined and future research directions are proposed.

Self-Organization of Metal Nanoparticles in Light: Electrodynamics-Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Optical Binding Experiments.

PubMed

McCormack, Patrick; Han, Fei; Yan, Zijie

2018-02-01

Light-driven self-organization of metal nanoparticles (NPs) can lead to unique optical matter systems, yet simulation of such self-organization (i.e., optical binding) is a complex computational problem that increases nonlinearly with system size. Here we show that a combined electrodynamics-molecular dynamics simulation technique can simulate the trajectories and predict stable configurations of silver NPs in optical fields. The simulated dynamic equilibrium of a two-NP system matches the probability density of oscillations for two optically bound NPs obtained experimentally. The predicted stable configurations for up to eight NPs are further compared to experimental observations of silver NP clusters formed by optical binding in a Bessel beam. All configurations are confirmed to form in real systems, including pentagonal clusters with five-fold symmetry. Our combined simulations and experiments have revealed a diverse optical matter system formed by anisotropic optical binding interactions, providing a new strategy to discover artificial materials.

Numerical Simulations of Self-Focused Pulses Using the Nonlinear Maxwell Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goorjian, Peter M.; Silberberg, Yaron; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

This paper will present results in computational nonlinear optics. An algorithm will be described that solves the full vector nonlinear Maxwell's equations exactly without the approximations that are currently made. Present methods solve a reduced scalar wave equation, namely the nonlinear Schrodinger equation, and neglect the optical carrier. Also, results will be shown of calculations of 2-D electromagnetic nonlinear waves computed by directly integrating in time the nonlinear vector Maxwell's equations. The results will include simulations of 'light bullet' like pulses. Here diffraction and dispersion will be counteracted by nonlinear effects. The time integration efficiently implements linear and nonlinear convolutions for the electric polarization, and can take into account such quantum effects as Kerr and Raman interactions. The present approach is robust and should permit modeling 2-D and 3-D optical soliton propagation, scattering, and switching directly from the full-vector Maxwell's equations. Abstract of a proposed paper for presentation at the meeting NONLINEAR OPTICS: Materials, Fundamentals, and Applications, Hyatt Regency Waikaloa, Waikaloa, Hawaii, July 24-29, 1994, Cosponsored by IEEE/Lasers and Electro-Optics Society and Optical Society of America

Optical and mechanical response of high temperature optical fiber sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sirkis, Jim

1991-01-01

The National Aerospace Plane (NASP) will experience temperatures as high as 2500 F at critical locations in its structure. Optical fiber sensors were proposed as a means of monitoring the temperature in these critical regions by either bonding the optical fiber to, or embedding the optical fiber in, metal matrix composite (MMC) components. Unfortunately, the anticipated NASP temperature ranges exceed the glass transition region of the optical fiber glass. The attempt is made to define the operating temperature range of optical fiber sensors from both optical and mechanical perspectives. A full non-linear optical analysis was performed by modeling the optical response of an isolated sensor cyclically driven through the glass transition region.

Optical spatial solitons: historical overview and recent advances.

PubMed

Chen, Zhigang; Segev, Mordechai; Christodoulides, Demetrios N

2012-08-01

Solitons, nonlinear self-trapped wavepackets, have been extensively studied in many and diverse branches of physics such as optics, plasmas, condensed matter physics, fluid mechanics, particle physics and even astrophysics. Interestingly, over the past two decades, the field of solitons and related nonlinear phenomena has been substantially advanced and enriched by research and discoveries in nonlinear optics. While optical solitons have been vigorously investigated in both spatial and temporal domains, it is now fair to say that much soliton research has been mainly driven by the work on optical spatial solitons. This is partly due to the fact that although temporal solitons as realized in fiber optic systems are fundamentally one-dimensional entities, the high dimensionality associated with their spatial counterparts has opened up altogether new scientific possibilities in soliton research. Another reason is related to the response time of the nonlinearity. Unlike temporal optical solitons, spatial solitons have been realized by employing a variety of noninstantaneous nonlinearities, ranging from the nonlinearities in photorefractive materials and liquid crystals to the nonlinearities mediated by the thermal effect, thermophoresis and the gradient force in colloidal suspensions. Such a diversity of nonlinear effects has given rise to numerous soliton phenomena that could otherwise not be envisioned, because for decades scientists were of the mindset that solitons must strictly be the exact solutions of the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation as established for ideal Kerr nonlinear media. As such, the discoveries of optical spatial solitons in different systems and associated new phenomena have stimulated broad interest in soliton research. In particular, the study of incoherent solitons and discrete spatial solitons in optical periodic media not only led to advances in our understanding of fundamental processes in nonlinear optics and photonics, but also had a very important impact on a variety of other disciplines in nonlinear science. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of optical spatial solitons. This review will cover a variety of issues pertaining to self-trapped waves supported by different types of nonlinearities, as well as various families of spatial solitons such as optical lattice solitons and surface solitons. Recent developments in the area of optical spatial solitons, such as 3D light bullets, subwavelength solitons, self-trapping in soft condensed matter and spatial solitons in systems with parity-time symmetry will also be discussed briefly.

Mathematical nonlinear optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McLaughlin, David W.

1995-08-01

The principal investigator, together with a post-doctoral fellows Tetsuji Ueda and Xiao Wang, several graduate students, and colleagues, has applied the modern mathematical theory of nonlinear waves to problems in nonlinear optics and to equations directly relevant to nonlinear optics. Projects included the interaction of laser light with nematic liquid crystals and chaotic, homoclinic, small dispersive, and random behavior of solutions of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation. In project 1, the extremely strong nonlinear response of a continuous wave laser beam in a nematic liquid crystal medium has produced striking undulation and filamentation of the laser beam which has been observed experimentally and explained theoretically. In project 2, qualitative properties of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation (which is the fundamental equation for nonlinear optics) have been identified and studied. These properties include optical shocking behavior in the limit of very small dispersion, chaotic and homoclinic behavior in discretizations of the partial differential equation, and random behavior.

Preparation of polymeric diacetylene thin films for nonlinear optical applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frazier, Donald O. (Inventor); Mcmanus, Samuel P. (Inventor); Paley, Mark S. (Inventor); Donovan, David N. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

A method for producing polymeric diacetylene thin films having desirable nonlinear optical characteristics has been achieved by producing amorphous diacetylene polymeric films by simultaneous polymerization of diacetylene monomers in solution and deposition of polymerized diacetylenes on to the surface of a transparent substrate through which ultraviolet light has been transmitted. These amorphous polydiacetylene films produced by photo-deposition from solution possess very high optical quality and exhibit large third order nonlinear optical susceptibilities, such properties being suitable for nonlinear optical devices such as waveguides and integrated optics.

Nonlinear optical waves with the second Painleve transcendent shape of envelope in Kerr media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcherbakov, Alexandre S.; Tepichin Rodriguez, Eduardo; Sanchez Sanchez, Mauro

2004-05-01

Nonlinear optical wave packets with the second Painleve transcendent shape of envelope are revealed in Kerr media, manifesting weakly focusing cubic nonlinearity, square-law dispersion, and linear losses. When the state of nonlinear optical transmission is realized, two possible types of boundary conditions turn out to be satisfied for these wave packets. The propagation of initially unchirped optical wave packets under consideration could be supported by lossless medium in both normal and anomalous dispersion regimes. At the same time initially chirped optical waves with the second Painleve transcendent shape in low-loss medium and need matching the magnitude of optical losses by the dispersion and nonlinear properties of that medium.

Investigation on the behavioral difference in third order nonlinearity and optical limiting of Mn0.55Cu0.45Fe2O4 nanoparticles annealed at different temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuvaraj, S.; Manikandan, N.; Vinitha, G.

2017-11-01

Mn0.55Cu0.45Fe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized by wet chemical co-precipitation method. The obtained samples were annealed at different temperatures (500 °C to 1250 °C). All annealed samples were characterized for their structural, magnetic, linear and non-linear optical properties. XRD results confirm single phase cubic spinel structure only for samples annealed at 800 °C and 1250 °C. The average crystallite sizes of the samples are in the range of 11-37 nm. HR-SEM image of the sample annealed at 800 °C exposed spherical morphology. The quantitative analysis of EDX results is close to the expected values. Bandgaps were evaluated from UV-DRS. The FTIR spectrum showing the essential peaks around 452.1 and 567.2 cm-1 prove the formation of spinel nanoparticles. In PL spectrum, a broad emission peak is attained in visible region at 485 nm. The saturation magnetization (M s), coercivity (H c) and remanence magnetization (M r) are obtained from the hysteresis curve. Nonlinear absorption coefficients (10-4 cm W-1), nonlinear indices of refraction (10-8 cm2 W-1) and the third order nonlinear susceptibilities (10-6 esu) are determined using Z-scan experiment. CW laser beam is utilized to study the optical limiting characteristics and the results prove these materials to be a potential candidate for device applications like optical switches and power limiters.

Diode end pumped laser and harmonic generator using same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Byer, Robert L. (Inventor); Dixon, George J. (Inventor); Kane, Thomas J. (Inventor)

1988-01-01

A second harmonic, optical generator is disclosed in which a laser diode produces an output pumping beam which is focused by means of a graded, refractive index rod lens into a rod of lasant material, such as Nd:YAG, disposed within an optical resonator to pump the lasant material and to excite the optical resonator at a fundamental wavelength. A non-linear electro-optic material such as MgO:LiNbO.sub.3 is coupled to the excited, fundamental mode of the optical resonator to produce a non-linear interaction with the fundamental wavelength producing a harmonic. In one embodiment, the gain medium and the non-linear material are disposed within an optical resonator defined by a pair of reflectors, one of which is formed on a face of the gain medium and the second of which is formed on a face of the non-linear medium. In another embodiment, the non-linear, electro-optic material is doped with the lasant ion such that the gain medium and the non-linear doubling material are co-extensive in volume. In another embodiment, a non-linear, doubling material is disposed in an optical resonator external of the laser gai medium for improved stability of the second harmonic generation process. In another embodiment, the laser gain medium andthe non-linear material are bonded together by means of an optically transparent cement to form a mechanically stable, monolithic structure. In another embodiment, the non-linear material has reflective faces formed thereon to define a ring resonator to decouple reflections from the non-linear medium back to the gain medium for improved stability.

APPLIED OPTICS. Overcoming Kerr-induced capacity limit in optical fiber transmission.

PubMed

Temprana, E; Myslivets, E; Kuo, B P-P; Liu, L; Ataie, V; Alic, N; Radic, S

2015-06-26

Nonlinear optical response of silica imposes a fundamental limit on the information transfer capacity in optical fibers. Communication beyond this limit requires higher signal power and suppression of nonlinear distortions to prevent irreversible information loss. The nonlinear interaction in silica is a deterministic phenomenon that can, in principle, be completely reversed. However, attempts to remove the effects of nonlinear propagation have led to only modest improvements, and the precise physical mechanism preventing nonlinear cancellation remains unknown. We demonstrate that optical carrier stability plays a critical role in canceling Kerr-induced distortions and that nonlinear wave interaction in silica can be substantially reverted if optical carriers possess a sufficient degree of mutual coherence. These measurements indicate that fiber information capacity can be notably increased over previous estimates. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Investigation on thermally-induced optical nonlinearity of alcohols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Qian; Cheng, Xuemei; He, Bo; Ren, Zhaoyu; Zhang, Ying; Chen, Haowei; Bai, Jintao

2018-06-01

In this work, we studied the thermally-induced optical nonlinearity of alcohols by analyzing the far-filed diffraction rings patterns, which are generated when the alcohols are illuminated by a laser beam resonant to their overtones. We deduced the nonlinear refractive index coefficient n2 generated by thermal nonlinear optical effect to be - (20.53 ± 00.03) ×10-8cm2 /W , which is much higher than that of Kerr effect (7.7 ×10-16cm2 /W). The results also demonstrated that the thermally-induced optical nonlinearity increased with the laser power and sample concentration increasing. The notable nonlinearity suggests that thermal effect has potentials in many applications such as optical spatial modulation, and trapping and guiding of atoms.

Quantum and semiclassical physics behind ultrafast optical nonlinearity in the midinfrared: the role of ionization dynamics within the field half cycle.

PubMed

Serebryannikov, E E; Zheltikov, A M

2014-07-25

Ultrafast ionization dynamics within the field half cycle is shown to be the key physical factor that controls the properties of optical nonlinearity as a function of the carrier wavelength and intensity of a driving laser field. The Schrödinger-equation analysis of a generic hydrogen quantum system reveals universal tendencies in the wavelength dependence of optical nonlinearity, shedding light on unusual properties of optical nonlinearities in the midinfrared. For high-intensity low-frequency fields, free-state electrons are shown to dominate over bound electrons in the overall nonlinear response of a quantum system. In this regime, semiclassical models are shown to offer useful insights into the physics behind optical nonlinearity.

Partial polarization: a comprehensive student exercise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topasna, Gregory A.; Topasna, Daniela M.

2015-10-01

We present a comprehensive student exercise in partial polarization. Students are first introduced to the concept of partial polarization using Fresnel Equations. Next, MATHCAD is used to compute and graph the reflectance for dielectrics materials. The students then design and construct a simple, easy to use collimated light source for their experiment, which is performed on an optical breadboard using optical components typically found in an optics lab above the introductory level. The students obtain reflection data that is compared with their model by a nonlinear least square fit using EXCEL. Sources of error and uncertainty are discussed and students present a final written report. In this one exercise students learn how an experiment is constructed "from the ground up". They gain practical experience on data modeling and analysis, working with optical equipment, machining and construction, and preparing a final presentation.

Explicit formulation of second and third order optical nonlinearity in the FDTD framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varin, Charles; Emms, Rhys; Bart, Graeme; Fennel, Thomas; Brabec, Thomas

2018-01-01

The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method is a flexible and powerful technique for rigorously solving Maxwell's equations. However, three-dimensional optical nonlinearity in current commercial and research FDTD softwares requires solving iteratively an implicit form of Maxwell's equations over the entire numerical space and at each time step. Reaching numerical convergence demands significant computational resources and practical implementation often requires major modifications to the core FDTD engine. In this paper, we present an explicit method to include second and third order optical nonlinearity in the FDTD framework based on a nonlinear generalization of the Lorentz dispersion model. A formal derivation of the nonlinear Lorentz dispersion equation is equally provided, starting from the quantum mechanical equations describing nonlinear optics in the two-level approximation. With the proposed approach, numerical integration of optical nonlinearity and dispersion in FDTD is intuitive, transparent, and fully explicit. A strong-field formulation is also proposed, which opens an interesting avenue for FDTD-based modelling of the extreme nonlinear optics phenomena involved in laser filamentation and femtosecond micromachining of dielectrics.

Third-order nonlinear optical properties of phthalocyanines in solution and in polystyrene films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reeves, Roger J.; Powell, Richard C.; Chang, Young H.; Ford, Warren T.; Zhu, Weiming

1996-01-01

Degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) measurements of third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) coefficients of metal-free, Cu, Pt, Pb and Bi octa(2-ethylhexyloxy) phthalocyanines (MPc's) were done with 20 ps duration laser pulses under resonant conditions at 532 nm in polystyrene films and under nonresonant conditions at 1064 nm in chloroform solutions. The NLO coefficients ξxxxx(3) show saturation with increasing incident intensity and no strong dependence on the central metal atom of the MPc below the saturation intensity. Optical delays of the probe-pulse up to 3 ns show an acoustic phonon response in both the polystyrene films and the chloroform solutions. An intensity-dependent absorption coefficient was measured by a pump/probe experiment and used in a simple model to qualitatively account for the saturation of ξ(3) measured by DFWM.

Benzothiazolium Single Crystals: A New Class of Nonlinear Optical Crystals with Efficient THz Wave Generation.

PubMed

Lee, Seung-Heon; Lu, Jian; Lee, Seung-Jun; Han, Jae-Hyun; Jeong, Chan-Uk; Lee, Seung-Chul; Li, Xian; Jazbinšek, Mojca; Yoon, Woojin; Yun, Hoseop; Kang, Bong Joo; Rotermund, Fabian; Nelson, Keith A; Kwon, O-Pil

2017-08-01

Highly efficient nonlinear optical organic crystals are very attractive for various photonic applications including terahertz (THz) wave generation. Up to now, only two classes of ionic crystals based on either pyridinium or quinolinium with extremely large macroscopic optical nonlinearity have been developed. This study reports on a new class of organic nonlinear optical crystals introducing electron-accepting benzothiazolium, which exhibit higher electron-withdrawing strength than pyridinium and quinolinium in benchmark crystals. The benzothiazolium crystals consisting of new acentric core HMB (2-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxystyryl)-3-methylbenzo[d]thiazol-3-ium) exhibit extremely large macroscopic optical nonlinearity with optimal molecular ordering for maximizing the diagonal second-order nonlinearity. HMB-based single crystals prepared by simple cleaving method satisfy all required crystal characteristics for intense THz wave generation such as large crystal size with parallel surfaces, moderate thickness and high optical quality with large optical transparency range (580-1620 nm). Optical rectification of 35 fs pulses at the technologically very important wavelength of 800 nm in 0.26 mm thick HMB crystal leads to one order of magnitude higher THz wave generation efficiency with remarkably broader bandwidth compared to standard inorganic 0.5 mm thick ZnTe crystal. Therefore, newly developed HMB crystals introducing benzothiazolium with extremely large macroscopic optical nonlinearity are very promising materials for intense broadband THz wave generation and other nonlinear optical applications. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nonlinear optical transmittance of semiconductors in the presence of high-intensity radiation fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, H. M.; Han, F. W.; Duan, Y. F.; Huang, F.; Liu, J. L.

2018-04-01

We developed a systematic theoretical study of nonlinear optical properties of semiconductors. The eight-band kṡp model and the energy-balance equation are employed to calculate the transmission and optical absorption coefficients in the presence of both the linear one-photon absorption and the nonlinear two-photon absorption (TPA) processes. A substantial reduction of the optical transmittance far below the band-gap can be observed under relatively high-intensity radiation fields due to the nonlinear TPA. The TPA-induced optical transmittance decreases with increasing intensity of the radiation fields. Our theoretical results are in line with those observed experimentally. The theoretical approach can be applied to understand the nonlinear optical properties of semiconductors under high-field conditions.

IOTA (Integrable Optics Test Accelerator): facility and experimental beam physics program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antipov, S.; Broemmelsiek, D.; Bruhwiler, D.; Edstrom, D.; Harms, E.; Lebedev, V.; Leibfritz, J.; Nagaitsev, S.; Park, C. S.; Piekarz, H.; Piot, P.; Prebys, E.; Romanov, A.; Ruan, J.; Sen, T.; Stancari, G.; Thangaraj, C.; Thurman-Keup, R.; Valishev, A.; Shiltsev, V.

2017-03-01

The Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) is a storage ring for advanced beam physics research currently being built and commissioned at Fermilab. It will operate with protons and electrons using injectors with momenta of 70 and 150 MeV/c, respectively. The research program includes the study of nonlinear focusing integrable optical beam lattices based on special magnets and electron lenses, beam dynamics of space-charge effects and their compensation, optical stochastic cooling, and several other experiments. In this article, we present the design and main parameters of the facility, outline progress to date and provide the timeline of the construction, commissioning and research. The physical principles, design, and hardware implementation plans for the major IOTA experiments are also discussed.

Studies on third-order nonlinear optical properties of chalcone derivatives in polymer host

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shettigar, Seetharam; Umesh, G.; Chandrasekharan, K.; Sarojini, B. K.; Narayana, B.

2008-04-01

In this paper we present the experimental study of the third-order nonlinear optical properties of two chalcone derivatives, viz., 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(4-butyloxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one and 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(4-propyloxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one in PMMA host, with the prospective of reaching a compromise between good processability and high nonlinear optical properties. The nonlinear optical properties have been investigated by Z-scan technique using 7 ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The nonlinear refractive index, nonlinear absorption coefficient, magnitude of third-order susceptibility and the coupling factor have been determined. The values obtained are of the order of 10 -14 cm 2/W, 1 cm/GW, 10 -13 esu and 0.2, respectively. The molecular second hyperpolarizability for the chalcone derivatives in polymer is of the order of 10 -31 esu. Different guest/host concentrations have also been studied. The results suggest that the nonlinear properties of the chalcones have been improved when they are used as dopants in polymer matrix. The nonlinear parameters obtained are comparable with the reported values of II-VI compound semiconductors. Hence, these chalcons are a promising class of nonlinear optical dopant materials for optical device applications.

Third-order optical conductivity of an electron fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Zhiyuan; Basov, D. N.; Fogler, M. M.

2018-02-01

We derive the nonlinear optical conductivity of an isotropic electron fluid at frequencies below the interparticle collision rate. In this regime, governed by hydrodynamics, the conductivity acquires a universal form at any temperature, chemical potential, and spatial dimension. We show that the nonlinear response of the fluid to a uniform field is dominated by the third-order conductivity tensor σ(3 ) whose magnitude and temperature dependence differ qualitatively from those in the conventional kinetic regime of higher frequencies. We obtain explicit formulas for σ(3 ) for Dirac materials such as graphene and Weyl semimetals. We make predictions for the third-harmonic generation, renormalization of the collective-mode spectrum, and the third-order circular magnetic birefringence experiments.

Ultrathin Nonlinear Metasurface for Optical Image Encoding.

PubMed

Walter, Felicitas; Li, Guixin; Meier, Cedrik; Zhang, Shuang; Zentgraf, Thomas

2017-05-10

Security of optical information is of great importance in modern society. Many cryptography techniques based on classical and quantum optics have been widely explored in the linear optical regime. Nonlinear optical encryption in which encoding and decoding involve nonlinear frequency conversions represents a new strategy for securing optical information. Here, we demonstrate that an ultrathin nonlinear photonic metasurface, consisting of meta-atoms with 3-fold rotational symmetry, can be used to hide optical images under illumination with a fundamental wave. However, the hidden image can be read out from second harmonic generation (SHG) waves. This is achieved by controlling the destructive and constructive interferences of SHG waves from two neighboring meta-atoms. In addition, we apply this concept to obtain gray scale SHG imaging. Nonlinear metasurfaces based on space variant optical interference open new avenues for multilevel image encryption, anticounterfeiting, and background free image reconstruction.

Studies of third-order optical nonlinearities and optical limiting properties of azo dyes.

PubMed

Gayathri, C; Ramalingam, A

2008-03-01

In order to protect optical sensors and human eyes from debilitating laser effects, the intensity of the incoming laser light has to be opportunely reduced. Here, we report our results on the third-order optical nonlinearity and optical limiting properties of three azo dyes exposed to a 532nm continuous wave laser. We have observed low power optical limiting based on nonlinear refraction in our samples.

A Study of Electron and Phonon Dynamics by Broadband Two-Dimensional THz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Zhengping

Terahertz (THz) wave interacts with semiconductors in many ways, such as resonant excitation of lattice vibration, intraband transition and polaron formation. Different from the optical waves, THz wave has lower photon energy (1 THz = 4.14 meV) and is suitable for studying dynamics of low-energy excitations. Recently the studies of the interaction of THz wave and semiconductors have been extending from the linear regime to the nonlinear regime, owing to the advance of the high-intensity THz generation and detection methods. Two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy, as a useful tool to unravel the nonlinearity of materials, has been well developed in nuclear magnetic resonance and infrared region. However, the counterpart in THz region has not been well developed and was only demonstrated at frequency around 20 THz due to the lack of intense broadband THz sources. Using laser-induced plasma as the THz source, we developed collinear broadband 2D THz time-domain spectroscopy covering from 0.5 THz to 20 THz. Broadband intense THz pulses emitted from laser-induced plasma provide access to a variety of nonlinear properties of materials. Ultrafast optical and THz pulses make it possible to resolve the transient change of the material properties with temporal resolution of tens of femtoseconds. This thesis focuses on the linear and nonlinear interaction of the THz wave with semiconductors. Since a great many physical processes, including vibrational motion of lattice and plasma oscillation, has resonant frequency in the THz range, rich physics can be studies in our experiment. The thesis starts from the linear interaction of the THz wave with semiconductors. In the narrow band gap semiconductor InSb, the plasma absorption edge, Restrahlen band and dispersion of polaritons are observed. The nonlinear response of InSb in high THz field is verified in the frequency-resolved THz Z-scan experiment. The third harmonic generations due to the anharmonicity of plasma oscillation and the second order signal due to the plasma-phonon interaction are observed in 2D THz transmission spectra. In this thesis, the coherent phonons excited by THz pulses are experimentally demonstrated for the first time in both GaAs and InSb. The resonant excitation using THz pulses enables the coherent control of the lattice motion via direct interaction of atoms and electromagnetic wave, without inducing electronic transition as reported in the optical excitation of coherent phonons. The classic model is used to explain both excitation and detection mechanisms. An increase of the damping rate of the coherent lattice motion due to higher carrier density is observed in our experiment. Transient reflectivity change of GaAs induced by THz pulses is studied in 2D THz-pump/optical-probe configuration. Using the perturbative analysis of nonlinear electrooptic effect, we conclude that the nonlinear response of GaAs to two phase-locked THz pulses is mainly caused by the nonlinearity of the electronic response.

Kyropoulos method for growth of nonlinear optical organic crystal ABP (4-aminobenzophenone) from the melt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Shoukui; Okano, Y.; Tsunekawa, S.; Fukuda, T.

1993-03-01

The Kyropoulus method was used to grow nonlinear optical organic crystals ABP (4-aminobenzophenone). The crystals were characterized by nonlinear optical measurements and had a large effect of frequency doubling.

Off-resonant third-order optical nonlinearities of squarylium and croconium dyes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhongyu; Xu, Song; Niu, Lihong; Zhang, Zhi; Chen, Zihui; Zhang, Fushi

2008-01-01

The magnitude and dynamic response of the third-order optical nonlinearities of squarylium and croconium dyes in methanol solution were measured by femtosecond degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) technique at 800 nm. Ultrafast nonlinear optical responses have been observed, and the magnitude of the second-order hyperpolarizabilities was evaluated to be 5.80 × 10 -31 esu for the squarylium dye and 8.69 × 10 -31 esu for the croconium dye, respectively. The large optical nonlinearities of the dyes can be attributed to their rigid and intramolecular charge transfer structure, and the instantaneous NLO responses of dyes are shorter than the experimental time resolution (50 fs), which is mainly contributed from the electron delocalization. The fast nonlinear response and large third-order optical nonlinearities show that the studied squarylium and croconium dyes might a kind of promising materials for the applications in all-optical switching and modulator.

Nonlinear Wavefront Control with All-Dielectric Metasurfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Lei; Kruk, Sergey; Koshelev, Kirill

Metasurfaces, two-dimensional lattices of nanoscale resonators, offer unique opportunities for functional flat optics and allow the control of the transmission, reflection, and polarization of a wavefront of light. Recently, all-dielectric metasurfaces reached remarkable efficiencies, often matching or out-performing conventional optical elements. The exploitation of the nonlinear optical response of metasurfaces offers a paradigm shift in nonlinear optics, and dielectric nonlinear metasurfaces are expected to enrich subwavelength photonics by enhancing substantially nonlinear response of natural materials combined with the efficient control of the phase of nonlinear waves. Here, we suggest a novel and rather general approach for engineering the wavefront ofmore » parametric waves of arbitrary complexity generated by a nonlinear metasurface. We design all-dielectric nonlinear metasurfaces, achieve a highly efficient wavefront control of a third-harmonic field, and demonstrate the generation of nonlinear beams at a designed angle and the generation of nonlinear focusing vortex beams. Lastly, our nonlinear metasurfaces produce phase gradients over a full 0–2π phase range with a 92% diffraction efficiency.« less

Nonlinear Wavefront Control with All-Dielectric Metasurfaces.

PubMed

Wang, Lei; Kruk, Sergey; Koshelev, Kirill; Kravchenko, Ivan; Luther-Davies, Barry; Kivshar, Yuri

2018-06-13

Metasurfaces, two-dimensional lattices of nanoscale resonators, offer unique opportunities for functional flat optics and allow the control of the transmission, reflection, and polarization of a wavefront of light. Recently, all-dielectric metasurfaces reached remarkable efficiencies, often matching or out-performing conventional optical elements. The exploitation of the nonlinear optical response of metasurfaces offers a paradigm shift in nonlinear optics, and dielectric nonlinear metasurfaces are expected to enrich subwavelength photonics by enhancing substantially nonlinear response of natural materials combined with the efficient control of the phase of nonlinear waves. Here, we suggest a novel and rather general approach for engineering the wavefront of parametric waves of arbitrary complexity generated by a nonlinear metasurface. We design all-dielectric nonlinear metasurfaces, achieve a highly efficient wavefront control of a third-harmonic field, and demonstrate the generation of nonlinear beams at a designed angle and the generation of nonlinear focusing vortex beams. Our nonlinear metasurfaces produce phase gradients over a full 0-2π phase range with a 92% diffraction efficiency.

Nonlinear Wavefront Control with All-Dielectric Metasurfaces

DOE PAGES

Wang, Lei; Kruk, Sergey; Koshelev, Kirill; ...

2018-05-11

Metasurfaces, two-dimensional lattices of nanoscale resonators, offer unique opportunities for functional flat optics and allow the control of the transmission, reflection, and polarization of a wavefront of light. Recently, all-dielectric metasurfaces reached remarkable efficiencies, often matching or out-performing conventional optical elements. The exploitation of the nonlinear optical response of metasurfaces offers a paradigm shift in nonlinear optics, and dielectric nonlinear metasurfaces are expected to enrich subwavelength photonics by enhancing substantially nonlinear response of natural materials combined with the efficient control of the phase of nonlinear waves. Here, we suggest a novel and rather general approach for engineering the wavefront ofmore » parametric waves of arbitrary complexity generated by a nonlinear metasurface. We design all-dielectric nonlinear metasurfaces, achieve a highly efficient wavefront control of a third-harmonic field, and demonstrate the generation of nonlinear beams at a designed angle and the generation of nonlinear focusing vortex beams. Lastly, our nonlinear metasurfaces produce phase gradients over a full 0–2π phase range with a 92% diffraction efficiency.« less

Giant Kerr response of ultrathin gold films from quantum size effect.

PubMed

Qian, Haoliang; Xiao, Yuzhe; Liu, Zhaowei

2016-10-10

With the size of plasmonic devices entering into the nanoscale region, the impact of quantum physics needs to be considered. In the past, the quantum size effect on linear material properties has been studied extensively. However, the nonlinear aspects have not been explored much so far. On the other hand, much effort has been put into the field of integrated nonlinear optics and a medium with large nonlinearity is desirable. Here we study the optical nonlinear properties of a nanometre scale gold quantum well by using the z-scan method and nonlinear spectrum broadening technique. The quantum size effect results in a giant optical Kerr susceptibility, which is four orders of magnitude higher than the intrinsic value of bulk gold and several orders larger than traditional nonlinear media. Such high nonlinearity enables efficient nonlinear interaction within a microscopic footprint, making quantum metallic films a promising candidate for integrated nonlinear optical applications.

Polarization-insensitive techniques for optical signal processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salem, Reza

2006-12-01

This thesis investigates polarization-insensitive methods for optical signal processing. Two signal processing techniques are studied: clock recovery based on two-photon absorption in silicon and demultiplexing based on cross-phase modulation in highly nonlinear fiber. The clock recovery system is tested at an 80 Gb/s data rate for both back-to-back and transmission experiments. The demultiplexer is tested at a 160 Gb/s data rate in a back-to-back experiment. We experimentally demonstrate methods for eliminating polarization dependence in both systems. Our experimental results are confirmed by theoretical and numerical analysis.

Observation of nonlinear optical interactions of ultralow levels of light in a tapered optical nanofiber embedded in a hot rubidium vapor.

PubMed

Spillane, S M; Pati, G S; Salit, K; Hall, M; Kumar, P; Beausoleil, R G; Shahriar, M S

2008-06-13

We report the observation of low-light level optical interactions in a tapered optical nanofiber (TNF) embedded in a hot rubidium vapor. The small optical mode area plays a significant role in the optical properties of the hot vapor Rb-TNF system, allowing nonlinear optical interactions with nW level powers even in the presence of transit-time dephasing rates much larger than the intrinsic linewidth. We demonstrate nonlinear absorption and V-type electromagnetically induced transparency with cw powers below 10 nW, comparable to the best results in any Rb-optical waveguide system. The good performance and flexibility of the Rb-TNF system makes it a very promising candidate for ultralow power resonant nonlinear optical applications.

Ionic Self-Assembled Monolayer (ISAM) Nonlinear Optical Thin Films and Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-05-12

SUBTITLE " Ionic Self-Assembled Monolayer (ISAM) Nonlinear Optical Thin Films and Devices" 6. AUTHORS Michael B. Miller 5. FUNDING NUMBERS F49620-97...ii. Lü. Ionic Self-Assembled Monolayer (ISAM) Nonlinear Optical Thin Films and Devices Final Technical Report Performance Period: 15 August 1997...Investigator F&S. Inc.N ̂ 1. INTRODUCTION .’ 2 2. PROGRAM TASK REVIEW 2 3. BACKGROUND 4 3.1 NONLINEAR OPTICAL THIN FILMS 4 3.2 IONIC SELF

Preparation, optical and non-linear optical power limiting properties of Cu, CuNi nanowires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Udayabhaskar, R.; Karthikeyan, B., E-mail: bkarthik@nitt.edu; Ollakkan, Muhamed Shafi

2014-01-06

Metallic nanowires show excellent Plasmon absorption which is tunable based on its aspect ratio and alloying nature. We prepared Cu and CuNi metallic nanowires and studied its optical and nonlinear optical behavior. Optical properties of nanowires are theoretically explained using Gans theory. Nonlinear optical behavior is studied using a single beam open aperture z-scan method with the use of 5 ns Nd: YAG laser. Optical limiting is found to arise from two-photon absorption.

Preparation, optical and non-linear optical power limiting properties of Cu, CuNi nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udayabhaskar, R.; Ollakkan, Muhamed Shafi; Karthikeyan, B.

2014-01-01

Metallic nanowires show excellent Plasmon absorption which is tunable based on its aspect ratio and alloying nature. We prepared Cu and CuNi metallic nanowires and studied its optical and nonlinear optical behavior. Optical properties of nanowires are theoretically explained using Gans theory. Nonlinear optical behavior is studied using a single beam open aperture z-scan method with the use of 5 ns Nd: YAG laser. Optical limiting is found to arise from two-photon absorption.

Classical and quantum non-linear optical applications using the Mach-Zehnder interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prescod, Andru

Mach Zehnder (MZ) modulators are widely employed in a variety of applications, such as optical communications, optical imaging, metrology and encryption. In this dissertation, we explore two non-linear MZ applications; one classified as classical and one as quantum, in which the Mach Zehnder interferometer is used. In the first application, a classical non-linear application, we introduce and study a new electro-optic highly linear (e.g., >130 dB) modulator configuration. This modulator makes use of a phase modulator (PM) in one arm of the MZ interferometer (MZI) and a ring resonator (RR) located on the other arm. The modulator performance is obtained through the control of a combination of internal and external parameters. These parameters include the RR-coupling ratio (internal parameter); the RF power split ratio and the RF phase bias (external parameters). Results show the unique and superior features, such as high linearity (SFDR˜133 dB), modulation bandwidth extension (as much as 70%) over the previously proposed and demonstrated Resonator-Assisted Mach Zehnder (RAMZ) design. Furthermore the proposed electro-optic modulator of this dissertation also provides an inherent SFDR compensation capability, even in cases where a significant waveguide optical loss exists. This design also shows potential for increased flexibility, practicality and ease of use. In the second application, a quantum non-linear application, we experimentally demonstrate quantum optical coherence tomography (QOCT) using a type II non-linear crystal (periodically-poled potassium titanyl phosphate (KTiOPO4) or PPKTP). There have been several publications discussing the merits and disadvantages of QOCT compared to OCT and other imaging techniques. First, we discuss the issues and solutions for increasing the efficiency of the quantum entangled photons. Second, we use a free space QOCT experiment to generate a high flux of these quantum entangled photons in two orthogonal polarizations, by parametric down-conversion. Third, by ensuring that these down-converted photons have the same frequency, spatial-temporal mode, and the same polarization when they interfere at a beam splitter, quantum interference should occur. Quantum interference of these entangled photons enables high resolution probing of dispersive samples.

Controllable optical rogue waves via nonlinearity management.

PubMed

Yang, Zhengping; Zhong, Wei-Ping; Belić, Milivoj; Zhang, Yiqi

2018-03-19

Using a similarity transformation, we obtain analytical solutions to a class of nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equations with variable coefficients in inhomogeneous Kerr media, which are related to the optical rogue waves of the standard NLS equation. We discuss the dynamics of such optical rogue waves via nonlinearity management, i.e., by selecting the appropriate nonlinearity coefficients and integration constants, and presenting the solutions. In addition, we investigate higher-order rogue waves by suitably adjusting the nonlinearity coefficient and the rogue wave parameters, which could help in realizing complex but controllable optical rogue waves in properly engineered fibers and other photonic materials.

Nonlinear optics quantum computing with circuit QED.

PubMed

Adhikari, Prabin; Hafezi, Mohammad; Taylor, J M

2013-02-08

One approach to quantum information processing is to use photons as quantum bits and rely on linear optical elements for most operations. However, some optical nonlinearity is necessary to enable universal quantum computing. Here, we suggest a circuit-QED approach to nonlinear optics quantum computing in the microwave regime, including a deterministic two-photon phase gate. Our specific example uses a hybrid quantum system comprising a LC resonator coupled to a superconducting flux qubit to implement a nonlinear coupling. Compared to the self-Kerr nonlinearity, we find that our approach has improved tolerance to noise in the qubit while maintaining fast operation.

All-optical universal logic gates on nonlinear multimode interference coupler using tunable input intensity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tajaldini, Mehdi; Jafri, Mohd Zubir Mat

2015-04-01

The theory of Nonlinear Modal Propagation Analysis Method (NMPA) have shown significant features of nonlinear multimode interference (MMI) coupler with compact dimension and when launched near the threshold of nonlinearity. Moreover, NMPA have the potential to allow studying the nonlinear MMI based the modal interference to explorer the phenomenon that what happen due to the natural of multimode region. Proposal of all-optical switch based NMPA has approved its capability to achieving the all-optical gates. All-optical gates have attracted increasing attention due to their practical utility in all-optical signal processing networks and systems. Nonlinear multimode interference devices could apply as universal all-optical gates due to significant features that NMPA introduce them. In this Paper, we present a novel Ultra-compact MMI coupler based on NMPA method in low intensity compared to last reports either as a novel design method and potential application for optical NAND, NOR as universal gates on single structure for Boolean logic signal processing devices and optimize their application via studding the contrast ratio between ON and OFF as a function of output width. We have applied NMPA for several applications so that the miniaturization in low nonlinear intensities is their main purpose.

Study of Nonlinear Propagation of Ultrashort Laser Pulses and Its Application to Harmonic Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weerawarne, Darshana L.

Laser filamentation, which is one of the exotic nonlinear optical phenomena, is self-guidance of high-power laser beams due to the dynamic balance between the optical Kerr effect (self-focusing) and other nonlinear effects such as plasma defocusing. It has many applications including supercontinuum generation (SCG), high-order harmonic generation (HHG), lightning guiding, stand-off sensing, and rain making. The main focus of this work is on studying odd-order harmonic generation (HG) (i.e., 3o, 5o, 7o, etc., where o is the angular frequency) in centrosymmetric media while a high-power, ultrashort harmonic-driving pulse undergoes nonlinear propagation such as laser filamentation. The investigation of highly-controversial nonlinear indices of refraction by measuring low-order HG in air is carried out. Furthermore, time-resolved (i.e., pump-probe) experiments and significant harmonic enhancements are presented and a novel HG mechanism based on higher-order nonlinearities is proposed to explain the experimental results. C/C++ numerical simulations are used to solve the nonlinear Schrodinger equation (NLSE) which supports the experimental findings. Another project which I have performed is selective sintering using lasers. Short-pulse lasers provide a fascinating tool for material processing, especially when the conventional oven-based techniques fail to process flexible materials for smart energy/electronics applications. I present experimental and theoretical studies on laser processing of nanoparticle-coated flexible materials, aiming to fabricate flexible electronic devices.

Nonlinear spectroscopy of trapped ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schlawin, Frank; Gessner, Manuel; Mukamel, Shaul; Buchleitner, Andreas

2014-08-01

Nonlinear spectroscopy employs a series of laser pulses to interrogate dynamics in large interacting many-body systems, and it has become a highly successful method for experiments in chemical physics. Current quantum optical experiments approach system sizes and levels of complexity that require the development of efficient techniques to assess spectral and dynamical features with scalable experimental overhead. However, established methods from optical spectroscopy of macroscopic ensembles cannot be applied straightforwardly to few-atom systems. Based on the ideas proposed in M. Gessner et al., (arXiv:1312.3365), we develop a diagrammatic approach to construct nonlinear measurement protocols for controlled quantum systems, and we discuss experimental implementations with trapped ion technology in detail. These methods, in combination with distinct features of ultracold-matter systems, allow us to monitor and analyze excitation dynamics in both the electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom. They are independent of system size, and they can therefore reliably probe systems in which, e.g., quantum state tomography becomes prohibitively expensive. We propose signals that can probe steady-state currents, detect the influence of anharmonicities on phonon transport, and identify signatures of chaotic dynamics near a quantum phase transition in an Ising-type spin chain.

Phase Equilibrium and Crystal Growth Studies on AgGaSe2 and Related Nonlinear Optical Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-09-01

identify by block number) IELD GROUP SUB-GROUP - "°Silver selenogallate, AgGaSe2, nonlinear optical materials, infrared materials, optical defects 19...materials has unique nonlinear infrared optical properties( 1-4 ) including high nonlinear coefficients, and the ability to be phase matched through a...have a milky appearance in thin section or when viewed with a commercial infrared image converter. Microscopic examination of AgGaSe2 in both reflected

Efficient numerical method for analyzing optical bistability in photonic crystal microcavities.

PubMed

Yuan, Lijun; Lu, Ya Yan

2013-05-20

Nonlinear optical effects can be enhanced by photonic crystal microcavities and be used to develop practical ultra-compact optical devices with low power requirements. The finite-difference time-domain method is the standard numerical method for simulating nonlinear optical devices, but it has limitations in terms of accuracy and efficiency. In this paper, a rigorous and efficient frequency-domain numerical method is developed for analyzing nonlinear optical devices where the nonlinear effect is concentrated in the microcavities. The method replaces the linear problem outside the microcavities by a rigorous and numerically computed boundary condition, then solves the nonlinear problem iteratively in a small region around the microcavities. Convergence of the iterative method is much easier to achieve since the size of the problem is significantly reduced. The method is presented for a specific two-dimensional photonic crystal waveguide-cavity system with a Kerr nonlinearity, using numerical methods that can take advantage of the geometric features of the structure. The method is able to calculate multiple solutions exhibiting the optical bistability phenomenon in the strongly nonlinear regime.

Nonlinear optical studies on 1,3-disubstituent chalcones doped polymer films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poornesh, P.; Shettigar, Seetharam; Umesh, G.; Manjunatha, K. B.; Prakash Kamath, K.; Sarojini, B. K.; Narayana, B.

2009-04-01

We report the measurements of the third-order nonlinear optical properties of recently synthesized and characterized two different 1,3-disubstituent chalcones doped PMMA films, with the prospective of reaching a good compromise between processability and high nonlinear optical properties. The measurements were done using nanosecond Z-scan at 532 nm. The Z-scan spectra reveal a large negative nonlinear refraction coefficient n2 of the order 10 -11 esu and the molecular two photon absorption cross section is 10 -46 cm 4 s/photon. The doped films exhibit good optical power limiting property under nanosecond regime and the two photon absorption (TPA) is the dominating process leading to the nonlinear behavior. The improvement in the nonlinear properties has been observed when methylenedioxy group is replaced by dimethoxy group due to increase in conjugation length. The observed nonlinear parameters of chalcone derivatives doped PMMA film is comparable with stilbazolieum derivatives, a well-known class of optical materials for photonics and biophotonics applications, which suggests that, these moieties have potential for the application of all-optical limiting and switching devices.

OPTOELECTRONICS, FIBER OPTICS, AND OTHER ASPECTS OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS: Nonlinear optical devices: basic elements of a future optical digital computer?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, R.; Müller, R.

1989-08-01

It is shown that nonlinear optical devices are the most promising elements for an optical digital supercomputer. The basic characteristics of various developed nonlinear elements are presented, including bistable Fabry-Perot etalons, interference filters, self-electrooptic effect devices, quantum-well devices utilizing transitions between the lowest electron states in the conduction band of GaAs, etc.

Broadband optical limiting and nonlinear optical absorption properties of a novel hyperbranched conjugated polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chao; Liu, Chunling; Li, Quanshui; Gong, Qihuang

2004-12-01

The nonlinear transmittance of a novel hyperbranched conjugated polymer named DMA-HPV has been measured in CHCl 3 solution using a nanosecond optical parametric oscillator. DMA-HPV shows excellent optical limiting performance in the visible region from 490 to 610 nm. An explanation based on the combination of two-photon absorption and reverse saturable absorption was proposed for its huge and broadband nonlinear optical absorption.

Calligraphic Poling for WGM Resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mohageg, Makan; Strekalov, Dmitry; Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Matsko, Andrey; Ilchenko, Vladimir; Maleki, Lute

2007-01-01

By engineering the geometry of a nonlinear optical crystal, the effective efficiency of all nonlinear optical oscillations can be increased dramatically. Specifically, sphere and disk shaped crystal resonators have been used to demonstrate nonlinear optical oscillations at sub-milliwatt input power when cs light propagates in a Whispering Gallery Mode (WGM) of such a resonant cavity. in terms of both device production and experimentation in quantum optics, some nonlinear optical effects with naturally high efficiency can occult the desired nonlinear scattering process. the structure to the crystal resonator. In this paper, I will discuss a new method for generating poling structures in ferroelectric crystal resonators called calligraphic poling. The details of the poling apparatus, experimental results and speculation on future applications will be discussed.

Validity Using Pump-Probe Pulses to Determine the Optical Response of Niobate Crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Huimin; Jia, Weiyi

1997-01-01

A variety of niobate crystals have found their places in nonlinear optical applications as well as in laser devices. In recent years much attention has been paid to study the ultrafast optical response in a variety of photorefractive crystals such as KTa(1-x)Nb(x)O3 and KNbO3 crystals, glasses, semiconductors and polymers for applications in optical switching, information processing, optical computing, and all-optical device systems. Third-order optical nonlinearity is the most important property for realization of all-optical switching. Therefore experiments have been performed on the third order susceptibility using a variety of techniques such as the third-order harmonic generation, EFISH and degenerate four-wave mixing(DFWM). The latter has been conducted with a variety of pump wavelengths and with nanosecond, picosecond and femtosecond pulses. Niobate crystals, such as potassium niobate KNbO3, potassium tantalate niobate KTN family (KTa(1-x)Nb(x)O3), strontium barium niobate SBN (Sr(x)Ba(1-x)Nb2O6) and potassium-sodium niobate SBN (KNSBN) are attractive due to their photorefractive properties for application in optical storage and processing. The pulsed probe experiments performed on theses materials have suggested two types of time responses. These responses have been associated with an coherent response due to Chi(sup 3), and a long lived component due to excited state population. Recent study of DFWM on KNbO3 and KTN family reveals that the long lived component of those crystals depends on the crystal orientation. A slowly decaying signal is observable when the grating vector K(sub g) is not perpendicular to the C-axis of those photorefractive crystals', otherwise the optical response signal would be only a narrow coherent peak with FWHM equal to the cross-correlation width of the write beam pulses. Based on this understanding, we study the photodynamical process of a variety of niobate crystals using DFWM in a Kg perpindicular to C geometry with a ps-YAG: Nd laser operating at 532nm. However, the discrepancies in numerical estimations of Chi(sup 3) in these materials and other nonlinear optical media have resulted in a number of discussions. In order to better understand the photodynamical process of niobate crystals after an short pulse excitation we analyze the factors governing the coherent signal and present the DFWM spectra of niobate crystals.

Second Harmonic Generation Optical Rotation Solely Attributable to Chirality in Plasmonic Metasurfaces.

PubMed

Collins, Joel T; Hooper, David C; Mark, Andrew G; Kuppe, Christian; Valev, Ventsislav Kolev

2018-05-31

Chiral plasmonic nanostructures, those lacking mirror symmetry, can be designed to manipulate the polarization of incident light resulting in chiroptical (chiral optical) effects such as circular dichroism (CD) and optical rotation (OR). Due to high symmetry sensitivity, corresponding effects in second harmonic generation (SHG-CD and SHG-OR) are typically much stronger in comparison. These nonlinear effects have long been used for chiral molecular analysis and characterization, however both linear and nonlinear optical rotation can occur even in achiral structures, if the structure is birefringent due to anisotropy. Crucially, chiroptical effects resulting from anisotropy typically exhibit a strong dependence on structural orientation. Here we report large second-harmonic generation optical rotation of ±45°, due to intrinsic chirality in a highly anisotropic helical metamaterial. The SHG intensity is found to strongly relate to the structural anisotropy, however the angle of SHG-OR is invariant under sample rotation. We show that by tuning the geometry of anisotropic nanostructures, the interaction between anisotropy, chirality, and experiment geometry can allow even greater control over the chiroptical properties of plasmonic metamaterials.

Nonlinear Optics Technology. Volume 2. Phase Conjugated Optical Communication Link. Phase 3

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-12

who performed the mission analysis, Mr. Larry A. Dozal whose laboratory assistance was vital to both the comm link experiments and mechanical design of...further the understanding of FWM PC comm link physics and to determine design requirements for a fieldable system. The system model demonstrated that...neterodyne receiver using photorefractive iaterial was also designed , fabricated, and characterized. The efficiency o heterodyne mixing of an aberrated

Nonlinear Optics Technology. Phase 3. Volume 2. Phase Conjugated Optical Communication Link

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-12

experiments and mechanical design of the artificial turbulence generator (turbox), Dr. George M. Harpole who provided the technical design of the turbox, Dr...understanding of FWM PC comm link physics and to determine design requirements for a fieldable system. The system model demonstrated that phase...using photorefractive material was also designed , fabricated, and characterized. The efficiency of heterodyne mixing of an aberrated beacon beam was

Defense Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR), Volume 4, Defense Agencies Abstracts of Phase 1 Awards 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPING INTEGRATED OPTICAL DEVICES, NONLINEAR MAGNETIC-OPTIC MATERIALS, HIGH FREQUENCY MODULATORS, COMPUTER-AIDED MODELING AND SOPHISTICATED... HIGH -LEVEL PRESENTATION AND DISTRIBUTED CONTROL MODELS FOR INTEGRATING HETEROGENEOUS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS AND TOOLS. THE DESIGN IS FOCUSED...STATISTICALLY ACCURATE WORST CASE DEVICE MODELS FOR CIRCUIT SIMULATION. PRESENT METHODS OF WORST CASE DEVICE DESIGN ARE AD HOC AND DO NOT ALLOW THE

Extracting third order optical nonlinearities of Mn(III)-Phthalocyanine chloride using high repetition rate femtosecond pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makhal, Krishnandu; Mathur, Paresh; Maurya, Sidharth; Goswami, Debabrata

2017-02-01

Third order nonlinearities of Mn(III)-Phthalocyanine chloride in dimethyl-sulphoxide under 50 fs pulses, operating at 94 MHz, by eliminating cumulative thermal effects have been investigated and reported by us. Modifications were done in data acquisition during Z-scan experiment, which included recording of time evolution waveform traces in an oscilloscope and not collection of Z versus transmission and utilization of a chopper of a suitable duty cycle. Time evolution traces were further processed analytically through MatLab® programming, which yielded Z-scan traces similar to what was obtained with single shot 50 fs pulse. We observed reverse saturable absorption at 800 nm owing to excited state absorption. We show that the nonlinear refractive index (γ) and nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) are over estimated almost 100 times, when MHz pulses are used compared to a situation, where thermo-optical nonlinearities are accounted. Illumination and dark periods are carefully set in a way, so that the sample is able to completely recover its initial temperature before arrival of the next pulse. Magnitudes of γ and β were found to be -(6.5-4.9) × 10-16 m2/W and (5.4-6.2) × 10-10 m/W under the MHz condition, whereas they were -(0.18-2.2) × 10-18 m2/W and (9.5-15) × 10-12 m/W under the thermally managed condition, respectively. To reveal the associated fast nonlinearity, femtosecond transient absorption experiment was performed, which inferred excited state absorption and ground state bleaching across the 450-780 nm region. Dynamics associated with these processes are reported along with fluorescence lifetime obtained through the TCSPC technique. Structure optimization using TDDFT calculations and HOMO-LUMO gaps with orbital pictures are also shown.

Nonlinear optics of fibre event horizons.

PubMed

Webb, Karen E; Erkintalo, Miro; Xu, Yiqing; Broderick, Neil G R; Dudley, John M; Genty, Goëry; Murdoch, Stuart G

2014-09-17

The nonlinear interaction of light in an optical fibre can mimic the physics at an event horizon. This analogue arises when a weak probe wave is unable to pass through an intense soliton, despite propagating at a different velocity. To date, these dynamics have been described in the time domain in terms of a soliton-induced refractive index barrier that modifies the velocity of the probe. Here we complete the physical description of fibre-optic event horizons by presenting a full frequency-domain description in terms of cascaded four-wave mixing between discrete single-frequency fields, and experimentally demonstrate signature frequency shifts using continuous wave lasers. Our description is confirmed by the remarkable agreement with experiments performed in the continuum limit, reached using ultrafast lasers. We anticipate that clarifying the description of fibre event horizons will significantly impact on the description of horizon dynamics and soliton interactions in photonics and other systems.

Power-controlled transition from standard to negative refraction in reorientational soft matter.

PubMed

Piccardi, Armando; Alberucci, Alessandro; Kravets, Nina; Buchnev, Oleksandr; Assanto, Gaetano

2014-11-25

Refraction at a dielectric interface can take an anomalous character in anisotropic crystals, when light is negatively refracted with incident and refracted beams emerging on the same side of the interface normal. In soft matter subject to reorientation, such as nematic liquid crystals, the nonlinear interaction with light allows tuning of the optical properties. We demonstrate that in such material a beam of light can experience either positive or negative refraction depending on input power, as it can alter the spatial distribution of the optic axis and, in turn, the direction of the energy flow when traveling across an interface. Moreover, the nonlinear optical response yields beam self-focusing and spatial localization into a self-confined solitary wave through the formation of a graded-index waveguide, linking the refractive transition to power-driven readdressing of copolarized guided-wave signals, with a number of output ports not limited by diffraction.

Thermal, optical, mechanical and electrical properties of a novel NLO active L-phenylalanine L-phenylalaninium perchlorate single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cyrac Peter, A.; Vimalan, M.; Sagayaraj, P.; Madhavan, J.

2010-01-01

Single crystals of L-phenylalanine L-phenylalaninium perchlorate (LPAPCl), a semiorganic nonlinear (NLO) material have been successfully grown up to a size of 14 mm×5 mm×3 mm. The lattice parameters of the grown crystals are determined by single crystal XRD. The UV-Vis-NIR spectrum of LPAPCl show less optical absorption in the entire visible region. Nonlinear optical study reveals that the SHG efficiency of LPAPCl is nearly 1.4 times that of KDP. The laser damage density is found to be 7.4 GW/cm 2. The crystals are subjected to microhardness studies and the variation of the microhardness with the applied load is studied. The response of dielectric constant in the frequency region of 50 Hz to 5 MHz has been investigated. AC and DC conductivity and photoconductivity experiments are also carried out and the results are discussed.

Flat nonlinear optics: metasurfaces for efficient frequency mixing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nookala, Nishant; Lee, Jongwon; Liu, Yingnan; Bishop, Wells; Tymchenko, Mykhailo; Gomez-Diaz, J. Sebastian; Demmerle, Frederic; Boehm, Gerhard; Amann, Markus-Christian; Wolf, Omri; Brener, Igal; Alu, Andrea; Belkin, Mikhail A.

2017-02-01

Gradient metasurfaces, or ultrathin optical components with engineered transverse impedance gradients along the surface, are able to locally control the phase and amplitude of the scattered fields over subwavelength scales, enabling a broad range of linear components in a flat, integrable platform1-4. On the contrary, due to the weakness of their nonlinear optical responses, conventional nonlinear optical components are inherently bulky, with stringent requirements associated with phase matching and poor control over the phase and amplitude of the generated beam. Nonlinear metasurfaces have been recently proposed to enable frequency conversion in thin films without phase-matching constraints and subwavelength control of the local nonlinear phase5-8. However, the associated optical nonlinearities are far too small to produce significant nonlinear conversion efficiency and compete with conventional nonlinear components for pump intensities below the materials damage threshold. Here, we report multi-quantum-well based gradient nonlinear metasurfaces with second-order nonlinear susceptibility over 106 pm/V for second harmonic generation at a fundamental pump wavelength of 10 μm, 5-6 orders of magnitude larger than traditional crystals. Further, we demonstrate the efficacy of this approach to designing metasurfaces optimized for frequency conversion over a large range of wavelengths, by reporting multi-quantum-well and metasurface structures optimized for a pump wavelength of 6.7 μm. Finally, we demonstrate how the phase of this nonlinearly generated light can be locally controlled well below the diffraction limit using the Pancharatnam-Berry phase approach5,7,9, opening a new paradigm for ultrathin, flat nonlinear optical components.

IOTA (Integrable Optics Test Accelerator): Facility and experimental beam physics program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antipov, Sergei; Broemmelsiek, Daniel; Bruhwiler, David

The Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) is a storage ring for advanced beam physics research currently being built and commissioned at Fermilab. It will operate with protons and electrons using injectors with momenta of 70 and 150 MeV/c, respectively. The research program includes the study of nonlinear focusing integrable optical beam lattices based on special magnets and electron lenses, beam dynamics of space-charge effects and their compensation, optical stochastic cooling, and several other experiments. In this article, we present the design and main parameters of the facility, outline progress to date and provide the timeline of the construction, commissioning andmore » research. Finally, the physical principles, design, and hardware implementation plans for the major IOTA experiments are also discussed.« less

IOTA (Integrable Optics Test Accelerator): Facility and experimental beam physics program

DOE PAGES

Antipov, Sergei; Broemmelsiek, Daniel; Bruhwiler, David; ...

2017-03-06

The Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) is a storage ring for advanced beam physics research currently being built and commissioned at Fermilab. It will operate with protons and electrons using injectors with momenta of 70 and 150 MeV/c, respectively. The research program includes the study of nonlinear focusing integrable optical beam lattices based on special magnets and electron lenses, beam dynamics of space-charge effects and their compensation, optical stochastic cooling, and several other experiments. In this article, we present the design and main parameters of the facility, outline progress to date and provide the timeline of the construction, commissioning andmore » research. Finally, the physical principles, design, and hardware implementation plans for the major IOTA experiments are also discussed.« less

High-Q/V Monolithic Diamond Microdisks Fabricated with Quasi-isotropic Etching.

PubMed

Khanaliloo, Behzad; Mitchell, Matthew; Hryciw, Aaron C; Barclay, Paul E

2015-08-12

Optical microcavities enhance light-matter interactions and are essential for many experiments in solid state quantum optics, optomechanics, and nonlinear optics. Single crystal diamond microcavities are particularly sought after for applications involving diamond quantum emitters, such as nitrogen vacancy centers, and for experiments that benefit from diamond's excellent optical and mechanical properties. Light-matter coupling rates in experiments involving microcavities typically scale with Q/V, where Q and V are the microcavity quality-factor and mode-volume, respectively. Here we demonstrate that microdisk whispering gallery mode cavities with high Q/V can be fabricated directly from bulk single crystal diamond. By using a quasi-isotropic oxygen plasma to etch along diamond crystal planes and undercut passivated diamond structures, we create monolithic diamond microdisks. Fiber taper based measurements show that these devices support TE- and TM-like optical modes with Q > 1.1 × 10(5) and V < 11(λ/n) (3) at a wavelength of 1.5 μm.

Engineered Multifunctional Nanophotonic Materials for Ultrafast Optical Switching

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-11-02

and Co3 + placed at tetrahedral and octahedral sites, respectively. Single -layer thin films of Co3O4 nanoparticles have large optical nonlinearity and...the first two methodologies in systems having weakly resonant structures, including 3-D and/or 1-D photonic crystal structures (i.e. nonlinear Bragg...Nonlinear optical transmission of lead phthalocyanine-doped nematic liquid crystal composites for multiscale nonlinear switching from nanosecond to

Nonlinear waveguide optics and photonic crystal fibers.

PubMed

Knight, J C; Skryabin, D V

2007-11-12

Focus Serial: Frontiers of Nonlinear Optics

Nonlinear Real-Time Optical Signal Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

pattern recognition. Additional work concerns the relationship of parallel computation paradigms to optical computing and halftone screen techniques...paradigms to optical computing and halftone screen techniques for implementing general nonlinear functions. 3\\ 2 Research Progress This section...Vol. 23, No. 8, pp. 34-57, 1986. 2.4 Nonlinear Optical Processing with Halftones : Degradation and Compen- sation Models This paper is concerned with

Anomalous nonlinear absorption in epsilon-near-zero materials: optical limiting and all-optical control.

PubMed

Vincenti, M A; de Ceglia, D; Scalora, Michael

2016-08-01

We investigate nonlinear absorption in films of epsilon-near-zero materials. The combination of large local electric fields at the fundamental frequency and material losses at the harmonic frequencies induce unusual intensity-dependent phenomena. We predict that the second-order nonlinearity of a low-damping, epsilon-near-zero slab produces an optical limiting effect that mimics a two-photon absorption process. Anomalous absorption profiles that depend on low permittivity values at the pump frequency are also predicted for third-order nonlinearities. These findings suggest new opportunities for all-optical light control and novel ways to design reconfigurable and tunable nonlinear devices.

Nonlinear optical and light emission studies of special organic molecules and crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Achintya K.

The nonlinear optical properties and light emission characteristics of some special organic molecules and crystals have been studied in detail. The second-order nonlinear optical effects were measured in the single- crystal films of the materials. The crystallographic orientations of the films were determined using x-ray diffraction measurements. The second-order susceptibility tensor elements of 4-aminobenzophenone (ABP) and 8- (4'-acetylphenyl)-1,4-dioxa-8- azaspiro[4.5]decane (APDA) films were measured using polarization selective second-harmonic generation experiments. The d-coefficients of ABP are: d 23 = 7.3 +/- 0.4 pm/V and d22 = 0.73 +/- 0.04 pm/V, while those of APDA are: d33 = 54 +/- 6 pm/V and d15 = 18 +/- 3 pm/V at 1064 nm. Phase-matched propagation directions were identified on the films. The application of these films in measuring ultra-short laser pulse-width was demonstrated. Polarized optical absorption and photo- luminescence were measured in 4'- dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate (DAST). The electro-optic properties of single- crystal films of DAST and styryl pyridinium cyanine dye (SPCD) were studied over a broad range of wavelengths. The measured r-coefficients are the largest reported in any material. Thin-film electro-optic modulators were demonstrated using these films which have insignificant insertion and propagation losses compared to the traditional waveguide based devices. The response was observed to be flat over the measured frequency range (2 kHz-100 MHz), which indicates the origin of the electro-optic effect to be predominantly electronic. Thus these materials have significant potential for applications in high-speed optical signal processing. Spectral broadening of femtosecond laser pulses in poly- [2,4 hexadiyne-1,6 diol-bis-(p-toluene sulfonate)] (PTS) single-crystals due to self-phase modulation was studied. The magnitudes of the nonlinear refractive index were determined over the wavelength range of 720-1064 nm. The two-photon absorption spectrum, determined from nonlinear transmission measurements, was observed to have no discernible influence on the dispersion of the nonlinear index at these wavelengths. Highly efficient spectrally narrowed emission has been observed for the first time in strongly dipolar organic salts based on the stilbazolium chromophore. An unusually high conversion efficiency (40%) with a low excitation threshold (<1 μJ) has been observed despite a very low photoluminescence efficiency (~0.3%). The results are explained in terms of cooperative emission upon short-pulse optical excitation. These materials have a wide range of potential applications in photonics, including frequency conversion, high-speed electro-optic modulation, sensors, and novel laser-like light sources.

Synthesis of nanocomposites based on carbon nanotube/smart copolymer with nonlinear optical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sousani, Abbas; Motiei, Hamideh; Najafimoghadam, Peyman; Hasanzade, Reza

2017-05-01

In this study new nanocompoites based on polyglycidylmethacrylate grafted 4-[(4-methoxyphenyl) diazenyl] phenol (Azo-PGMA) and Carboxylicacid functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) were prepared. The nanocomposites structure was characterized by FT-IR, TGA and SEM. The Z-scan technique was applied for measuring the nonlinear parameters of nanocomposites. The samples after solving in AWM solution (equal ratio of acetone, deionized water and methanol) were investigated by using closed aperture Z-scan technique and a diode-pumped laser at the line 532 nm. All the nonlinear refractive index of the samples at three concentrations of carbon nanotubes in three different intensities of the laser beam were investigated and the nonlinear optical response of them are compared under the same condition. Because of high order of nonlinear refractive coefficient and good nonlinearity, these compounds are suitable candidate for optical switching, optical limiting and electro-optical devices.

Nonlinear filter based decision feedback equalizer for optical communication systems.

PubMed

Han, Xiaoqi; Cheng, Chi-Hao

2014-04-07

Nonlinear impairments in optical communication system have become a major concern of optical engineers. In this paper, we demonstrate that utilizing a nonlinear filter based Decision Feedback Equalizer (DFE) with error detection capability can deliver a better performance compared with the conventional linear filter based DFE. The proposed algorithms are tested in simulation using a coherent 100 Gb/sec 16-QAM optical communication system in a legacy optical network setting.

Topological nature of nonlinear optical effects in solids.

PubMed

Morimoto, Takahiro; Nagaosa, Naoto

2016-05-01

There are a variety of nonlinear optical effects including higher harmonic generations, photovoltaic effects, and nonlinear Kerr rotations. They are realized by strong light irradiation to materials that results in nonlinear polarizations in the electric field. These are of great importance in studying the physics of excited states of the system as well as for applications to optical devices and solar cells. Nonlinear properties of materials are usually described by nonlinear susceptibilities, which have complex expressions including many matrix elements and energy denominators. On the other hand, a nonequilibrium steady state under an electric field periodic in time has a concise description in terms of the Floquet bands of electrons dressed by photons. We show theoretically, using the Floquet formalism, that various nonlinear optical effects, such as the shift current in noncentrosymmetric materials, photovoltaic Hall response, and photo-induced change of order parameters under the continuous irradiation of monochromatic light, can be described in a unified fashion by topological quantities involving the Berry connection and Berry curvature. We found that vector fields defined with the Berry connections in the space of momentum and/or parameters govern the nonlinear responses. This topological view offers a route to designing nonlinear optical materials.

Topological nature of nonlinear optical effects in solids

PubMed Central

Morimoto, Takahiro; Nagaosa, Naoto

2016-01-01

There are a variety of nonlinear optical effects including higher harmonic generations, photovoltaic effects, and nonlinear Kerr rotations. They are realized by strong light irradiation to materials that results in nonlinear polarizations in the electric field. These are of great importance in studying the physics of excited states of the system as well as for applications to optical devices and solar cells. Nonlinear properties of materials are usually described by nonlinear susceptibilities, which have complex expressions including many matrix elements and energy denominators. On the other hand, a nonequilibrium steady state under an electric field periodic in time has a concise description in terms of the Floquet bands of electrons dressed by photons. We show theoretically, using the Floquet formalism, that various nonlinear optical effects, such as the shift current in noncentrosymmetric materials, photovoltaic Hall response, and photo-induced change of order parameters under the continuous irradiation of monochromatic light, can be described in a unified fashion by topological quantities involving the Berry connection and Berry curvature. We found that vector fields defined with the Berry connections in the space of momentum and/or parameters govern the nonlinear responses. This topological view offers a route to designing nonlinear optical materials. PMID:27386523

Optical proposals for controlled delayed-choice experiment based on weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Li; Lin, Yan-Fang; Li, Qing-Yang; Xiu, Xiao-Ming; Dong, Hai-Kuan; Gao, Ya-Jun

2017-05-01

Employing polarization modes of a photon, we propose two theoretical proposals to exhibit the wave-particle duality of the photon with the assistance of weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities. The first proposal is a classical controlled delayed-choice experiment (that is, Wheeler's delayed-choice experiment), where we can observe selectively wave property or particle property of the photon relying on the experimenter's selection, whereas the second proposal is a quantum controlled delayed-choice experiment, by which the mixture phenomenon of a wave and a particle will be exhibited. Both of them can be realized with near-unity probability and embody the charming characteristics of quantum mechanics. The employment of the mature techniques and simple operations (e.g., Homodyne measurement, classical feed forward, and single-photon transformations) provides the feasibility of the delayed-choice experiment proposals presented here.

On the theory of quantum measurement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haus, Hermann A.; Kaertner, Franz X.

1994-01-01

Many so called paradoxes of quantum mechanics are clarified when the measurement equipment is treated as a quantized system. Every measurement involves nonlinear processes. Self consistent formulations of nonlinear quantum optics are relatively simple. Hence optical measurements, such as the quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement of photon number, are particularly well suited for such a treatment. It shows that the so called 'collapse of the wave function' is not needed for the interpretation of the measurement process. Coherence of the density matrix of the signal is progressively reduced with increasing accuracy of the photon number determination. If the QND measurement is incorporated into the double slit experiment, the contrast ratio of the fringes is found to decrease with increasing information on the photon number in one of the two paths.

Nonlinear and non-Hermitian optical systems applied to the development of filters and optical sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amaro de Faria Júnior, A. C.

2015-09-01

In this work we present a method of investigation of nonlinear optical beams generated from non-Hermitian optical systems1 . This method can be applied in the development of optical filters and optical sensors to process, analyze and choose the passband of the propagation modes of an optical pulse from an non-Hermitian optical system. Non-Hermitian optical systems can be used to develop optical fiber sensors that suppress certain propagation modes of optical pulses that eventually behave as quantum noise. Such systems are described by the Nonlinear Schrödinger-like Equation with Parity-Time (PT) Symmetric Optical Potentials. There are optical fiber sensors that due to high laser intensity and frequency can produce quantum noise, such as Raman and Brillouin scattering. However, the optical fiber, for example, can be designed so that its geometry suppress certain propagation modes of the beam. We apply some results of non- Hermitian optical systems with PT symmetry to simulate optical lattice by a appropriate potential function, which among other applications, can naturally suppress certain propagation modes of an optical beam propagating through a waveguide. In other words, the optical system is modeled by a potential function in the Nonlinear Schrödinger-like Equation that one relates with the geometric aspects of the wave guides and with the optical beam interacting with the waveguide material. The paper is organized as follows: sections 1 and 2 present a brief description about nonlinear optical systems and non-Hermitian optical systems with PT symmetry. Section 3 presents a description of the dynamics of nonlinear optical pulses propagating through optical networks described by a optical potential non-Hermitian. Sections 4 and 5 present a general description of this non-Hermitian optical systems and how to get them from a more general model. Section 6 presents some conclusions and comment and the final section presents the references. Begin the abstract two lines below author names and addresses.

Study of nonlinear refraction of organic dye by Z-scan technique using He-Ne laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Medhekar, S.; Kumar, R.; Mukherjee, S.

2013-02-05

Laser induced third-order nonlinear optical responses of Brilliant Green solution has been investigated by utilizing single beam Z-scan technique with a continuous-wave He-Ne laser radiation at 632.8 nm. It was observed that the material exhibits self-defocusing type optical nonlinearity. The measurements of nonlinear refraction were carried out at different dye concentrations and found that the increase in solution concentration leads to the linear increase of the nonlinear refractive index. The experimental results confirm great potential of the Brilliant Green for the application in nonlinear optical devices.

Studies of Second Order Optical Nonlinearities of 4-Aminobenzophenone (ABP) Single Crystal Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Achintya; Thakur, Mrinal

1998-03-01

Specific organic materials exhibit very high second order optical susceptibilities. Growth of single crystal films of these materials and characterization of nonlinear optical properties are necessary for implementation of device applications. We have grown large-area films ( 1 cm^2 area, 4 μm thick) of ABP by a modification of the shear method. Single crystal nature of the films was confirmed by polarized optical microscopy. X-ray diffraction analysis showed a [100] surface orientation. The absorption spectra revealed transparency from 390 nm to 1940 nm. Significant elements of the second order optical susceptibility tensor were measured by detailed SHG experiments using a Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 100 ps, 82 MHz). Second-harmonic power was measured using lock-in detection with carefully selected polarization conditions while the film was rotated about the propagation direction. Using LiNbØas the reference, d-coefficients of ABP were found to be d_23=7.2 pm/V and d_22=0.7 pm/V. Type-I and type-II phase-matching directions were identified on the film by analyzing the optical indicatrix surfaces at fundamental and second-harmonic frequencies.

Ray Methods for Acoustic Scattering, Optics Of Bubbles, Diffraction Catastrophes, and Nonlinear Acoustics.

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-11-24

15 Code I: Internal Reports ................................................................. 19 Code M : Oral...experiments. 13. S. M . Baumer: completed M.S. thesis in 1988 on light scattering. 14. C. E. Dean: completed Ph.D. dissertation in 1989 on light...novel oscillation induced flow instabilities. 18. J. M . Winey: awarded M.S. degree in 1990 with project on capillary wave experiments. He

Tuning the nonlinear optical absorption in Au/BaTiO3 nanocomposites with gold nanoparticle concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bijeesh, M. M.; Shakhi, P. K.; Varier, Geetha K.; Nandakumar, P.

2018-06-01

We report on the nonlinear optical absorption coefficient of Au/BaTiO3 nanocomposite films and its dependence on gold nanoparticle concentration. Au/BaTiO3 nanocomposite films with different molar ratio of Au/Ba are prepared by sol-gel technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction, UV Visible absorption spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. An open aperture Z-scan technique is employed to study the third order nonlinear optical properties of Au/BaTiO3 thin films. An Nd:YAG laser operating at 532 nm wavelength having a pulse width of 5 ns is used for the measurements. The two-photon absorption coefficient of the films increases linearly with gold nanoparticle concentration and significant enhancement of nonlinear optical absorption is observed. This ability to fine tune the nonlinear optical coefficients of Au/BaTiO3 films would be handy in optical device applications.

Spatiotemporal polarization modulation microscopy with a microretarder array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Changqin; Ulcickas, James R. W.; Simpson, Garth J.

2018-02-01

A patterned microretarder array positioned in the rear conjugate plane of a microscope enables rapid polarizationdependent nonlinear optical microscopy. The pattern introduced to the array results in periodic modulation of the polarization-state of the incident light as a function of position within the field of view with no moving parts or active control. Introduction of a single stationary optical element and a fixed polarizer into the beam of a nonlinear optical microscope enabled nonlinear optical tensor recovery, which informs on local structure and orientation. Excellent agreement was observed between the measured and predicted second harmonic generation (SHG) of z-cut quartz, selected as a test system with well-established nonlinear optical properties. Subsequent studies of spatially varying samples further support the general applicability of this relatively simple strategy for detailed polarization analysis in both conventional and nonlinear optical imaging of structurally diverse samples.

A Photonic Basis for Deriving Nonlinear Optical Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, David L.; Bradshaw, David S.

2009-01-01

Nonlinear optics is generally first presented as an extension of conventional optics. Typically the subject is introduced with reference to a classical oscillatory electric polarization, accommodating correction terms that become significant at high intensities. The material parameters that quantify the extent of the nonlinear response are cast as…

Geometrical optics analysis of the structural imperfection of retroreflection corner cubes with a nonlinear conjugate gradient method.

PubMed

Kim, Hwi; Min, Sung-Wook; Lee, Byoungho

2008-12-01

Geometrical optics analysis of the structural imperfection of retroreflection corner cubes is described. In the analysis, a geometrical optics model of six-beam reflection patterns generated by an imperfect retroreflection corner cube is developed, and its structural error extraction is formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem. The nonlinear conjugate gradient method is employed for solving the nonlinear optimization problem, and its detailed implementation is described. The proposed method of analysis is a mathematical basis for the nondestructive optical inspection of imperfectly fabricated retroreflection corner cubes.

Ultrafast Nyquist OTDM demultiplexing using optical Nyquist pulse sampling in an all-optical nonlinear switch.

PubMed

Hirooka, Toshihiko; Seya, Daiki; Harako, Koudai; Suzuki, Daiki; Nakazawa, Masataka

2015-08-10

We propose the ultrahigh-speed demultiplexing of Nyquist OTDM signals using an optical Nyquist pulse as both a signal and a sampling pulse in an all-optical nonlinear switch. The narrow spectral width of the Nyquist pulses means that the spectral overlap between data and control pulses is greatly reduced, and the control pulse itself can be made more tolerant to dispersion and nonlinear distortions inside the nonlinear switch. We apply the Nyquist control pulse to the 640 to 40 Gbaud demultiplexing of DPSK and DQPSK signals using a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM), and demonstrate a large performance improvement compared with conventional Gaussian control pulses. We also show that the optimum spectral profile of the Nyquist control pulse depends on the walk-off property of the NOLM.

Nonlinear optical effects on the surface of acridine yellow-doped lead-tin fluorophosphate glass

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

He, K. X.; Bryant, William; Venkateswarlu, Putcha

1991-01-01

The second- and third-order nonlinear optical properties of acridine yellow-doped lead-tin fluorophosphate (LTF) glass have been directly studied by measurement of surface enhanced second harmonic generation and third harmonic generation. The three photon excitation fluorescence is also observed. Based on these results, the large nonlinearities of the acridine LTF system which is a new nonlinear optical material are experimentally demonstrated.

(2 + 1)-dimensional bright optical solitons in metamaterials with Kerr, power and parabolic law nonlinearities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boubir, Badreddine

2018-06-01

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of bright optical solitons in nonlinear metamaterials governed by a (2 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Three types of nonlinearities have been considered, Kerr law, power law and parabolic law. We based on the solitary wave ansatz method to find these optical soliton solutions. All necessary parametric conditions for their existence are driven.

Superradiance Effects in the Linear and Nonlinear Optical Response of Quantum Dot Molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sitek, A.; Machnikowski, P.

2008-11-01

We calculate the linear optical response from a single quantum dot molecule and the nonlinear, four-wave-mixing response from an inhomogeneously broadened ensemble of such molecules. We show that both optical signals are affected by the coupling-dependent superradiance effect and by optical interference between the two polarizations. As a result, the linear and nonlinear responses are not identical.

Suppression of Instabilities Generated by an Anti-Damper with a Nonlinear Magnetic Element in IOTA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stern, E.

The Integrable Optics Test Accelerator (IOTA) storage ring is being constructed at Fermilab as a testbed for new accelerator concepts. One important series of experiments tests the use of a novel nonlinear magnetic insert to damp coherent instabilities. To test the damping power of the element, an instability of desired strength may be intentionally excited with an anti-damper. We report on simulations of beam stabilization using the Synergia modeling framework over ranges of driving and damping strengths.

Applications of infrared free electron lasers in picosecond and nonlinear spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fann, W. S.; Benson, S. V.; Madey, J. M. J.; Etemad, S.; Baker, G. L.; Rothberg, L.; Roberson, M.; Austin, R. H.

1990-10-01

In this paper we describe two different types of spectroscopic experiments that exploit the characteristics of the infrared FEL, Mark III, for studies of condensed matter: - the spectrum of χ(3)(-3ω; ω, ω, ω) in polyacetylene: an application of the free electron laser in nonlinear optical spectroscopy, and - a dynamical test of Davydov-like solitons in acetanilide using a picosecond free electron laser. These two studies highlight the unique contributions FELs can make to condensed-matter spectroscopy.

Third-order optical nonlinearities in bulk and fs-laser inscribed waveguides in strengthened alkali aluminosilcate glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almeida, Gustavo F. B.; Almeida, Juliana M. P.; Martins, Renato J.; De Boni, Leonardo; Arnold, Craig B.; Mendonca, Cleber R.

2018-01-01

The development of advanced photonics devices requires materials with large optical nonlinearities, fast response times and high optical transparency, while at the same time allowing for the micro/nano-processing needed for integrated photonics. In this context, glasses have been receiving considerable attention given their relevant optical properties which can be specifically tailored by compositional control. Corning Gorilla® Glass (strengthened alkali aluminosilicate glass) is well-known for its use as a protective screen in mobile devices, and has attracted interest as a potential candidate for optical devices. Therefore, it is crucial not only to expand the knowledge on the fabrication of waveguides in Gorilla Glass under different regimes, but also to determine its nonlinear optical response, both using fs-laser pulses. Thus, this paper reports, for the first time, characterization of the third-order optical nonlinearities of Gorilla Glass, as well as linear and nonlinear characterization of waveguide written with femtosecond pulses under the low repetition rate regime (1 kHz).

Quantum correlations in microwave frequency combs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weissl, Thomas; Jolin, Shan W.; Haviland, David B.; Department of Applied Physics Team

Non-linear superconducting resonators are used as parametric amplifiers in circuit quantum electrodynamics experiments. When a strong pump is applied to a non-linear microwave oscillator, it correlates vacuum fluctuations at signal and idler frequencies symmetrically located around the pump, resulting in two-mode squeezed vacuum. When the non-linear oscillator is pumped with a frequency comb, complex multipartite entangled states can be created as demonstrated with experiments in the optical domain. Such cluster states are considered to be a universal resource for one-way quantum computing. With our microwave measurement setup it is possible to pump and measure response at as many as 42 frequencies in parallel, with independent control over all pump amplitudes and phases. We show results of two-mode squeezing for of pairs of tones in a microwave frequency comb. The squeezing is created by four-wave mixing of a pump tone applied to a non-linear coplanar-waveguide resonator. We acknowledge financial support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg foundation.

Decrease and enhancement of third-order optical nonlinearity in metal-dielectric composite films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ning, Tingyin; Lu, Heng; Zhou, Yueliang; Man, Baoyuan

2018-04-01

We investigate third-order optical nonlinearity in gold nanoparticles embedded in CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) films using the Z-scan method. We observe that the effective third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities in such composite films can not only be enhanced, in line with the conventional behavior, but also be decreased, depending on the volume concentration of gold. In particular, the nonlinear absorption behavior can be changed from saturable absorption in pure CCTO films to reversed saturable absorption in composite films, and theoretically, even zero nonlinear absorption could be obtained. These results indicate that it should be possible to tune the third-order optical nonlinearity in Au:CCTO composite films by altering the gold concentration, thus making them suitable for applications in photonic devices.

ALOHA—Astronomical Light Optical Hybrid Analysis - From experimental demonstrations to a MIR instrument proposal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehmann, L.; Darré, P.; Szemendera, L.; Gomes, J. T.; Baudoin, R.; Ceus, D.; Brustlein, S.; Delage, L.; Grossard, L.; Reynaud, F.

2018-04-01

This paper gives an overview of the Astronomical Light Optical Hybrid Analysis (ALOHA) project dedicated to investigate a new method for high resolution imaging in mid infrared astronomy. This proposal aims to use a non-linear frequency conversion process to shift the thermal infrared radiation to a shorter wavelength domain compatible with proven technology such as guided optics and detectors. After a description of the principle, we summarise the evolution of our study from the high flux seminal experiments to the latest results in the photon counting regime.

Tunable all-optical plasmonic rectifier in nanoscale metal-insulator-metal waveguides.

PubMed

Xu, Yi; Wang, Xiaomeng; Deng, Haidong; Guo, Kangxian

2014-10-15

We propose a tunable all-optical plasmonic rectifier based on the nonlinear Fano resonance in a metal-insulator-metal plasmonic waveguide and cavities coupling system. We develop a theoretical model based on the temporal coupled-mode theory to study the device physics of the nanoscale rectifier. We further demonstrate via the finite difference time domain numerical experiment that our idea can be realized in a plasmonic system with an ultracompact size of ~120×800  nm². The tunable plasmonic rectifier could facilitate the all-optical signal processing in nanoscale.

Subwavelength nonlinear phase control and anomalous phase matching in plasmonic metasurfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Almeida, Euclides; Shalem, Guy; Prior, Yehiam

2016-01-01

Metasurfaces, and in particular those containing plasmonic-based metallic elements, constitute an attractive set of materials with a potential for replacing standard bulky optical elements. In recent years, increasing attention has been focused on their nonlinear optical properties, particularly in the context of second and third harmonic generation and beam steering by phase gratings. Here, we harness the full phase control enabled by subwavelength plasmonic elements to demonstrate a unique metasurface phase matching that is required for efficient nonlinear processes. We discuss the difference between scattering by a grating and by subwavelength phase-gradient elements. We show that for such interfaces an anomalous phase-matching condition prevails, which is the nonlinear analogue of the generalized Snell's law. The subwavelength phase control of optical nonlinearities paves the way for the design of ultrathin, flat nonlinear optical elements. We demonstrate nonlinear metasurface lenses, which act both as generators and as manipulators of the frequency-converted signal.

Characterization of the third-order optical nonlinearity spectrum of barium borate glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santos, S. N. C.; Almeida, J. M. P.; Paula, K. T.; Tomazio, N. B.; Mastelaro, V. R.; Mendonça, C. R.

2017-11-01

Borate glasses have proven to be an important material for applications ranging from radiation dosimetry to nonlinear optics. In particular, B2O3-BaO based glasses are attractive to frequency generation since their barium metaborate phase (β-BaB2O4 or β-BBO) may be crystallized under proper heat treatment. Despite the vast literature covering their linear and second-order optical nonlinear properties, their third-order nonlinearities remain overlooked. This paper thus reports a study on the nonlinear refraction (n2) of BBO and BBS-DyEu glasses through femtosecond Z-scan technique. The results were modeled using the BGO approach, which showed that oxygen ions are playing a role in the nonlinear optical properties of the glasses studied here. In addition, the barium borate glasses containing rare-earths ions were found to exhibit larger nonlinearities, which is in agreement with previous studies.

Method and apparatus of highly linear optical modulation

DOEpatents

DeRose, Christopher; Watts, Michael R.

2016-05-03

In a new optical intensity modulator, a nonlinear change in refractive index is used to balance the nonlinearities in the optical transfer function in a way that leads to highly linear optical intensity modulation.

Semi-monolithic cavity for external resonant frequency doubling and method of performing the same

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hemmati, Hamid (Inventor)

1999-01-01

The fabrication of an optical cavity for use in a laser, in a frequency doubling external cavity, or any other type of nonlinear optical device, can be simplified by providing the nonlinear crystal in combination with a surrounding glass having an index of refraction substantially equal to that of the nonlinear crystal. The closed optical path in this cavity is formed in the surrounding glass and through the nonlinear crystal which lies in one of the optical segments of the light path. The light is transmitted through interfaces between the surrounding glass in the nonlinear crystal through interfaces which are formed at the Brewster-angle to minimize or eliminate reflection.

Nondestructive distributed measurement of supercontinuum generation along highly nonlinear optical fibers.

PubMed

Hontinfinde, Régis; Coulibaly, Saliya; Megret, Patrice; Taki, Majid; Wuilpart, Marc

2017-05-01

Supercontinuum generation (SCG) in optical fibers arises from the spectral broadening of an intense light, which results from the interplay of both linear and nonlinear optical effects. In this Letter, a nondestructive optical time domain reflectometry method is proposed for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, to measure the spatial (longitudinal) evolution of the SC induced along an optical fiber. The method was experimentally tested on highly nonlinear fibers. The experimental results are in a good agreement with the optical spectra measured at the fiber outputs.

Optimized achromatic phase-matching system and method

DOEpatents

Trebino, R.; DeLong, K.; Hayden, C.

1997-07-15

An optical system for efficiently directing a large bandwidth light (e.g., a femtosecond laser pulse) onto a nonlinear optical medium includes a plurality of optical elements for directing an input light pulse onto a nonlinear optical medium arranged such that the angle {theta}{sub in} which the light pulse directed onto the nonlinear optical medium is substantially independent of a position x of the light beam entering the optical system. The optical system is also constructed such that the group velocity dispersion of light pulses passing through the system can be tuned to a desired value including negative group velocity dispersion. 15 figs.

Optimized achromatic phase-matching system and method

DOEpatents

Trebino, Rick; DeLong, Ken; Hayden, Carl

1997-01-01

An optical system for efficiently directing a large bandwidth light (e.g., a femtosecond laser pulse) onto a nonlinear optical medium includes a plurality of optical elements for directing an input light pulse onto a nonlinear optical medium arranged such that the angle .theta..sub.in which the light pulse directed onto the nonlinear optical medium is substantially independent of a position x of the light beam entering the optical system. The optical system is also constructed such that the group velocity dispersion of light pulses passing through the system can be tuned to a desired value including negative group velocity dispersion.

In situ SHG monitoring of dipolar orientation and relaxation in Disperse Red type/derivative urethane-urea copolymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samoc, A.; Holland, A.; Tsuchimori, M.; Watanabe, O.; Samoc, M.; Luther-Davies, B.; Kolev, V. Z.

2005-09-01

We investigated linear optical and second-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of films of urethane-urea copolymer (UU2) functionalised with a high concentration of an azobenzene chromophore. The polymer films on ITO-coated substrate were corona poled to induce a noncentrosymmetric organization of chromophore dipoles and data on the second harmonic generated with the laser beam (the fundamental wavelength 1053 nm, 6 ps/pulse, 20 Hz repetition rate) was acquired as a function of time and temperature. Second harmonic generation (SHG) was used to monitor in situ the polar alignment and relaxation of orientation of the side-chain Disperse Red-like chromophore molecules in the films poled at room temperature and high above the glass transition temperature (Tg 140-150oC). The deff coefficient was determined from the Maker-fringe method and corrected for absorption. A strong second harmonic effect with a fast relaxation was observed in "cold" (room temperature) poling experiments. A large second-order resonantly enhanced optical nonlinearity (d33 of the order of 200 pm/V) was obtained in high temperature poling. A strong and stable nonlinearity has persisted for years after the films were high-temperature poled.

Ultrafast nonlinear spectrometer for material characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Negres, Raluca Aurelia

2001-11-01

This work describes the use of a broadband spectral source for nonlinear spectroscopy to characterize various materials with potential applications in confocal microscopy, biological sample markers, optical limiting devices and optical switches. The goal is to study the spectrum of nonlinear absorption and the dispersion of nonlinear refraction as well as the dynamics of the nonlinearities by means of femtosecond excite-probe experiments. The principle is quite simple: if a sample is under the influence of a strong fs excitation pulse and a probe pulse beam is incident at the same time, or shortly after (within the decay time of the nonlinearity), then the probe pulse will sense the nonlinearity induced by the excitation. If the probe pulse is broadband, a femtosecond white-light continuum (WLC) in our case, we can monitor the nonlinearity induced over the entire continuum spectrum in one laser ``shot''. The use of femtosecond laser pulses to generate WLC will provide femtosecond time resolution for time-resolved spectroscopy. We built the nonlinear spectrometer and allowed for many degrees of flexibility in terms of choice of wavelengths for pump and probe beams and a dual detection system to cover both visible and infrared spectral ranges. We have the possibility of performing broad band spectral measurements using a spectrometer or selected narrow bandwidth probes incident on Si or Ge photodiodes, for improved S/N ratios. The intrinsic properties of the continuum probe demand a careful characterization of its spatial and temporal profile. Knowledge of the dispersion of the index of refraction in various optical elements, including the sample itself, is also required for a correct analysis of the transient absorption raw data, especially for short time-scale dynamics of nonlinear processes. We tested the system using well-characterized semiconductor samples, and the results came out in excellent agreement with those from previous picosecond Z-scan measurements and theoretical modeling. With confidence, we can now measure various organic dyes with enhanced two-photon and excited-state absorption. Our setup is used to conduct a systematic study on similar compounds with modified molecular structures in order to learn about structure-property relations and draw guidelines for future design work.

Influence of electron beam irradiation on nonlinear optical properties of Al doped ZnO thin films for optoelectronic device applications in the cw laser regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antony, Albin; Pramodini, S.; Poornesh, P.; Kityk, I. V.; Fedorchuk, A. O.; Sanjeev, Ganesh

2016-12-01

We present the studies on third-order nonlinear optical properties of Al doped ZnO thin films irradiated with electron beam at different dose rate. Al doped ZnO thin films were deposited on a glass substrate by spray pyrolysis deposition technique. The thin films were irradiated using the 8 MeV electron beam from microtron ranging from 1 kG y to 5 kG y. Nonlinear optical studies were carried out by employing the single beam Z-scan technique to determine the sign and magnitude of absorptive and refractive nonlinearities of the irradiated thin films. Continuous wave He-Ne laser operating at 633 nm was used as source of excitation. The open aperture Z-scan measurements indicated the sample displays reverse saturable absorption (RSA) process. The negative sign of the nonlinear refractive index n2 was noted from the closed aperture Z-scan measurements indicates, the films exhibit self-defocusing property due to thermal nonlinearity. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility χ(3) varies from 8.17 × 10-5 esu to 1.39 × 10-3 esu with increase in electron beam irradiation. The present study reveals that the irradiation of electron beam leads to significant changes in the third-order optical nonlinearity. Al doped ZnO displays good optical power handling capability with optical clamping of about ∼5 mW. The irradiation study endorses that the Al doped ZnO under investigation is a promising candidate photonic device applications such as all-optical power limiting.

Ultrafast nonlinear optofluidics in selectively liquid-filled photonic crystal fibers.

PubMed

Vieweg, M; Gissibl, T; Pricking, S; Kuhlmey, B T; Wu, D C; Eggleton, B J; Giessen, H

2010-11-22

Selective filling of photonic crystal fibers with different media enables a plethora of possibilities in linear and nonlinear optics. Using two-photon direct-laser writing we demonstrate full flexibility of individual closing of holes and subsequent filling of photonic crystal fibers with highly nonlinear liquids. We experimentally demonstrate solitonic supercontinuum generation over 600 nm bandwidth using a compact femtosecond oscillator as pump source. Encapsulating our fibers at the ends we realize a compact ultrafast nonlinear optofluidic device. Our work is fundamentally important to the field of nonlinear optics as it provides a new platform for investigations of spatio-temporal nonlinear effects and underpins new applications in sensing and communications. Selective filling of different linear and nonlinear liquids, metals, gases, gain media, and liquid crystals into photonic crystal fibers will be the basis of new reconfigurable and versatile optical fiber devices with unprecedented performance. Control over both temporal and spatial dispersion as well as linear and nonlinear coupling will lead to the generation of spatial-temporal solitons, so-called optical bullets.

Modeling of coherent ultrafast magneto-optical experiments: Light-induced molecular mean-field model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hinschberger, Y.; Hervieux, P.-A.

2015-12-28

We present calculations which aim to describe coherent ultrafast magneto-optical effects observed in time-resolved pump-probe experiments. Our approach is based on a nonlinear semi-classical Drude-Voigt model and is used to interpret experiments performed on nickel ferromagnetic thin film. Within this framework, a phenomenological light-induced coherent molecular mean-field depending on the polarizations of the pump and probe pulses is proposed whose microscopic origin is related to a spin-orbit coupling involving the electron spins of the material sample and the electric field of the laser pulses. Theoretical predictions are compared to available experimental data. The model successfully reproduces the observed experimental trendsmore » and gives meaningful insight into the understanding of magneto-optical rotation behavior in the ultrafast regime. Theoretical predictions for further experimental studies are also proposed.« less

Characterization of Nonlinear Effects in Optically Pumped Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers ( VCSELs ) are an exciting...lines A-3 X AFIT/GEOiENP/93 D-01 Abstract The nonlinear characteristics of optically pumped Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers ( VCSELs ) are...uniformity of the VCSEL fabrication. xi Characterization of Nonlinear Effects in Optically Pumped Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers

Thermo-optical properties and nonlinear optical response of smectic liquid crystals containing gold nanoparticles.

PubMed

de Melo, P B; Nunes, A M; Omena, L; do Nascimento, S M S; da Silva, M G A; Meneghetti, M R; de Oliveira, I N

2015-10-01

The present work is devoted to the study of the thermo-optical and nonlinear optical properties of smectic samples containing gold nanoparticles with different shapes. By using the time-resolved Z-scan technique, we determine the effects of nanoparticle addition on the critical behavior of the thermal diffusivity and thermo-optical coefficient at the vicinity of the smectic-A-nematic phase transition. Our results reveal that introduction of gold nanoparticles affects the temperature dependence of thermo-optical parameters, due to the local distortions in the orientational order and heat generation provided by guest particles during the laser exposure. Further, we show that a nonlinear optical response may take place at temperatures where the smectic order is well established. We provide a detailed discussion of the effects associated with the introduction gold nanoparticles on the mechanisms behind the thermal transport and optical nonlinearity in liquid-crystal samples.

Nonlinear Metasurface for Simultaneous Control of Spin and Orbital Angular Momentum in Second Harmonic Generation.

PubMed

Li, Guixin; Wu, Lin; Li, King F; Chen, Shumei; Schlickriede, Christian; Xu, Zhengji; Huang, Siya; Li, Wendi; Liu, Yanjun; Pun, Edwin Y B; Zentgraf, Thomas; Cheah, Kok W; Luo, Yu; Zhang, Shuang

2017-12-13

The spin and orbital angular momentum (SAM and OAM) of light is providing a new gateway toward high capacity and robust optical communications. While the generation of light with angular momentum is well studied in linear optics, its further integration into nonlinear optical devices will open new avenues for increasing the capacity of optical communications through additional information channels at new frequencies. However, it has been challenging to manipulate the both SAM and OAM of nonlinear signals in harmonic generation processes with conventional nonlinear materials. Here, we report the generation of spin-controlled OAM of light in harmonic generations by using ultrathin photonic metasurfaces. The spin manipulation of OAM mode of harmonic waves is experimentally verified by using second harmonic generation (SHG) from gold meta-atom with 3-fold rotational symmetry. By introducing nonlinear phase singularity into the metasurface devices, we successfully generate and measure the topological charges of spin-controlled OAM mode of SHG through an on-chip metasurface interferometer. The nonlinear photonic metasurface proposed in this work not only opens new avenues for manipulating the OAM of nonlinear optical signals but also benefits the understanding of the nonlinear spin-orbit interaction of light in nanoscale devices.

Fe induced optical limiting properties of Zn1-xFexS nanospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vineeshkumar, T. V.; Raj, D. Rithesh; Prasanth, S.; Unnikrishnan, N. V.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.; Sudarasanakumar, C.

2018-02-01

Zn1-xFexS (x = 0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) nanospheres were synthesized by polyethylene glycol assisted hydrothermal method. XRD studies revealed that samples of all concentrations exhibited cubic structure with crystallite grain size 7-9 nm. TEM and SEM show the formation of nanospheres by dense aggregation of smaller particles. Increasing Zn/Fe ratio tune the band gap from 3.4 to 3.2 eV and also quenches the green luminescence. FTIR spectra reveal the presence of capping agent, intensity variation and shifting of LO and TO phonon modes confirm the presence of Fe ions. Nonlinear optical properties were measured using open and closed aperture z-scan techniques, employing frequency doubled 532 nm pumping sources which indicated reverse saturable absorption (RSA) process. The nonlinear optical coefficients are obtained by two photon absorption (2PA). Composition dependent nonlinear optical coefficients ;β;, nonlinear refractive index, third order susceptibility and optical limiting threshold were estimated. The sample shows good nonlinear absorption and enhancement of optical limiting behavior with increasing Fe volume fraction. Contribution of RSA on optical nonlinearity of Zn1-xFexS nanospheres are also investigated using three different input energies. Zn1-xFexS with comparatively small limiting threshold value is a promising candidate for optical power limiting applications.

Nonlinear Optical Acrylic Polymers and Use Thereof in Optical and Electro-Optic Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-07

COVERED 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Nonlinear Optical Acrylic Polymers and Use Thereof in Optical and Electro - Optic Devices 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT...generators, computational devices and the like. 15. SUBJECT TERMS optical devices, electro - optical devices, optical signal processing...THEREOF IN OPTICAL AND ELECTRO - OPTIC DEVICES [75] Inventors: Le*lie H. Sperling, Bethlehem; Clarence J. Murphy, Stroudsburg; Warren A. Rosen

Third order nonlinearity in pulsed laser deposited LiNbO{sub 3} thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tumuluri, Anil; Rapolu, Mounika; Rao, S. Venugopal, E-mail: kcjrsp@uohyd.ernet.in, E-mail: svrsp@uohyd.ernet.in

2016-05-06

Lithium niobate (LiNbO{sub 3}) thin films were prepared using pulsed laser deposition technique. Structural properties of the same were examined from XRD and optical band gap of the thin films were measured from transmittance spectra recorded using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Nonlinear optical properties of the thin films were recorded using Z-Scan technique. The films were exhibiting third order nonlinearity and their corresponding two photon absorption, nonlinear refractive index, real and imaginary part of nonlinear susceptibility were calculated from open aperture and closed aperture transmission curves. From these studies, it suggests that these films have potential applications in nonlinear optical devices.

Absorbing Boundary Conditions For Optical Pulses In Dispersive, Nonlinear Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goorjian, Peter M.; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

This paper will present results in computational nonlinear optics. An algorithm will be described that provides absorbing boundary conditions for optical pulses in dispersive, nonlinear materials. A new numerical absorber at the boundaries has been developed that is responsive to the spectral content of the pulse. Also, results will be shown of calculations of 2-D electromagnetic nonlinear waves computed by directly integrating in time the nonlinear vector Maxwell's equations. The results will include simulations of "light bullet" like pulses. Here diffraction and dispersion will be counteracted by nonlinear effects. Comparisons will be shown of calculations that use the standard boundary conditions and the new ones.

Evaluation of polymer based third order nonlinear integrated optics devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Driessen, A.; Hoekstra, H. J. W. M.; Blom, F. C.; Horst, F.; Krijnen, G. J. M.; van Schoot, J. B. P.; Lambeck, P. V.; Popma, Th. J. A.; Diemeer, M. B.

1998-01-01

Nonlinear polymers are promising materials for high speed active integrated optics devices. In this paper we evaluate the perspectives polymer based nonlinear optical devices can offer. Special attention is directed to the materials aspects. In our experimental work we applied mainly Akzo Nobel DANS side-chain polymer that exhibits large second and third order coefficients. This material has been characterized by third harmonic generation, z-scan and pump-probe measurements. In addition, various waveguiding structures have been used to measure the nonlinear absorption (two photon absorption) on a ps time-scale. Finally an integrated optics Mach Zehnder interferometer has been realized and evaluated. It is shown that the DANS side-chain polymer has many of the desired properties: the material is easily processable in high-quality optical waveguiding structures, has low linear absorption and its nonlinearity has a pure electronic origin. More materials research has to be done to arrive at materials with higher nonlinear coefficients to allow switching at moderate light intensity ( < 1 W peak power) and also with lower nonlinear absorption coefficients.

Phase-dependent ultrafast third-order optical nonlinearities in metallophthalocyanine thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Samir; Anil Kumar, K. V.; Dharmaprakash, S. M.; Das, Ritwick

2016-09-01

We present a comprehensive study on the impact of phase transformations of metallophthalocyanine thin films on their third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties. The metallophthalocyanine thin films are prepared by thermally evaporating the commercially available Copper(II)2,9,16,23-Tetra-tert-butyl-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (CuPc) and Zinc(II) 2,9,16,23-Tetra-tert-butyl-29H,31H-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) powder on glass substrate. Thermal annealing causes a phase transformation which has a distinct signature in powder X-ray diffraction and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. The NLO characteristics which include nonlinear refractive index n2, as well as nonlinear absorption coefficient (βeff), were measured by using a single beam Z-scan technique. An ultrashort pulsed fiber laser emitting femtosecond pulses (Δτ ≈ 250 fs) at 1064 nm central wavelength is used as a source for the Z-scan experiment. The βeff values in as prepared thin films were ascertained to be smaller as compared to the annealed one due to the smaller value of saturation intensity (Is) which, in turn, is a consequence of ground-state bleaching in the thermally unstable amorphous state of the molecule. Interestingly, the nonlinear refractive indices bear opposite sign for CuPc and ZnPc. The variations in the third-order nonlinearity in CuPc and ZnPc are discussed in terms of molecular packing and geometries of metallophthalocyanine molecules.

Enhanced Third-Order Optical Nonlinearity Driven by Surface-Plasmon Field Gradients.

PubMed

Kravtsov, Vasily; AlMutairi, Sultan; Ulbricht, Ronald; Kutayiah, A Ryan; Belyanin, Alexey; Raschke, Markus B

2018-05-18

Efficient nonlinear optical frequency mixing in small volumes is key for future on-chip photonic devices. However, the generally low conversion efficiency severely limits miniaturization to nanoscale dimensions. Here we demonstrate that gradient-field effects can provide for an efficient, conventionally dipole-forbidden nonlinear response. We show that a longitudinal nonlinear source current can dominate the third-order optical nonlinearity of the free electron response in gold in the technologically important near-IR frequency range where the nonlinearities due to other mechanisms are particularly small. Using adiabatic nanofocusing to spatially confine the excitation fields, from measurements of the 2ω_{1}-ω_{2} four-wave mixing response as a function of detuning ω_{1}-ω_{2}, we find up to 10^{-5} conversion efficiency with a gradient-field contribution to χ_{Au}^{(3)} of up to 10^{-19}  m^{2}/V^{2}. The results are in good agreement with the theory based on plasma hydrodynamics and underlying electron dynamics. The associated increase in the nonlinear conversion efficiency with a decreasing sample size, which can even overcompensate the volume decrease, offers a new approach for enhanced nonlinear nano-optics. This will enable more efficient nonlinear optical devices and the extension of coherent multidimensional spectroscopies to the nanoscale.

Nonlinear plasmonic imaging techniques and their biological applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deka, Gitanjal; Sun, Chi-Kuang; Fujita, Katsumasa; Chu, Shi-Wei

2017-01-01

Nonlinear optics, when combined with microscopy, is known to provide advantages including novel contrast, deep tissue observation, and minimal invasiveness. In addition, special nonlinearities, such as switch on/off and saturation, can enhance the spatial resolution below the diffraction limit, revolutionizing the field of optical microscopy. These nonlinear imaging techniques are extremely useful for biological studies on various scales from molecules to cells to tissues. Nevertheless, in most cases, nonlinear optical interaction requires strong illumination, typically at least gigawatts per square centimeter intensity. Such strong illumination can cause significant phototoxicity or even photodamage to fragile biological samples. Therefore, it is highly desirable to find mechanisms that allow the reduction of illumination intensity. Surface plasmon, which is the collective oscillation of electrons in metal under light excitation, is capable of significantly enhancing the local field around the metal nanostructures and thus boosting up the efficiency of nonlinear optical interactions of the surrounding materials or of the metal itself. In this mini-review, we discuss the recent progress of plasmonics in nonlinear optical microscopy with a special focus on biological applications. The advancement of nonlinear imaging modalities (including incoherent/coherent Raman scattering, two/three-photon luminescence, and second/third harmonic generations that have been amalgamated with plasmonics), as well as the novel subdiffraction limit imaging techniques based on nonlinear behaviors of plasmonic scattering, is addressed.

Enhanced Third-Order Optical Nonlinearity Driven by Surface-Plasmon Field Gradients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kravtsov, Vasily; AlMutairi, Sultan; Ulbricht, Ronald; Kutayiah, A. Ryan; Belyanin, Alexey; Raschke, Markus B.

2018-05-01

Efficient nonlinear optical frequency mixing in small volumes is key for future on-chip photonic devices. However, the generally low conversion efficiency severely limits miniaturization to nanoscale dimensions. Here we demonstrate that gradient-field effects can provide for an efficient, conventionally dipole-forbidden nonlinear response. We show that a longitudinal nonlinear source current can dominate the third-order optical nonlinearity of the free electron response in gold in the technologically important near-IR frequency range where the nonlinearities due to other mechanisms are particularly small. Using adiabatic nanofocusing to spatially confine the excitation fields, from measurements of the 2 ω1-ω2 four-wave mixing response as a function of detuning ω1-ω2, we find up to 10-5 conversion efficiency with a gradient-field contribution to χAu(3 ) of up to 10-19 m2/V2 . The results are in good agreement with the theory based on plasma hydrodynamics and underlying electron dynamics. The associated increase in the nonlinear conversion efficiency with a decreasing sample size, which can even overcompensate the volume decrease, offers a new approach for enhanced nonlinear nano-optics. This will enable more efficient nonlinear optical devices and the extension of coherent multidimensional spectroscopies to the nanoscale.

Using surface lattice resonances to engineer nonlinear optical processes in metal nanoparticle arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huttunen, Mikko J.; Rasekh, Payman; Boyd, Robert W.; Dolgaleva, Ksenia

2018-05-01

Collective responses of localized surface plasmon resonances, known as surface lattice resonances (SLRs) in metal nanoparticle arrays, can lead to high quality factors (˜100 ), large local-field enhancements, and strong light-matter interactions. SLRs have found many applications in linear optics, but little work of the influence of SLRs on nonlinear optics has been reported. Here we show how SLRs could be utilized to enhance nonlinear optical interactions. We devote special attention to the sum-frequency, difference-frequency, and third-harmonic generation processes because of their potential for the realization of novel sources of light. We also demonstrate how such arrays could be engineered to enhance higher-order nonlinear optical interactions through cascaded nonlinear processes. In particular, we demonstrate how the efficiency of third-harmonic generation could be engineered via cascaded second-order responses.

Third-order nonlinear optical properties of acid green 25 dye by Z-scan method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeyaram, S.; Geethakrishnan, T.

2017-03-01

Third-order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of aqueous solutions of an anthraquinone dye (Acid green 25 dye, color index: 61570) have been studied by Z-scan method with a 5 mW continuous wave (CW) diode laser operating at 635 nm. The nonlinear refractive index (n2) and the absorption coefficient (β) have been evaluated respectively from the closed and open aperture Z-scan data and the values of these parameters are found to increase with increase in concentration of the dye solution. The negative sign of the observed nonlinear refractive index (n2) indicates that the aqueous solution of acid green 25 dye exhibits self-defocusing type optical nonlinearity. The mechanism of the observed nonlinear absorption (NLA) and nonlinear refraction (NLR) is attributed respectively to reverse saturable absorption (RSA) and thermal nonlinear effects. The magnitudes of n2 and β are found to be of the order of 10-7 cm2/W and 10-3 cm/W respectively. With these experimental results, the authors suggest that acid green 25 dye may have potential applications in nonlinear optics.

Effect of polarization self-action in cubic crystals: peculiarities and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boiko, Sergei A.; Lisitsa, Mikhail P.; Tarasov, Georgiy G.; Valakh, Mikhail Y.

1995-04-01

New concepts are developed to describe a wide area of nonlinear systems involving the phase relaxation peculiarities for the degenerate two- level system under the resonant optical excitation. Nonlinear susceptibility of the two-level system becomes anisotropic, and self- induced changes of polarization (SICP) are developed to the large (gigantic) magnitudes. The nonlinearities of two different natures are considered: the saturation of absorption and the resonant optical reorientation of anisotropic defects. For these particular cases, the SICP effects manifest themselves at a field much lower than that in traditional nonlinear optics. The larger magnitudes of the effects offer good possibilities for the development of optical devices based on the new physical principles. Various applications of SICP effects are demonstrated, including the spectroscopic investigations of impure cubic crystals, optical diagnostics, optical storage, information processing, and the development of new optical devices.

Temporal Simultons in Optical Parametric Oscillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jankowski, Marc; Marandi, Alireza; Phillips, C. R.; Hamerly, Ryan; Ingold, Kirk A.; Byer, Robert L.; Fejer, M. M.

2018-02-01

We report the first demonstration of a regime of operation in optical parametric oscillators (OPOs), in which the formation of temporal simultons produces stable femtosecond half-harmonic pulses. Simultons are simultaneous bright-dark solitons of a signal field at frequency ω and the pump field at 2 ω , which form in a quadratic nonlinear medium. The formation of simultons in an OPO is due to the interplay of nonlinear pulse acceleration with the timing mismatch between the pump repetition period and the cold-cavity round-trip time and is evidenced by sech2 spectra with broad instantaneous bandwidths when the resonator is detuned to a slightly longer round-trip time than the pump repetition period. We provide a theoretical description of an OPO operating in a regime dominated by these dynamics, observe the distinct features of simulton formation in an experiment, and verify our results with numerical simulations. These results represent a new regime of operation in nonlinear resonators, which can lead to efficient and scalable sources of few-cycle frequency combs at arbitrary wavelengths.

Observation of soliton compression in silicon photonic crystals

PubMed Central

Blanco-Redondo, A.; Husko, C.; Eades, D.; Zhang, Y.; Li, J.; Krauss, T.F.; Eggleton, B.J.

2014-01-01

Solitons are nonlinear waves present in diverse physical systems including plasmas, water surfaces and optics. In silicon, the presence of two photon absorption and accompanying free carriers strongly perturb the canonical dynamics of optical solitons. Here we report the first experimental demonstration of soliton-effect pulse compression of picosecond pulses in silicon, despite two photon absorption and free carriers. Here we achieve compression of 3.7 ps pulses to 1.6 ps with <10 pJ energy. We demonstrate a ~1-ps free-carrier-induced pulse acceleration and show that picosecond input pulses are critical to these observations. These experiments are enabled by a dispersion-engineered slow-light photonic crystal waveguide and an ultra-sensitive frequency-resolved electrical gating technique to detect the ultralow energies in the nanostructured device. Strong agreement with a nonlinear Schrödinger model confirms the measurements. These results further our understanding of nonlinear waves in silicon and open the way to soliton-based functionalities in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible platforms. PMID:24423977

Design considerations for multi component molecular-polymeric nonlinear optical materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, K. D.; Kuzyk, M. G.; Fang, T.; Holland, W. R.; Cahill, P. A.

1990-08-01

We review our work on multi component polymeric nonlinear optical materials. These materials consist of nonlinear optical molecules incorporated in a polymeric host. A cross-linked triazine polymer incorporating a dicyanovinyl terminated azo dye was found to be relatively stable at 85 deg and possess an electro-optic coefficient of 11pm/V. We have also observed the zero dispersion condition in a new anomalous dispersion dye for phase matched second harmonic generation, and expect efficient conversion to the blue. A squarylium dye, ISQ, has been found to possess a large third order nonlinearity, and may display two-level behavior.

Further efforts in optimizing nonlinear optical molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dirk, Carl W.; Caballero, Noel; Tan, Alarice; Kuzyk, Mark G.; Cheng, Lap-Tak A.; Katz, Howard E.; Shilling, Marcia; King, Lori A.

1993-02-01

We summarize some of our past work in the field on optimizing molecules for second order and third order nonlinear optical applications. We also present some previously unpublished results suggesting a particular optimization of the popular cyano- and nitrovinyl acceptor groups. In addition we provide some new quadratic electro-optic results which serve to further verify our choice of a restricted three-level model suitable for optimizing third order nonlinearities in molecules. Finally we present a new squarylium dye with a large third order optical nonlinearity (-9.5 X 10-34 cm7/esu2; EFISH (gamma) at 1906 nm).

Mode-selective mapping and control of vectorial nonlinear-optical processes in multimode photonic-crystal fibers.

PubMed

Hu, Ming-Lie; Wang, Ching-Yue; Song, You-Jian; Li, Yan-Feng; Chai, Lu; Serebryannikov, Evgenii; Zheltikov, Aleksei

2006-02-06

We demonstrate an experimental technique that allows a mapping of vectorial nonlinear-optical processes in multimode photonic-crystal fibers (PCFs). Spatial and polarization modes of PCFs are selectively excited in this technique by varying the tilt angle of the input beam and rotating the polarization of the input field. Intensity spectra of the PCF output plotted as a function of the input field power and polarization then yield mode-resolved maps of nonlinear-optical interactions in multimode PCFs, facilitating the analysis and control of nonlinear-optical transformations of ultrashort laser pulses in such fibers.

Parallel optical information, concept, and response evolver: POINCARE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caulfield, H. John; Caulfield, Kimberly

1991-08-01

It is now possible to build a nonlinear adaptive system which will incorporate many of the properties of the human mind, such as true originality in such skills as reasoning by analogy and reasoning by retrodiction, including literally unpredictable thoughts; and development of individual styles, personalities, expertise, etc. Like humans, these optical processors will have a rich `subconscious'' experience. Like humans, they will be clonable, but clones will develop differently as they experience the world differently, make different decisions, develop different habits, etc. In short, powerful optical processors with some of the properties normally associated with human intelligence can be made. This approach can result in a powerful optical processor with those properties. A demonstration chosen for simplicity of implementation is suggested. This could be the first computer of any type which uses quantum indeterminacy in an integral and important way.

Generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation and ultraslow optical solitons in a cold four-state atomic system.

PubMed

Hang, Chao; Huang, Guoxiang; Deng, L

2006-03-01

We investigate the influence of high-order dispersion and nonlinearity on the propagation of ultraslow optical solitons in a lifetime broadened four-state atomic system under a Raman excitation. Using a standard method of multiple-scales we derive a generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation and show that for realistic physical parameters and at the pulse duration of 10(-6)s, the effects of third-order linear dispersion, nonlinear dispersion, and delay in nonlinear refractive index can be significant and may not be considered as perturbations. We provide exact soliton solutions for the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation and demonstrate that optical solitons obtained may still have ultraslow propagating velocity. Numerical simulations on the stability and interaction of these ultraslow optical solitons in the presence of linear and differential absorptions are also presented.

Optical Emissions Enhanced by O and X Mode Ionosphere HF Pumping: Similarities and Differences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sergienko, T.; Brandstrom, U.; Gustavsson, B.; Blagoveshchenskaya, N. F.

2013-12-01

Strong enhancement of the optical emissions with excitation thresholds from 1.96 eV up to 18.75 eV have been observed during experiments of ionosphere modification by high power HF radio waves since the early 1970s. Up to now all these emissions were observed only during the interaction of the O-mode HF radio wave with the ionospheric plasma. On 19 October 2012, during an EISCAT heating experiment, strong optical emissions were observed by ALIS, in first time, for X-mode ionosphere pumping. While for O-mode heating the optical emission enhancements can be explained by the ionospheric electron heating and acceleration due to the nonlinear interaction of the powerful radio wave with ionosphere, the mechanism responsible for the emission enhancements during the X-mode heating is not known. In the experiment optical emissions have been measured in three different wave-lengths simultaneously from four ALIS stations. The emission intensity ratios as well as the characteristics of the spatial distribution of the enhanced optical emissions provide important information on the possible mechanisms of the radio wave - ionosphere interaction. In this report we present the results of comparison of the characteristics of the optical emissions caused by X-mode heating with the characteristics of the emissions enhanced by O-mode measured during same experiment.

Third-order optical nonlinearity of N-doped graphene oxide nanocomposites at different GO ratios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kimiagar, Salimeh; Abrinaei, Fahimeh

2018-05-01

In the present work, the influence of GO ratios on the structural, linear and nonlinear optical properties of nitrogen-doped graphene oxide nanocomposites (N-GO NCs) has been studied. N-GO NCs were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM results confirmed the reduction of GO by nitrogen doping. The energy band gaps of N-GO NCs calculated from UV-Vis analyzed by using Tauc plot. To obtain further insight into potential optical changes in the N-GO NCs by increasing GO contents, Z-scan analysis was performed with nanosecond Nd-YAG laser at 532 nm. The nonlinear absorption coefficient, β, and nonlinear refractive index, n2, for N-GO NCs at the laser intensity of 113 MW/cm were measured and an increase was observed in both parameters after addition of nitrogen to GO. The third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities of N-GO NCs were measured in the order of 10-9 esu. The results showed that N-GO NCs have negative nonlinearity which can be controlled by GO contents to obtain the highest values for nonlinear optical parameters. The nonlinear optical results not only imply that N-GO NCs can serve as an important material in the advancing of optoelectronics but also open new possibilities for the design of new graphene-based materials by variation of N and GO ratios as well as manufacturing conditions.

Design, synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of (E)-1-(4-substituted)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl) prop-2-en-1-one compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saha, Amrita; Shukla, Vijay; Choudhury, Sudip; Jayabalan, J.

2016-06-01

A new series of (E)-1-(4-substituted)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenyl) prop-2-en-1-one compounds have been synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction. Nonlinear optical characterization were carried out using z-scan technique with nanosecond pulses. These samples are found to exhibit strong nonlinear absorption at 532 nm and the nonlinear absorption coefficient of these samples exponentially increases with the increase of phonon characteristic energy. This relation speaks the role of phonon in the origin of nonlinear absorption in these compounds. The reported dependence of optical nonlinearity of the chalcone derivatives on the phonon characteristic energy will help in designing similar class of new molecules with high nonlinear coefficients.

Ultra-fast analog-to-digital converter based on a nonlinear triplexer and an optical coder with a photonic crystal structure.

PubMed

Mehdizadeh, Farhad; Soroosh, Mohammad; Alipour-Banaei, Hamed; Farshidi, Ebrahim

2017-03-01

In this paper, we propose what we believe is a novel all-optical analog-to-digital converter (ADC) based on photonic crystals. The proposed structure is composed of a nonlinear triplexer and an optical coder. The nonlinear triplexer is for creating discrete levels in the continuous optical input signal, and the optical coder is for generating a 2-bit standard binary code out of the discrete levels coming from the nonlinear triplexer. Controlling the resonant mode of the resonant rings through optical intensity is the main objective and working mechanism of the proposed structure. The maximum delay time obtained for the proposed structure was about 5 ps and the total footprint is about 1520  μm².

Nonlinear laser dynamics induced by frequency shifted optical feedback: application to vibration measurements.

PubMed

Girardeau, Vadim; Goloni, Carolina; Jacquin, Olivier; Hugon, Olivier; Inglebert, Mehdi; Lacot, Eric

2016-12-01

In this article, we study the nonlinear dynamics of a laser subjected to frequency shifted optical reinjection coming back from a vibrating target. More specifically, we study the nonlinear dynamical coupling between the carrier and the vibration signal. The present work shows how the nonlinear amplification of the vibration spectrum is related to the strength of the carrier and how it must be compensated to obtain accurate (i.e., without bias) vibration measurements. The theoretical predictions, confirmed by numerical simulations, are in good agreement with the experimental data. The main motivation of this study is the understanding of the nonlinear response of a laser optical feedback imaging sensor for quantitative phase measurements of small vibrations in the case of strong optical feedback.

Substituent Dependence of Third-Order Optical Nonlinearity in Chalcone Derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiran, Anthony John; Satheesh Rai, Nooji; Chandrasekharan, Keloth; Kalluraya, Balakrishna; Rotermund, Fabian

2008-08-01

The third-order nonlinear optical properties of derivatives of dibenzylideneacetone were investigated using the single beam z-scan technique at 532 nm. A strong dependence of third-order optical nonlinearity on electron donor and acceptor type of substituents was observed. An enhancement in χ(3)-value of one order of magnitude was achieved upon the substitution of strong electron donors compared to that of the molecule substituted with an electron acceptor. The magnitude of nonlinear refractive index of these chalcones is as high as of 10-11 esu. Their nonlinear optical coefficients are larger than those of widely used thiophene oligomers and trans-1-[p-(p-dimethylaminobenzyl-azo)-benzyl]-2-(N-methyl-4-pyridinium)-ethene iodide (DABA-PEI) organic compounds.

Combine EPR and two-slit experiments: Interference of advanced waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klyshko, D. N.

1988-10-01

A nonclassical interference effect, using two-photon correlations in nonlinear optical interactions, is discussed. The apparent nonlocality could be conveniently interpreted in terms of advanced waves, emitted by one detector toward the other. A new Bell-type experiment is proposed, in which the measured photon's parameter is the wave-vector (instead of the polarisation), so that the observable can take more than two possible values.

Precise and absolute measurements of complex third-order optical susceptibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santran, Stephane; Canioni, Lionel; Cardinal, Thierry; Fargin, Evelyne; Le Flem, Gilles; Rouyer, Claude; Sarger, Laurent

2000-11-01

We present precise and absolute measurements of full complex third order optical susceptibility on different fused silica and original glasses composed of tellurium, titanium, niobium erbium. These materials are designed to be the key point for applications ranging form high power laser systems to optoelectronics, their nonlinear index of refraction is a major property and thus must be accurately known. Due to the accuracy and sensitivity of our technique, we have been able to find a large dispersion (more than 30%) of the non linear index of fused silica glasses as a function of their processing mode. On the other hand, measurements on tellurium glasses have shown very strong nonlinearities (40 times higher than fused silica), to be linked to the configurations of their cations and anions. Although the titanium and niobium glasses are less nonlinear, they can be promising matrices for addition of luminescent entities like erbium leading to very interesting laser amplification materials. The experimental set-up is a collinear pump-probe (orthogonally polarized) experiment using transient absorption technique. It is built with around a 100 femtosecond laser oscillator. A fast oscillating delay between the pump and the probe allows us to measure the electronic nonlinearity in quasi real-time. This experiment has the following specifications: an absolute measurement accuracy below 10% mainly due to the laser parameters characterization, a relative measurement accuracy of 1% and a resolution less than 5.10-24m2/V2(50 times less than fused silica).

EDITORIAL: Nonlinear optical manipulation, patterning and control in nano- and micro-scale systems Nonlinear optical manipulation, patterning and control in nano- and micro-scale systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denz, Cornelia; Simoni, Francesco

2009-03-01

Nonlinearities are becoming more and more important for a variety of applications in nanosciences, bio-medical sciences, information processing and photonics. For applications at the crossings of these fields, especially microscopic and nanoscopic imaging and manipulation, nonlinearities play a key role. They may range from simple nonlinear parameter changes up to applications in manipulating, controlling and structuring material by light, or the manipulation of light by light itself. It is this area between basic nonlinear optics and photonic applications that includes `hot' topics such as ultra-resolution optical microscopy, micro- and nanomanipulation and -structuring, or nanophotonics. This special issue contains contributions in this field, many of them from the International Conference on Nonlinear Microscopy and Optical Control held in conjunction with a network meeting of the ESF COST action MP0604 `Optical Micromanipulation by Nonlinear Nanophotonics', 19-22 February 2008, Münster, Germany. Throughout this special issue, basic investigations of material structuring by nonlinear light--matter interaction, light-induced control of nanoparticles, and novel nonlinear material investigation techniques, are presented, covering the basic field of optical manipulation and control. These papers are followed by impressive developments of optical tweezers. Nowadays, optical phase contrast tweezers, twin and especially multiple beam traps, develop particle control in a new dimension: particles can be arranged, sorted and identified with high throughput. One of the most prominent forthcoming applications of optical tweezers is in the field of microfluidics. The action of light on fluids will open new horizons in microfluidic manipulation and control. The field of optical manipulation and control is a very broad field that has developed in an impressive way, in a short time, in Europe with the installation of the MP0604 network. Top researchers from 19 countries are collaborating in this network. The editors are grateful for the active participation of all colleagues in this network, in the network meeting, and in making this special issue a success. We also extend our thanks to a great Journal of Optics A staff that have supported the editing of this special issue, especially the Publishing Editor, Julia Dickinson. Among the active colleagues in our network was also Associate Professor Erik Fällman, Umea University, Sweden. It was with great sadness that we learnt of the death of our colleague and friend in June 2008. We dedicate this special issue to his memory, and the active and always engaged contribution he made both to our conference and to the field of optical micromanipulation and optical control. Erik will be particularly remembered for his applications of optical force measurements on bacterial pili adhesion, which has stimulated a worldwide experimental and theoretical interest in this field.

Large optical nonlinearity of ITO nanorods for sub-picosecond all-optical modulation of the full-visible spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Peijun; Schaller, Richard D.; Ocola, Leonidas E.; Diroll, Benjamin T.; Ketterson, John B.; Chang, Robert P. H.

2016-09-01

Nonlinear optical responses of materials play a vital role for the development of active nanophotonic and plasmonic devices. Optical nonlinearity induced by intense optical excitation of mobile electrons in metallic nanostructures can provide large-amplitude, dynamic tuning of their electromagnetic response, which is potentially useful for all-optical processing of information and dynamic beam control. Here we report on the sub-picosecond optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide nanorod arrays (ITO-NRAs) following intraband, on-plasmon-resonance optical pumping, which enables modulation of the full-visible spectrum with large absolute change of transmission, favourable spectral tunability and beam-steering capability. Furthermore, we observe a transient response in the microsecond regime associated with slow lattice cooling, which arises from the large aspect-ratio and low thermal conductivity of ITO-NRAs. Our results demonstrate that all-optical control of light can be achieved by using heavily doped wide-bandgap semiconductors in their transparent regime with speed faster than that of noble metals.

Quantum state detection and state preparation based on cavity-enhanced nonlinear interaction of atoms with single photon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hosseini, Mahdi

Our ability to engineer quantum states of light and matter has significantly advanced over the past two decades, resulting in the production of both Gaussian and non-Gaussian optical states. The resulting tailored quantum states enable quantum technologies such as quantum optical communication, quantum sensing as well as quantum photonic computation. The strong nonlinear light-atom interaction is the key to deterministic quantum state preparation and quantum photonic processing. One route to enhancing the usually weak nonlinear light-atom interactions is to approach the regime of cavity quantum electrodynamics (cQED) interaction by means of high finesse optical resonators. I present results from the MIT experiment of large conditional cross-phase modulation between a signal photon, stored inside an atomic quantum memory, and a control photon that traverses a high-finesse optical cavity containing the atomic memory. I also present a scheme to probabilistically change the amplitude and phase of a signal photon qubit to, in principle, arbitrary values by postselection on a control photon that has interacted with that state. Notably, small changes of the control photon polarization measurement basis by few degrees can substantially change the amplitude and phase of the signal state. Finally, I present our ongoing effort at Purdue to realize similar peculiar quantum phenomena at the single photon level on chip scale photonic systems.

Studies on third-order optical nonlinearity and power limiting of conducting polymers using the z-scan technique for nonlinear optical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pramodini, S.; Sudhakar, Y. N.; SelvaKumar, M.; Poornesh, P.

2014-04-01

We present the synthesis and characterization of third-order optical nonlinearity and optical limiting of the conducting polymers poly (aniline-co-o-anisidine) and poly (aniline-co-pyrrole). Nonlinear optical studies were carried out by employing the z-scan technique using a He-Ne laser operating in continuous wave mode at 633 nm. The copolymers exhibited a reverse saturable absorption process and self-defocusing properties under the experimental conditions. The estimated values of βeff, n2 and χ(3) were found to be of the order of 10-2 cm W-1, 10-5 esu and 10-7 esu respectively. Self-diffraction rings were observed due to refractive index change when exposed to the laser beam. The copolymers possess a lower limiting threshold and clamping level, which is essential to a great extent for power limiting devices. Therefore, copolymers of aniline emerge as a potential candidate for nonlinear optical device applications.

Novel optoelectronic devices; Proceedings of the Meeting, The Hague, Netherlands, Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Michael J. (Editor)

1987-01-01

The present conference on novel optoelectronics discusses topics in the state-of-the-art in this field in the Netherlands, quantum wells, integrated optics, nonlinear optical devices and fiber-optic-based devices, ultrafast optics, and nonlinear optics and optical bistability. Attention is given to the production of fiber-optics for telecommunications by means of PCVD, lifetime broadening in quantum wells, nonlinear multiple quantum well waveguide devices, tunable single-wavelength lasers, an Si integrated waveguiding polarimeter, and an electrooptic light modulator using long-range surface plasmons. Also discussed are backward-wave couplers and reflectors, a wavelength-selective all-fiber switching matrix, the impact of ultrafast optics in high-speed electronics, the physics of low energy optical switching, and all-optical logical elements for optical processing.

All-optical signatures of strong-field QED in the vacuum emission picture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gies, Holger; Karbstein, Felix; Kohlfürst, Christian

2018-02-01

We study all-optical signatures of the effective nonlinear couplings among electromagnetic fields in the quantum vacuum, using the collision of two focused high-intensity laser pulses as an example. The experimental signatures of quantum vacuum nonlinearities are encoded in signal photons, whose kinematic and polarization properties differ from the photons constituting the macroscopic laser fields. We implement an efficient numerical algorithm allowing for the theoretical investigation of such signatures in realistic field configurations accessible in experiment. This algorithm is based on a vacuum emission scheme and can readily be adapted to the collision of more laser beams or further involved field configurations. We solve the case of two colliding pulses in full 3 +1 -dimensional spacetime and identify experimental geometries and parameter regimes with improved signal-to-noise ratios.

Highly Non-Linear Optical (NLO) organic crystals and films. Electrooptical organic materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcmanus, Samuel P.; Rosenberger, Franz; Matthews, John

1987-01-01

Devices employing nonlinear optics (NLO) hold great promise for important applications in integrated optics, optical information processing and telecommunications. Properly designed organics possess outstanding optical and electrooptical properties which will substantially advance many technologies including electrooptical switching, optical amplification for communications, and parallel processing for hybrid optical computers. A brief comparison of organic and inorganic materials is given.

Au NPs immersed in sol-gel matrix: nonlinear optical characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguilera-Zavala, Angélica; Trejo-Durán, Mónica; Ortiz-Jiménez, Orlando; Cornejo-Monroy, Delfino; Severiano-Carrillo, Israel; Alvarado-Méndez, Edgar

2016-09-01

Physical and optical characterization of thin films doped with Au Nanoparticles onto a silica substrate is presented. Films were prepared through sol-gel process, by using Au nanoparticles immersed in lipoic acid as dopant by means of hydrolysis and acid catalyzed reaction of tetraethyl-orthosilicate. The surface was characterized by SEM and AFM microscopies. Z-scan technique was used to measure nonlinear optical properties as nonlinear absorption and refraction indexes, using two different wavelengths. At 633 nm it was possible to observe nonlinear absorption only but at 514 nm both nonlinear properties were observed.

Tunable pulsed narrow bandwidth light source

DOEpatents

Powers, Peter E.; Kulp, Thomas J.

2002-01-01

A tunable pulsed narrow bandwidth light source and a method of operating a light source are provided. The light source includes a pump laser, first and second non-linear optical crystals, a tunable filter, and light pulse directing optics. The method includes the steps of operating the pump laser to generate a pulsed pump beam characterized by a nanosecond pulse duration and arranging the light pulse directing optics so as to (i) split the pulsed pump beam into primary and secondary pump beams; (ii) direct the primary pump beam through an input face of the first non-linear optical crystal such that a primary output beam exits from an output face of the first non-linear optical crystal; (iii) direct the primary output beam through the tunable filter to generate a sculpted seed beam; and direct the sculpted seed beam and the secondary pump beam through an input face of the second non-linear optical crystal such that a secondary output beam characterized by at least one spectral bandwidth on the order of about 0.1 cm.sup.-1 and below exits from an output face of the second non-linear optical crystal.

Sensitivity of nonlinear photoionization to resonance substructure in collective excitation

PubMed Central

Mazza, T.; Karamatskou, A.; Ilchen, M.; Bakhtiarzadeh, S.; Rafipoor, A. J.; O'Keeffe, P.; Kelly, T. J.; Walsh, N.; Costello, J. T.; Meyer, M.; Santra, R.

2015-01-01

Collective behaviour is a characteristic feature in many-body systems, important for developments in fields such as magnetism, superconductivity, photonics and electronics. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the optically nonlinear response of collective excitations. Here we demonstrate how the nonlinear interaction of a many-body system with intense XUV radiation can be used as an effective probe for characterizing otherwise unresolved features of its collective response. Resonant photoionization of atomic xenon was chosen as a case study. The excellent agreement between experiment and theory strongly supports the prediction that two distinct poles underlie the giant dipole resonance. Our results pave the way towards a deeper understanding of collective behaviour in atoms, molecules and solid-state systems using nonlinear spectroscopic techniques enabled by modern short-wavelength light sources. PMID:25854939

Dielectric Optical-Controllable Magnifying Lens by Nonlinear Negative Refraction

PubMed Central

Cao, Jianjun; Shang, Ce; Zheng, Yuanlin; Feng, Yaming; Chen, Xianfeng; Liang, Xiaogan; Wan, Wenjie

2015-01-01

A simple optical lens plays an important role for exploring the microscopic world in science and technology by refracting light with tailored spatially varying refractive indices. Recent advancements in nanotechnology enable novel lenses, such as, superlens and hyperlens, with sub-wavelength resolution capabilities by specially designed materials’ refractive indices with meta-materials and transformation optics. However, these artificially nano- or micro-engineered lenses usually suffer high losses from metals and are highly demanding in fabrication. Here, we experimentally demonstrate, for the first time, a nonlinear dielectric magnifying lens using negative refraction by degenerate four-wave mixing in a plano-concave glass slide, obtaining magnified images. Moreover, we transform a nonlinear flat lens into a magnifying lens by introducing transformation optics into the nonlinear regime, achieving an all-optical controllable lensing effect through nonlinear wave mixing, which may have many potential applications in microscopy and imaging science. PMID:26149952

Inverse four-wave-mixing and self-parametric amplification effect in optical fibre

PubMed Central

Turitsyn, Sergei K.; Bednyakova, Anastasia E.; Fedoruk, Mikhail P.; Papernyi, Serguei B.; Clements, Wallace R.L.

2015-01-01

An important group of nonlinear processes in optical fibre involves the mixing of four waves due to the intensity dependence of the refractive index. It is customary to distinguish between nonlinear effects that require external/pumping waves (cross-phase modulation and parametric processes such as four-wave mixing) and self-action of the propagating optical field (self-phase modulation and modulation instability). Here, we present a new nonlinear self-action effect, self-parametric amplification (SPA), which manifests itself as optical spectrum narrowing in normal dispersion fibre, leading to very stable propagation with a distinctive spectral distribution. The narrowing results from an inverse four-wave mixing, resembling an effective parametric amplification of the central part of the spectrum by energy transfer from the spectral tails. SPA and the observed stable nonlinear spectral propagation with random temporal waveform can find applications in optical communications and high power fibre lasers with nonlinear intra-cavity dynamics. PMID:26345290

Phenomenal enhancement of optical nonlinearity in PTZ-I based ZnS/ZnSe nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Divyasree, M. C.; Shiju, E.; Vijisha, M. V.; Ramesan, M. T.; Chandrasekharan, K.

2018-05-01

The enhanced nonlinear optical properties of phenothiazine-iodine (PTZ-I) charge transfer complex (CTC) on composite formation with ZnS/ZnSe nanostructures are reported. The interaction between the components was confirmed by the FTIR spectra. Structural and morphological changes on nanocomposite formation were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction spectra. The absorption and emission features of both the nanocomposites and their constituent components were studied. Nonlinear optical properties of all the samples in nanosecond regime were investigated by the Z-scan technique using Nd: YAG laser with 532 nm wavelength and 7 ns pulse width. The optical nonlinearity of PTZ-I CTC was found to be improved considerably on composite formation and the new systems can be proposed as excellent candidates for photonic devices. Enhanced optical nonlinearity of the composites could be attributed to charge/energy transfer mechanism between PTZ-I CTC and the nanostructures.

Spin-orbit optical cross-phase-modulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brasselet, Etienne

2010-12-15

We show experimentally that optical phase singularities (PSs) can be written and erased, locally and in a controllable manner, into a light beam using the giant Kerr optical nonlinearities of liquid crystals. The method relies on the nonlinear optical spin-orbit coupling experienced by a collimated probe beam when a collinear focused pump beam imprints a radial birefringent pattern into a nematic film. In addition, experimental data are quantitatively described, accounting for the elastic anisotropy of the material and its nonlocal spatial response to the pump light field. Since we show that the optical intensity of a light beam (the 'pump')more » controls the phase of another beam (the 'probe') in a singular fashion (i.e., with the generation of a screw PS) via their interaction in a nonlinear medium that involves spin-orbit coupling, we dubbed such a nonlinear optical process as spin-orbit optical cross-phase-modulation.« less

Chirped femtosecond pulses in the higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation with non-Kerr nonlinear terms and cubic-quintic-septic nonlinearities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triki, Houria; Biswas, Anjan; Milović, Daniela; Belić, Milivoj

2016-05-01

We consider a high-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation with competing cubic-quintic-septic nonlinearities, non-Kerr quintic nonlinearity, self-steepening, and self-frequency shift. The model describes the propagation of ultrashort (femtosecond) optical pulses in highly nonlinear optical fibers. A new ansatz is adopted to obtain nonlinear chirp associated with the propagating femtosecond soliton pulses. It is shown that the resultant elliptic equation of the problem is of high order, contains several new terms and is more general than the earlier reported results, thus providing a systematic way to find exact chirped soliton solutions of the septic model. Novel soliton solutions, including chirped bright, dark, kink and fractional-transform soliton solutions are obtained for special choices of parameters. Furthermore, we present the parameter domains in which these optical solitons exist. The nonlinear chirp associated with each of the solitonic solutions is also determined. It is shown that the chirping is proportional to the intensity of the wave and depends on higher-order nonlinearities. Of special interest is the soliton solution of the bright and dark type, determined for the general case when all coefficients in the equation have nonzero values. These results can be useful for possible chirped-soliton-based applications of highly nonlinear optical fiber systems.

Practical implementation of multilevel quantum cryptography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kulik, S. P.; Maslennikov, G. A.; Moreva, E. V.

2006-05-15

The physical principles of a quantum key distribution protocol using four-level optical systems are discussed. Quantum information is encoded into polarization states created by frequency-nondegenerate spontaneous parametric down-conversion in collinear geometry. In the scheme under analysis, the required nonorthogonal states are generated in a single nonlinear crystal. All states in the selected basis are measured deterministically. The results of initial experiments on transformation of the basis polarization states of a four-level optical system are discussed.

Ultrafast recovery time and broadband saturable absorption properties of black phosphorus suspension

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Yingwei; Huang, Guanghui; Chen, Jiazhang

2015-08-31

As a new type of two-dimensional crystal material, black phosphorus (BP) exhibits excellent electronics and optical performance. Herein, we focus on carrier relaxation dynamics and nonlinear optical properties of BP suspension. Atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and optical transmission spectrum are employed to characterize the structure and linear optical properties of the BP. Additionally, pump-probe experiments at wavelength of 1550 nm were carried out to study the carrier dynamics in BP suspension, and ultrafast recovery time was observed (τ{sub s} = 24 ± 2 fs). Furthermore, we demonstrate the saturable absorption signals by open aperture Z-scan experiments at wavelengths of 1550 nm, 532 nm, and 680 nm. Themore » results indicate that BP has broadband saturable absorption properties and the nonlinear absorption coefficients were determined to be β{sub 2} = −0.20 ± 0.08 × 10{sup −3 }cm/GW (532 nm), β{sub 2} = −0.12 ± 0.05 × 10{sup −3 }cm/GW (680 nm), and β{sub 2} = −0.15 ± 0.09 × 10{sup −3 }cm/GW (1550 nm)« less

Active experiments in geospace plasmas with gigawatts of RF power at HAARP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheerin, James

2016-07-01

The ionosphere provides a relatively quiescent plasma target, stable on timescales of minutes, for a whole host of active plasma experiments. The largest HF transmitter built to date is the HAARP phased-array HF transmitter near Gakona, Alaska which can deliver up to 3.6 Gigawatts (ERP) of CW RF power in the range of 2.8 - 10 MHz to the ionosphere with millisecond pointing, power modulation, and frequency agility. With an ionospheric background thermal energy in the range of only 0.1 eV, this amount of power gives access to the highest regimes of the nonlinearity (RF intensity to thermal pressure) ratio. HAARP's unique features have enabled the conduct of a number of nonlinear plasma experiments in the inter¬action region of overdense ionospheric plasma including generation of artificial aurorae, artificial ionization layers, VLF wave-particle interactions in the magnetosphere, parametric instabilities, stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE), strong Langmuir turbulence (SLT) and suprathermal electron acceleration. Diagnostics include the Modular UHF Ionospheric Radar (MUIR) sited at HAARP, the SuperDARN-Kodiak HF radar, spacecraft radio beacons, HF receivers to record stimulated electromagnetic emissions (SEE) and optics for optical emissions. We report on short timescale ponderomotive overshoot effects, artificial field-aligned irregularities (AFAI), the aspect angle dependence of the intensity of the HF-enhanced plasma line, and production of suprathermal electrons. Applications are made to the controlled study of fundamental nonlinear plasma processes of relevance to laboratory plasmas, ionospheric irregularities affecting spacecraft communication and navigation systems, artificial ionization mirrors, wave-particle interactions in the magnetosphere, active global magnetospheric experiments, and many more.

Laser And Nonlinear Optical Materials For Laser Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnes, Norman P.

2005-01-01

NASA remote sensing missions involving laser systems and their economic impact are outlined. Potential remote sensing missions include: green house gasses, tropospheric winds, ozone, water vapor, and ice cap thickness. Systems to perform these measurements use lanthanide series lasers and nonlinear devices including second harmonic generators and parametric oscillators. Demands these missions place on the laser and nonlinear optical materials are discussed from a materials point of view. Methods of designing new laser and nonlinear optical materials to meet these demands are presented.

Third-Order Optical Nonlinearities of Squarylium Dyes with Benzothiazole Donor Groups Measured Using the Picosecond Z-Scan Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zhong-Yu; Xu, Song; Chen, Zi-Hui; Zhang, Fu-Shi; Kasatani, Kazuo

2011-08-01

Third-order optical nonlinearities of two squarylium dyes with benzothiazole donor groups (BSQ1 and BSQ2) in chloroform solution are measured by a picosecond Z-scan technique at 532 nm. It is found that the two compounds show the saturation absorption and nonlinear self-focus refraction effect. The molecular second hyperpolarizabilities are calculated to be 7.46 × 10-31 esu and 5.01 × 10-30 esu for BSQ1 and BSQ2, respectively. The large optical nonlinearities of squarylium dyes can be attributed to their rigid and intramolecular charge transfer structure. The difference in γ values is attributed to the chloro group of benzene rings of BSQ2 and the one-photon resonance effect. It is found that the third-order nonlinear susceptibilities of two squarylium dyes are mainly determined by the real parts of χ(3), and the large optical nonlinearities of studied squarylium dyes can be attributed to the nonlinear refraction.

Rapid assessment of nonlinear optical propagation effects in dielectrics

PubMed Central

Hoyo, J. del; de la Cruz, A. Ruiz; Grace, E.; Ferrer, A.; Siegel, J.; Pasquazi, A.; Assanto, G.; Solis, J.

2015-01-01

Ultrafast laser processing applications need fast approaches to assess the nonlinear propagation of the laser beam in order to predict the optimal range of processing parameters in a wide variety of cases. We develop here a method based on the simple monitoring of the nonlinear beam shaping against numerical prediction. The numerical code solves the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear absorption under simplified conditions by employing a state-of-the art computationally efficient approach. By comparing with experimental results we can rapidly estimate the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the material. The validity of this approach has been tested in a variety of experiments where nonlinearities play a key role, like spatial soliton shaping or fs-laser waveguide writing. The approach provides excellent results for propagated power densities for which free carrier generation effects can be neglected. Above such a threshold, the peculiarities of the nonlinear propagation of elliptical beams enable acquiring an instantaneous picture of the deposition of energy inside the material realistic enough to estimate the effective nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients that can be used for predicting the spatial distribution of energy deposition inside the material and controlling the beam in the writing process. PMID:25564243

Rapid assessment of nonlinear optical propagation effects in dielectrics.

PubMed

del Hoyo, J; de la Cruz, A Ruiz; Grace, E; Ferrer, A; Siegel, J; Pasquazi, A; Assanto, G; Solis, J

2015-01-07

Ultrafast laser processing applications need fast approaches to assess the nonlinear propagation of the laser beam in order to predict the optimal range of processing parameters in a wide variety of cases. We develop here a method based on the simple monitoring of the nonlinear beam shaping against numerical prediction. The numerical code solves the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear absorption under simplified conditions by employing a state-of-the art computationally efficient approach. By comparing with experimental results we can rapidly estimate the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the material. The validity of this approach has been tested in a variety of experiments where nonlinearities play a key role, like spatial soliton shaping or fs-laser waveguide writing. The approach provides excellent results for propagated power densities for which free carrier generation effects can be neglected. Above such a threshold, the peculiarities of the nonlinear propagation of elliptical beams enable acquiring an instantaneous picture of the deposition of energy inside the material realistic enough to estimate the effective nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients that can be used for predicting the spatial distribution of energy deposition inside the material and controlling the beam in the writing process.

Rapid assessment of nonlinear optical propagation effects in dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoyo, J. Del; de La Cruz, A. Ruiz; Grace, E.; Ferrer, A.; Siegel, J.; Pasquazi, A.; Assanto, G.; Solis, J.

2015-01-01

Ultrafast laser processing applications need fast approaches to assess the nonlinear propagation of the laser beam in order to predict the optimal range of processing parameters in a wide variety of cases. We develop here a method based on the simple monitoring of the nonlinear beam shaping against numerical prediction. The numerical code solves the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear absorption under simplified conditions by employing a state-of-the art computationally efficient approach. By comparing with experimental results we can rapidly estimate the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the material. The validity of this approach has been tested in a variety of experiments where nonlinearities play a key role, like spatial soliton shaping or fs-laser waveguide writing. The approach provides excellent results for propagated power densities for which free carrier generation effects can be neglected. Above such a threshold, the peculiarities of the nonlinear propagation of elliptical beams enable acquiring an instantaneous picture of the deposition of energy inside the material realistic enough to estimate the effective nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients that can be used for predicting the spatial distribution of energy deposition inside the material and controlling the beam in the writing process.

Ultrafast optical pulse delivery with fibers for nonlinear microscopy

PubMed Central

Kim, Daekeun; Choi, Heejin; Yazdanfar, Siavash; So, Peter T. C.

2008-01-01

Nonlinear microscopies including multiphoton excitation fluorescence microscopy and multiple-harmonic generation microscopy have recently gained popularity for cellular and tissue imaging. The optimization of these imaging methods for minimally invasive use will require optical fibers to conduct light into tight space where free space delivery is difficult. The delivery of high peak power laser pulses with optical fibers is limited by dispersion resulting from nonlinear refractive index responses. In this paper, we characterize a variety of commonly used optical fibers in terms of how they affect pulse profile and imaging performance of nonlinear microscopy; the following parameters are quantified: spectral bandwidth and temporal pulse width, two-photon excitation efficiency, and optical resolution. A theoretical explanation for the measured performance of these is also provided. PMID:18816597

Zn doped CdO thin films with enhanced linear and third order nonlinear optical properties for optoelectronic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bairy, Raghavendra; Jayarama, A.; Shivakumar, G. K.; Patil, P. S.; Bhat, K. Udaya

2018-04-01

Thin films of undoped and zinc doped CdO have been deposited on glass substrate using spray pyrolysis technique with various dopant concentrations of Zn such as 1, 5 and 10%. Influence of Zn doping on CdO thin films for the structural, morphological, optical and nonlinear optical properties are reported. XRD analysis reveals that as prepared pure and Zn doped CdO films show polycrystalline nature with face centered cubic structure. Also, Zn doping does not significantly modify the crystallinity and not much increase in the crystallite size of the film. SEM images shows grains which are uniform and grain size with increase in dopant concentration. The transmittance of the prepared CdO films recorded in the UV visible spectra and it shows 50 to 60% in the visible region. The estimated optical band gap increases from 2.60 to 2.70 eV for various dopant concentrations. The nonlinear optical absorption of Zn-doped CdO films have been measured used the Z-scan technique at a wavelength 532 nm. The nonlinear optical absorption coefficient (β), nonlinear refractive index (n2) and the third order nonlinear optical susceptibility (χ(3)) of the pure and Zn doped films were determined.

Correction of Phase Distortion by Nonlinear Optical Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-05-01

I I I I ifi 00 o o \\] CORRECTION OF PHASE DISTORTION BY NONLINEAR OPTICAL TECHNIQUES op Hughes Research Laboratories 3011 Malibu Canyon...CORRECTION OF PHASE DISTORTION BY NONLINEAR OPTICAL TECHNIQUES • , — •■ FBiMowmln»"Own. we^owr^wwcw n R.C./Lind| W.B./Browne C.R. Giuliano, R.K... phase conjugation. Adaptive optics , Laser compensation, SBS, Four-wave mixing. 20. ABSTRACT (ConllmM on i tmrr and Identity bv block number

Ultra-large nonlinear parameter in graphene-silicon waveguide structures.

PubMed

Donnelly, Christine; Tan, Dawn T H

2014-09-22

Mono-layer graphene integrated with optical waveguides is studied for the purpose of maximizing E-field interaction with the graphene layer, for the generation of ultra-large nonlinear parameters. It is shown that the common approach used to minimize the waveguide effective modal area does not accurately predict the configuration with the maximum nonlinear parameter. Both photonic and plasmonic waveguide configurations and graphene integration techniques realizable with today's fabrication tools are studied. Importantly, nonlinear parameters exceeding 10(4) W(-1)/m, two orders of magnitude larger than that in silicon on insulator waveguides without graphene, are obtained for the quasi-TE mode in silicon waveguides incorporating mono-layer graphene in the evanescent part of the optical field. Dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides incorporating mono-layer graphene are observed to generate nonlinear parameters as large as 10(5) W(-1)/m, three orders of magnitude larger than that in silicon on insulator waveguides without graphene. The ultra-large nonlinear parameters make such waveguides promising platforms for nonlinear integrated optics at ultra-low powers, and for previously unobserved nonlinear optical effects to be studied in a waveguide platform.

Optical polarization based logic functions (XOR or XNOR) with nonlinear Gallium nitride nanoslab.

PubMed

Bovino, F A; Larciprete, M C; Giardina, M; Belardini, A; Centini, M; Sibilia, C; Bertolotti, M; Passaseo, A; Tasco, V

2009-10-26

We present a scheme of XOR/XNOR logic gate, based on non phase-matched noncollinear second harmonic generation from a medium of suitable crystalline symmetry, Gallium nitride. The polarization of the noncollinear generated beam is a function of the polarization of both pump beams, thus we experimentally investigated all possible polarization combinations, evidencing that only some of them are allowed and that the nonlinear interaction of optical signals behaves as a polarization based XOR. The experimental results show the peculiarity of the nonlinear optical response associated with noncollinear excitation, and are explained using the expression for the effective second order optical nonlinearity in noncollinear scheme.

Real-time visualization of soliton molecules with evolving behavior in an ultrafast fiber laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Meng; Li, Heng; Luo, Ai-Ping; Cui, Hu; Xu, Wen-Cheng; Luo, Zhi-Chao

2018-03-01

Ultrafast fiber lasers have been demonstrated to be great platforms for the investigation of soliton dynamics. The soliton molecules, as one of the most fascinating nonlinear phenomena, have been a hot topic in the field of nonlinear optics in recent years. Herein, we experimentally observed the real-time evolving behavior of soliton molecule in an ultrafast fiber laser by using the dispersive Fourier transformation technology. Several types of evolving soliton molecules were obtained in our experiments, such as soliton molecules with monotonically or chaotically evolving phase, flipping and hopping phase. These results would be helpful to the communities interested in soliton nonlinear dynamics as well as ultrafast laser technologies.

Three dimensional nonlinear simulations of edge localized modes on the EAST tokamak using BOUT++ code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Z. X.; Xu, X. Q.; Gao, X.; Xia, T. Y.; Joseph, I.; Meyer, W. H.; Liu, S. C.; Xu, G. S.; Shao, L. M.; Ding, S. Y.; Li, G. Q.; Li, J. G.

2014-09-01

Experimental measurements of edge localized modes (ELMs) observed on the EAST experiment are compared to linear and nonlinear theoretical simulations of peeling-ballooning modes using the BOUT++ code. Simulations predict that the dominant toroidal mode number of the ELM instability becomes larger for lower current, which is consistent with the mode structure captured with visible light using an optical CCD camera. The poloidal mode number of the simulated pressure perturbation shows good agreement with the filamentary structure observed by the camera. The nonlinear simulation is also consistent with the experimentally measured energy loss during an ELM crash and with the radial speed of ELM effluxes measured using a gas puffing imaging diagnostic.

Nonlinear optical microscopy for immunoimaging: a custom optimized system of high-speed, large-area, multicolor imaging

PubMed Central

Li, Hui; Cui, Quan; Zhang, Zhihong; Luo, Qingming

2015-01-01

Background The nonlinear optical microscopy has become the current state-of-the-art for intravital imaging. Due to its advantages of high resolution, superior tissue penetration, lower photodamage and photobleaching, as well as intrinsic z-sectioning ability, this technology has been widely applied in immunoimaging for a decade. However, in terms of monitoring immune events in native physiological environment, the conventional nonlinear optical microscope system has to be optimized for live animal imaging. Generally speaking, three crucial capabilities are desired, including high-speed, large-area and multicolor imaging. Among numerous high-speed scanning mechanisms used in nonlinear optical imaging, polygon scanning is not only linearly but also dispersion-freely with high stability and tunable rotation speed, which can overcome disadvantages of multifocal scanning, resonant scanner and acousto-optical deflector (AOD). However, low frame rate, lacking large-area or multicolor imaging ability make current polygonbased nonlinear optical microscopes unable to meet the requirements of immune event monitoring. Methods We built up a polygon-based nonlinear optical microscope system which was custom optimized for immunoimaging with high-speed, large-are and multicolor imaging abilities. Results Firstly, we validated the imaging performance of the system by standard methods. Then, to demonstrate the ability to monitor immune events, migration of immunocytes observed by the system based on typical immunological models such as lymph node, footpad and dorsal skinfold chamber are shown. Finally, we take an outlook for the possible advance of related technologies such as sample stabilization and optical clearing for more stable and deeper intravital immunoimaging. Conclusions This study will be helpful for optimizing nonlinear optical microscope to obtain more comprehensive and accurate information of immune events. PMID:25694951

PBT,PBO-Based Hybrid Polymers with Nonlinear Optical Properties or High Electrical Conductivity

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-29

standing. Experiments with stronger oxidizing agents such as nitrosonium salts (e.g., NO+Br4, NO+PF6) and high-potential quinones (e.g., DDQ...several unique possibilities. First, the ionic structure should raise Tg. Second, electrophoretic ion migration under the influence of the poling field

Evolution of diffraction and self-diffraction phenomena in thin films of Gelite Bloom/Hibiscus Sabdariffa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cano-Lara, Miroslava; Severiano-Carrillo, Israel; Trejo-Durán, Mónica; Alvarado-Méndez, Edgar

2017-09-01

In this work, we present a study of non-linear optical response in thin films elaborated with Gelite Bloom and extract of Hibiscus Sabdariffa. Non-linear refraction and absorption effects were studied experimentally (Z-scan technique) and numerically, by considering the transmittance as non-linear absorption and refraction contribution. We observe large phase shifts to far field, and diffraction due to self-phase modulation of the sample. Diffraction and self-diffraction effects were observed as time function. The aim of studying non-linear optical properties in thin films is to eliminate thermal vortex effects that occur in liquids. This is desirable in applications such as non-linear phase contrast, optical limiting, optics switches, etc. Finally, we find good agreement between experimental and theoretical results.

Maximizing the optical network capacity

PubMed Central

Bayvel, Polina; Maher, Robert; Liga, Gabriele; Shevchenko, Nikita A.; Lavery, Domaniç; Killey, Robert I.

2016-01-01

Most of the digital data transmitted are carried by optical fibres, forming the great part of the national and international communication infrastructure. The information-carrying capacity of these networks has increased vastly over the past decades through the introduction of wavelength division multiplexing, advanced modulation formats, digital signal processing and improved optical fibre and amplifier technology. These developments sparked the communication revolution and the growth of the Internet, and have created an illusion of infinite capacity being available. But as the volume of data continues to increase, is there a limit to the capacity of an optical fibre communication channel? The optical fibre channel is nonlinear, and the intensity-dependent Kerr nonlinearity limit has been suggested as a fundamental limit to optical fibre capacity. Current research is focused on whether this is the case, and on linear and nonlinear techniques, both optical and electronic, to understand, unlock and maximize the capacity of optical communications in the nonlinear regime. This paper describes some of them and discusses future prospects for success in the quest for capacity. PMID:26809572

A theoretical investigation of soliton induced supercontinuum generation in liquid core photonic crystal fiber and dual core optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Porsezian, K.; Nithyanandan, K.; Vasantha Jayakantha Raja, R.; Ganapathy, R.

2013-07-01

The supercontinuum generation (SCG) in liquid core photonic crystal fiber (LCPCF) with versatile nonlinear response and the spectral broadening in dual core optical fiber is presented. The analysis is presented in two phase, phase I deals with the SCG in LCPCF with the effect of saturable nonlinearity and re-orientational nonlinearity. We identify and discuss the generic nature of the saturable nonlinearity and reorientational nonlinearity in the SCG, using suitable model. For the physical explanation, modulational instability and soliton fission techniques is implemented to investigate the impact of saturable nonlinear response and slow nonlinear response, respectively. It is observed that the saturable nonlinearity inevitably suppresses the MI and the subsequent SCG. On the other hand, the re-orientational nonlinearity contributes to the slow nonlinear response in addition to the conventional fast response due to the electronic contribution. The phase II features the exclusive investigation of the spectral broadening in the dual core optical fiber.

All-optical image processing with nonlinear liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Kuan-Lun

Liquid crystals are fascinating materials because of several advantages such as large optical birefringence, dielectric anisotropic, and easily compatible to most kinds of materials. Compared to the electro-optical properties of liquid crystals widely applied in displays and switching application, transparency through most parts of wavelengths also makes liquid crystals a better candidate for all-optical processing. The fast response time of liquid crystals resulting from multiple nonlinear effects, such as thermal and density effect can even make real-time processing realized. In addition, blue phase liquid crystals with spontaneously self-assembled three dimensional cubic structures attracted academic attention. In my dissertation, I will divide the whole contents into six parts. In Chapter 1, a brief introduction of liquid crystals is presented, including the current progress and the classification of liquid crystals. Anisotropy and laser induced director axis reorientation is presented in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, I will solve the electrostrictive coupled equation and analyze the laser induced thermal and density effect in both static and dynamic ways. Furthermore, a dynamic simulation of laser induced density fluctuation is proposed by applying finite element method. In Chapter 4, two image processing setups are presented. One is the intensity inversion experiment in which intensity dependent phase modulation is the mechanism. The other is the wavelength conversion experiment in which I can read the invisible image with a visible probe beam. Both experiments are accompanied with simulations to realize the matching between the theories and practical experiment results. In Chapter 5, optical properties of blue phase liquid crystals will be introduced and discussed. The results of grating diffractions and thermal refractive index gradient are presented in this chapter. In addition, fiber arrays imaging and switching with BPLCs will be included in this chapter. Finally, I will give a brief summary and mention a few future researches in Chapter 6.

Demonstration of ultra-wideband (UWB) over fiber based on optical pulse-injected semiconductor laser.

PubMed

Juan, Yu-Shan; Lin, Fan-Yi

2010-04-26

We experimentally demonstrated the ultra-wideband (UWB) signal generation utilizing nonlinear dynamics of an optical pulse-injected semiconductor laser. The UWB signals generated are fully in compliant with the FCC mask for indoor radiation, while a large fractional bandwidth of 93% is achieved. To show the feasibility of UWB-over-fiber, transmission over a 2 km single-mode fiber and a wireless channel utilizing a pair of broadband antennas are examined. Moreover, proof of concept experiment on data encoding and decoding with 250 Mb/s in the optical pulse-injected laser is successfully demonstrated.

Coherent optical OFDM: theory and design.

PubMed

Shieh, W; Bao, H; Tang, Y

2008-01-21

Coherent optical OFDM (CO-OFDM) has recently been proposed and the proof-of-concept transmission experiments have shown its extreme robustness against chromatic dispersion and polarization mode dispersion. In this paper, we first review the theoretical fundamentals for CO-OFDM and its channel model in a 2x2 MIMO-OFDM representation. We then present various design choices for CO-OFDM systems and perform the nonlinearity analysis for RF-to-optical up-converter. We also show the receiver-based digital signal processing to mitigate self-phase-modulation (SPM) and Gordon-Mollenauer phase noise, which is equivalent to the midspan phase conjugation.

The Effect of Gravity Axis Orientation on the Growth of Phthalocyanine Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pearson, Earl F.

1996-01-01

Experimentally, many of the functions of electrical circuits have been demonstrated using optical circuits and, in theory, all of these functions may be accomplished using optical devices made of nonlinear optical materials. Actual construction of nonlinear optical devices is one of the most active areas in all optical research being done at this time. Physical vapor transport (PVT) is a promising technique for production of thin films of a variety of organic and inorganic materials. Film optical quality, orientation of microcrystals, and thickness depends critically on type of material, pressure of buffer gas and temperature of deposition. An important but understudied influence on film characteristics is the effect of gravity-driven buoyancy. Frazier, Hung, Paley, Penn and Long have recently reported mathematical modelling of the vapor deposition process and tested the predictions of the model on the thickness of films grown by PVT of 6-(2-methyl-4-nitroanilino)-2,4-hexadiyn-l-ol (DAMNA). In an historic experiment, Debe, et. al. offered definitive proof that copper phthalocyanine films grown in a low gravity environment are denser and more ordered than those grown at 1 g. This work seeks to determine the influence on film quality of gravity driven buoyancy in the low pressure PVT film growth of metal-free phthalocyanine.

First-principles study of structural, electronic, linear and nonlinear optical properties of Ga{2}PSb ternary chalcopyrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouahrani, T.; Reshak, A. H.; de La Roza, A. Otero; Mebrouki, M.; Luaña, V.; Khenata, R.; Amrani, B.

2009-12-01

We report results from first-principles density functional calculations using the full-potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and the Engel-Vosko-generalized gradient approximation (EV-GGA) were used for the exchange-correlation energy of the structural, electronic, linear and nonlinear optical properties of the chalcopyrite Ga2PSb compound. The valence band maximum (VBM) is located at the Γv point, and the conduction band minimum (CBM) is located at the Γc point, resulting in a direct band gap of about 0.365 eV for GGA and 0.83 eV for EV-GGA. In comparison with the experimental one (1.2 eV) we found that EV-GGA calculation gives energy gap in reasonable agreement with the experiment. The spin orbit coupling has marginal influence on the optical properties. The ground state quantities such as lattice parameters (a, c and u), bulk modules B and its pressure derivative B^primeare evaluated.

Chirped-pulse coherent-OTDR with predistortion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Ji; Jiang, Jialin; Wu, Yue; Chen, Yongxiang; Xie, Lianlian; Fu, Yun; Wang, Zinan

2018-03-01

In this paper, a novel method for generating high-quality chirped pulses with IQ modulator is studied theoretically and experimentally, which is a crucial building block for high-performance coherent optical time-domain reflectometry (COTDR). In order to compensate the nonlinearity of the modulator transfer function, we present a predistortion technique for chirped-pulse coherent optical time-domain reflectometry (CP-COTDR), the arcsin predistortion method and the single sideband with a suppressed carrier analog modulation used to generate the high quality chirped optical pulse. The high order sidebands, due to the large amplitude of the modulation signal and the nonlinear transfer function of the IQ modulator, can be relieved by the predistortion process, which means the power and the quality of the generated chirped pulse has been improved. In the experiment, this method increases the peak power of the chirped pulse by 4.2 dB compared to the case without predistortion process, as for the CP-COTDR system, this method increases the signal-to-noise ratio of the demodulated phase variation by 6.3 dB.

Studies of nonlinear femtosecond pulse propagation in bulk materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eaton, Hilary Kaye

2000-10-01

Femtosecond pulse lasers are finding widespread application in a variety of fields including medical research, optical switching and communications, plasma formation, high harmonic generation, and wavepacket formation and control. As the number of applications for femtosecond pulses increases, so does the need to fully understand the linear and nonlinear processes involved in propagating these pulses through materials under various conditions. Recent advances in pulse measurement techniques, such as frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG), allow measurement of the full electric field of the pulse and have made detailed investigations of short- pulse propagation effects feasible. In this thesis, I present detailed experimental studies of my work involving nonlinear propagation of femtosecond pulses in bulk media. Studies of plane-wave propagation in fused silica extend the SHG form of FROG from a simple pulse diagnostic to a useful method of interrogating the nonlinear response of a material. Studies of nonlinear propagation are also performed in a regime where temporal pulse splitting occurs. Experimental results are compared with a three- dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation. This comparison fuels the development of a more complete model for pulse splitting. Experiments are also performed at peak input powers above those at which pulse splitting is observed. At these higher intensities, a broadband continuum is generated. This work presents a detailed study of continuum behavior and power loss as well as the first near-field spatial- spectral measurements of the generated continuum light. Nonlinear plane-wave propagation of short pulses in liquids is also investigated, and a non-instantaneous nonlinearity with a surprisingly short response time of 10 fs is observed in methanol. Experiments in water confirm that this effect in methanol is indeed real. Possible explanations for the observed effect are discussed and several are experimentally rejected. This thesis applies FROG as a powerful tool for science and not just a useful pulse diagnostic technique. Studies of three-dimensional propagation provide an in-depth understanding of the processes involved in femtosecond pulse splitting. In addition, the experimental investigations of continuum generation and pulse propagation in liquids provide new insights into the possible processes involved and should provide a useful comparison for developing theories.

Nonlinear dynamics of nanoscale systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodas, Nathan Oken

This work builds theoretical tools to better understand nanoscale systems, and it ex- plores experimental techniques to probe nanoscale dynamics using nonlinear optical microscopy. In both the theory and experiment, this work harnesses nonlinearity to explore new boundaries in the ongoing attempts to understand the amazing world that is much smaller than we can see. In particular, the first part of this work proves the upper-bounds on the number and quality of oscillations when the sys- tem in question is homogeneously driven and has discrete states, a common way of describing nanoscale motors and chemical systems, although it has application to networked systems in general. The consequences of this limit are explored in the context of chemical clocks and limit cycles. This leads to the analysis of sponta- neous oscillations in GFPmut2, where we postulate that the oscillations must be due to coordinated rearrangement of the beta-barrel. Next, we utilize nonlinear optics to probe the constituent structures of zebrafish muscle. By comparing experimental observations with computational models, we show how second harmonic generation differs from fluorescence for confocal imaging. We use the wavelength dependence of the second harmonic generation conversion efficiency to extract information about the microscopic organization of muscle fibers, using the coherent nature of second ix harmonic generation as an analytical probe. Finally, existing experiments have used a related technique, sum-frequency generation, to directly probe the dynamics of free OH bonds at the water-vapor boundary. Using molecular dynamic simulations of the water surface and by designating surface-sensitive free OH bonds on the water surface, many aspects of the sum-frequency generation measurements were calcu- lated and compared with those inferred from experiment. The method utilizes results available from independent IR and Raman experiments to obtain some of the needed quantities, rather than calculating them ab initio. The results provide insight into the microscopic dynamics at the air-water interface and have useful application in the field of on-water catalysis.

Optical rogue waves for the inhomogeneous generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation.

PubMed

Loomba, Shally; Kaur, Harleen

2013-12-01

We present optical rogue wave solutions for a generalized nonlinear Schrodinger equation by using similarity transformation. We have predicted the propagation of rogue waves through a nonlinear optical fiber for three cases: (i) dispersion increasing (decreasing) fiber, (ii) periodic dispersion parameter, and (iii) hyperbolic dispersion parameter. We found that the rogue waves and their interactions can be tuned by properly choosing the parameters. We expect that our results can be used to realize improved signal transmission through optical rogue waves.

Measurement of ultrafast optical Kerr effect of Ge-Sb-Se chalcogenide slab waveguides by the beam self-trapping technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuriakose, Tintu; Baudet, Emeline; Halenkovič, Tomáš; Elsawy, Mahmoud M. R.; Němec, Petr; Nazabal, Virginie; Renversez, Gilles; Chauvet, Mathieu

2017-11-01

We present a reliable and original experimental technique based on the analysis of beam self-trapping to measure ultrafast optical nonlinearities in planar waveguides. The technique is applied to the characterization of Ge-Sb-Se chalcogenide films that allow Kerr induced self-focusing and soliton formation. Linear and nonlinear optical constants of three different chalcogenide waveguides are studied at 1200 and 1550 nm in femtosecond regime. Waveguide propagation loss and two photon absorption coefficients are determined by transmission analysis. Beam broadening and narrowing results are compared with simulations of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation solved by BPM method to deduce the Kerr n2 coefficients. Kerr optical nonlinearities obtained by our original technique compare favorably with the values obtained by Z-scan technique. Nonlinear refractive index as high as (69 ± 11) × 10-18m2 / W is measured in Ge12.5Sb25Se62.5 at 1200 nm with low nonlinear absorption and low propagation losses which reveals the great characteristics of our waveguides for ultrafast all optical switching and integrated photonic devices.

Numerical Simulations of Light Bullets, Using The Full Vector, Time Dependent, Nonlinear Maxwell Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goorjian, Peter M.; Silberberg, Yaron; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

This paper will present results in computational nonlinear optics. An algorithm will be described that solves the full vector nonlinear Maxwell's equations exactly without the approximations that are currently made. Present methods solve a reduced scalar wave equation, namely the nonlinear Schrodinger equation, and neglect the optical carrier. Also, results will be shown of calculations of 2-D electromagnetic nonlinear waves computed by directly integrating in time the nonlinear vector Maxwell's equations. The results will include simulations of 'light bullet' like pulses. Here diffraction and dispersion will be counteracted by nonlinear effects. The time integration efficiently implements linear and nonlinear convolutions for the electric polarization, and can take into account such quantum effects as Kerr and Raman interactions. The present approach is robust and should permit modeling 2-D and 3-D optical soliton propagation, scattering, and switching directly from the full-vector Maxwell's equations.

Numerical Simulations of Light Bullets, Using The Full Vector, Time Dependent, Nonlinear Maxwell Equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goorjian, Peter M.; Silberberg, Yaron; Kwak, Dochan (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

This paper will present results in computational nonlinear optics. An algorithm will be described that solves the full vector nonlinear Maxwell's equations exactly without the approximations that we currently made. Present methods solve a reduced scalar wave equation, namely the nonlinear Schrodinger equation, and neglect the optical carrier. Also, results will be shown of calculations of 2-D electromagnetic nonlinear waves computed by directly integrating in time the nonlinear vector Maxwell's equations. The results will include simulations of 'light bullet' like pulses. Here diffraction and dispersion will be counteracted by nonlinear effects. The time integration efficiently implements linear and nonlinear convolutions for the electric polarization, and can take into account such quantum effects as Karr and Raman interactions. The present approach is robust and should permit modeling 2-D and 3-D optical soliton propagation, scattering, and switching directly from the full-vector Maxwell's equations.

Quantum Noise Reduction with Pulsed Light in Optical Fibers.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergman, Keren

Optical fibers offer considerable advantages over bulk nonlinear media for the generation of squeezed states. This thesis reports on experimental investigations of reducing quantum noise by means of squeezing in nonlinear fiber optic interferometers. Fibers have low insertion loss which allows for long interaction lengths. High field intensities are easily achieved in the small cores of single mode fibers. Additionally, the nonlinear process employed is self phase modulation or the Kerr effect, whose broad band nature requires no phase matching and can be exploited with ultra-short pulses of high peak intensity. All these advantageous features of fibers result in easily obtained large nonlinear phase shifts and subsequently large squeezing parameters. By the self phase modulation process a correlation is produced between the phase and amplitude fluctuations of the optical field. The attenuated or squeezed quadrature has a lower noise level than the initial level associated with the coherent state field before propagation. The resulting reduced quantum noise quadrature can be utilized to improve the sensitivity of a phase measuring instrument such as an interferometer. Because the Kerr nonlinearity is a degenerate self pumping process, the squeezed noise is at the same frequency as the pump field. Classical pump noise can therefore interfere with the desired measurement of the quantum noise reduction. The most severe noise process is the phase noise caused by thermally induced index modulation of the fiber. This noise termed Guided Acoustic Wave Brillouin Scattering, or GAWBS, by previous researchers is studied and analyzed. Experiments performed to overcome GAWBS successfully with several schemes are described. An experimental demonstration of an interferometric measurement with better sensitivity than the standard quantum limit is described. The results lead to new understandings into the limitations of quantum noise reduction that can be achieved in the laboratory. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.).

Discussion of a ``coherent artifact'' in four-wave mixing experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferwerda, Hedzer A.; Terpstra, Jacob; Wiersma, Douwe A.

1989-09-01

In this paper, we discuss the nonlinear optical effects that arise when stochastic light waves, with different correlation times, interfere in an absorbing medium. It is shown that four-wave mixing signals are generated in several directions that spectrally track the incoming light fields. This effect is particularly relevant to transient hole-burning experiments, where one of these signals could easily be misinterpreted as a genuine hole-burning feature.

Focus scanning with feedback control for fiber-optic nonlinear endomicroscopy (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Ang; Liang, Wenxuan; Li, Xingde

2017-02-01

Fiber-optic nonlinear endomicroscopy represents a strong promise to enable translation of nonlinear microscopy technologies to in vivo applications, particularly imaging of internal organs. Two-dimensional imaging beam scanning has been accomplished by using fiber-optic scanners or MEMS scanners. Yet nonlinear endomicroscopy still cannot perform rapid and reliable depth or focus scanning while maintaining a small form factor. Shape memory alloy (SMA) wire had shown promise in extending 2D endoscopic imaging to the third dimension. By Joule heating, the SMA wire would contract and move the endomicroscope optics to change beam focus. However, this method suffered from hysteresis, and was susceptible to change in ambient temperature, making it difficult to achieve accurate and reliable depth scanning. Here we present a feedback-controlled SMA actuator which addressed these challenges. The core of the feedback loop was a Hall effect sensor. By measuring the magnetic flux density from a tiny magnet attached to the SMA wire, contraction distance of the SMA wire could be tracked in real time. The distance was then fed to the PID algorithm running in a microprocessor, which computed the error between the command position and the current position of the actuator. The current running through the SMA wire was adjusted accordingly. Our feedback-controlled SMA actuator had a tube-like shape with outer diameter of 5.5 mm and length of 25 mm, and was designed to house the endomicroscope inside. Initial test showed that it allowed more than 300 microns of travel distance, with an average positioning error of less than 2 microns. 3D imaging experiments with the endomicroscope is underway, and its imaging performance will be assessed and discussed.

Nonlinear Effects in Transformation Optics-Based Metamaterial Shields for Counter Directed Energy Weapon Defense

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS NONLINEAR EFFECTS IN TRANSFORMATION OPTICS-BASED METAMATERIAL SHIELDS FOR COUNTER DIRECTED...2014 to 06-17-2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE NONLINEAR EFFECTS IN TRANSFORMATION OPTICS-BASED METAMATE- RIAL SHIELDS FOR COUNTER DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPON...and magnetization fields with respect to incident electromagnetic field intensities. As those field intensities rise, such as from a hypothetical

Nonlinear optical properties and supercontinuum spectrum of titania-modified carbon quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kulchin, Yu N.; Mayor, A. Yu; Proschenko, D. Yu; Postnova, I. V.; Shchipunov, Yu A.

2016-04-01

We have studied the nonlinear optical properties and supercontinuum spectrum of solutions of carbon quantum dots prepared by a hydrothermal process from chitin and then coated with titania. The titania coating has been shown to have an activating effect on the carbon quantum dots, enhancing supercontinuum generation in the blue-violet spectral region and enabling their nonlinear optical characteristics to be varied.

NLO 󈨞. Nonlinear Optics: Materials, Phenomena and Devices Digest. Internation Meeting on Nonlinear Optics (1st) Held in Kauai, Hawaii on 16-20 July 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-03-13

combination50 with a dynamic grating diffraction modelO . Considering o 0 a polarlsatlon grating on a homoetropic aligned nematlc ’-i 40 filmi the optical...nonlinearities of solutions of chloroaluminumphthalocyanine (CAP) in methanol and a silicon naphthalocyanine (Nc) derivative, SiNc( OSi (hexyl)3)2 or

40-Gbit/s all-optical circulating shift register with an inverter.

PubMed

Hall, K L; Donnelly, J P; Groves, S H; Fennelly, C I; Bailey, R J; Napoleone, A

1997-10-01

We report what is believed to be the first demonstration of an all-optical circulating shift register using an ultrafast nonlinear interferometer with a polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifier as the nonlinear switching element. The device operates at 40 Gbits/s, to our knowledge the highest speed demonstrated to date. Also, the demonstration proves the cascadability of the ultrafast nonlinear interferometric switch.

Zirconia dental implants degradation by confocal Raman microspectroscopy: analytical simulation and experiments

PubMed Central

Djaker, Nadia; Wulfman, Claudine; Sadoun, Michaël; Lamy de la Chapelle, Marc

2013-01-01

Subsurface hydrothermal degradation of yttria stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (3Y-TZP) is presented. Evaluation of low temperature degradation (LTD) phase transformation induced by aging in 3Y-TZP is experimentally studied by Raman confocal microspectroscopy. A non-linear distribution of monoclinic volume fraction is determined in depth by using different pinhole sizes. A theoretical simulation is proposed based on the convolution of the excitation intensity profile and the Beer-Lambert law (optical properties of zirconia) to compare between experiment and theory. The calculated theoretical degradation curves matche closely to the experimental ones. Surface transformation (V0) and transformation factor in depth (T) are obtained by comparing simulation and experience for each sample with nondestructive optical sectioning. PMID:23667788

Theory and design of nonlinear metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rose, Alec Daniel

If electronics are ever to be completely replaced by optics, a significant possibility in the wake of the fiber revolution, it is likely that nonlinear materials will play a central and enabling role. Indeed, nonlinear optics is the study of the mechanisms through which light can change the nature and properties of matter and, as a corollary, how one beam or color of light can manipulate another or even itself within such a material. However, of the many barriers preventing such a lofty goal, the narrow and limited range of properties supported by nonlinear materials, and natural materials in general, stands at the forefront. Many industries have turned instead to artificial and composite materials, with homogenizable metamaterials representing a recent extension of such composites into the electromagnetic domain. In particular, the inclusion of nonlinear elements has caused metamaterials research to spill over into the field of nonlinear optics. Through careful design of their constituent elements, nonlinear metamaterials are capable of supporting an unprecedented range of interactions, promising nonlinear devices of novel design and scale. In this context, I cast the basic properties of nonlinear metamaterials in the conventional formalism of nonlinear optics. Using alternately transfer matrices and coupled mode theory, I develop two complementary methods for characterizing and designing metamaterials with arbitrary nonlinear properties. Subsequently, I apply these methods in numerical studies of several canonical metamaterials, demonstrating enhanced electric and magnetic nonlinearities, as well as predicting the existence of nonlinear magnetoelectric and off-diagonal nonlinear tensors. I then introduce simultaneous design of the linear and nonlinear properties in the context of phase matching, outlining five different metamaterial phase matching methods, with special emphasis on the phase matching of counter propagating waves in mirrorless parametric amplifiers and oscillators. By applying this set of tools and knowledge to microwave metamaterials, I experimentally confirm several novel nonlinear phenomena. Most notably, I construct a backward wave nonlinear medium from varactor-loaded split ring resonators loaded in a rectangular waveguide, capable of generating second-harmonic opposite to conventional nonlinear materials with a conversion efficiency as high as 1.5%. In addition, I confirm nonlinear magnetoelectric coupling in two dual gap varactor-loaded split ring resonator metamaterials through measurement of the amplitude and phase of the second-harmonic generated in the forward and backward directions from a thin slab. I then use the presence of simultaneous nonlinearities in such metamaterials to observe nonlinear interference, manifest as unidirectional difference frequency generation with contrasts of 6 and 12 dB in the forward and backward directions, respectively. Finally, I apply these principles and intuition to several plasmonic platforms with the goal of achieving similar enhancements and configurations at optical frequencies. Using the example of fluorescence enhancement in optical patch antennas, I develop a semi-classical numerical model for the calculation of field-induced enhancements to both excitation and spontaneous emission rates of an embedded fluorophore, showing qualitative agreement with experimental results, with enhancement factors of more than 30,000. Throughout these series of works, I emphasize the indispensability of effective design and retrieval tools in understanding and optimizing both metamaterials and plasmonic systems. Ultimately, when weighed against the disadvantages in fabrication and optical losses, the results presented here provide a context for the application of nonlinear metamaterials within three distinct areas where a competitive advantage over conventional materials might be obtained: fundamental science demonstrations, linear and nonlinear anisotropy engineering, and extremely compact resonant all-optical devices.

All-optical reservoir computing.

PubMed

Duport, François; Schneider, Bendix; Smerieri, Anteo; Haelterman, Marc; Massar, Serge

2012-09-24

Reservoir Computing is a novel computing paradigm that uses a nonlinear recurrent dynamical system to carry out information processing. Recent electronic and optoelectronic Reservoir Computers based on an architecture with a single nonlinear node and a delay loop have shown performance on standardized tasks comparable to state-of-the-art digital implementations. Here we report an all-optical implementation of a Reservoir Computer, made of off-the-shelf components for optical telecommunications. It uses the saturation of a semiconductor optical amplifier as nonlinearity. The present work shows that, within the Reservoir Computing paradigm, all-optical computing with state-of-the-art performance is possible.

Large-area and highly crystalline MoSe2 for optical modulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Jinde; Chen, Hao; Lu, Wei; Liu, Mengli; Li, Irene Ling; Zhang, Min; Zhang, Wenfei; Wang, Jinzhang; Xu, Zihan; Yan, Peiguang; Liu, Wenjun; Ruan, Shuangchen

2017-12-01

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been successfully used as broadband optical modulator materials for pulsed fiber laser systems. However, the nonlinear optical absorptions of exfoliated TMDs are strongly limited by their nanoflakes morphology with uncontrollable lateral size and thickness. In this work, we provide an effective method to fully explore the nonlinear optical properties of MoSe2. Large-area and high quality lattice MoSe2 grown by chemical vapor deposition method was adopted as an optical modulator for the first time. The large-area MoSe2 shows excellent nonlinear optical absorption with a large modulation depth of 21.7% and small saturable intensity of 9.4 MW cm-2. After incorporating the MoSe2 optical modulator into fiber laser cavity as a saturable absorber, a highly stable Q-switching operation with single pulse energy of 224 nJ is achieved. The large-area MoSe2 possessing superior nonlinear optical properties compared to exfoliated nanoflakes affords possibility for the larger-area two-dimensional materials family as high performance optical devices.

Optical Limiting Based on Liquid-Liquid Immiscibility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Exarhos, Gregory J.; Ferris, Kim F.; Samuels, William D.

A nonionic surfactant is used to stabilize a dispersed droplet phase in a continuous liquid phase when two immiscible liquids are mixed. As both liquid phases approach the index matched condition, interfacial scattering is suppressed, and the mixture takes on the characteristics of a Christiansen-Shelyubskii filter. If, in addition, one of the liquids exhibits a substantial nonlinear optical response, then interfacial light scattering can be reversibly turned on when a laser beam incident upon the filter exceeds a critical fluence. To demonstrate this effect, an organic phase (dichloroethane) was dispersed in an aqueous phase containing sodium thiocyanate (NaSCN) using anmore » alkyl end-capped polyethylene glycol ether. The salt concentration was adjusted so that the index-matched mixture exhibited a large pass band. Marked optical limiting was observed through this transparent medium under conditions where the focused second-harmonic output of a Q-Switched Nd:YAG laser was on the order of about 50 mJ/cm2. An open-aperture Z-scan technique was used to quantify the limiting behavior. Since the thiocyanate anion is both isostructural and isoelectronic with carbon disulfide which exhibits a large optical nonlinearity, the mechanism of optical limiting is thought to be a nonlinear shift in the aqueous fluid index of refraction, resulting in an index mismatch between the disparate phases at high laser fluence. Index mismatch between the two phases leads to multiple reflections, loss of coherence, and a significant transmission decrease due to Mie scattering. The presence of many boundaries significantly amplifies the effect. Experiments also were conducted on the phase-inverted system (aqueous phase in organic liquid). Fundamental studies of such systems are used to verify theoretical predictions of the limiting effect, and aid in the design and development of improved limiters based upon this optical deflection approach.« less

Spatiotemporal light-beam compression from nonlinear mode coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krupa, Katarzyna; Tonello, Alessandro; Couderc, Vincent; Barthélémy, Alain; Millot, Guy; Modotto, Daniele; Wabnitz, Stefan

2018-04-01

We experimentally demonstrate simultaneous spatial and temporal compression in the propagation of light pulses in multimode nonlinear optical fibers. We reveal that the spatial beam self-cleaning recently discovered in graded-index multimode fibers is accompanied by significant temporal reshaping and up to fourfold shortening of the injected subnanosecond laser pulses. Since the nonlinear coupling among the modes strongly depends on the instantaneous power, we explore the entire range of the nonlinear dynamics with a single optical pulse, where the optical power is continuously varied across the pulse profile.

Probing Atomic Dynamics and Structures Using Optical Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmittberger, Bonnie L.; Gauthier, Daniel J.

2015-05-01

Pattern formation is a widely studied phenomenon that can provide fundamental insights into nonlinear systems. Emergent patterns in cold atoms are of particular interest in condensed matter physics and quantum information science because one can relate optical patterns to spatial structures in the atoms. In our experimental system, we study multimode optical patterns generated from a sample of cold, thermal atoms. We observe this nonlinear optical phenomenon at record low input powers due to the highly nonlinear nature of the spatial bunching of atoms in an optical lattice. We present a detailed study of the dynamics of these bunched atoms during optical pattern formation. We show how small changes in the atomic density distribution affect the symmetry of the generated patterns as well as the nature of the nonlinearity that describes the light-atom interaction. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Foundation through Grant #PHY-1206040.

Cross-quadrature modulation with the Raman-induced Kerr effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levenson, M. D.; Holland, M. J.; Walls, D. F.; Manson, P. J.; Fisk, P. T. H.; Bachor, H. A.

1991-08-01

The Raman-enhanced third-order optical nonlinearity of calcite potentially can support resonant back-action-evading measurement of the optical-field amplitude. In a preliminary experiment, we have observed cross-quadrature modulation transfer between an amplitude-modulated pump beam and an unmodulated probe beam tuned near the Stokes frequency. The theory of Holland et al. [Phys. Rev. A 42, 2995 (1990)] is extended to the case for which intracavity losses are significant in an attempt to account for the observations.

Generalised optical differentiation wavefront sensor: a sensitive high dynamic range wavefront sensor.

PubMed

Haffert, S Y

2016-08-22

Current wavefront sensors for high resolution imaging have either a large dynamic range or a high sensitivity. A new kind of wavefront sensor is developed which can have both: the Generalised Optical Differentiation wavefront sensor. This new wavefront sensor is based on the principles of optical differentiation by amplitude filters. We have extended the theory behind linear optical differentiation and generalised it to nonlinear filters. We used numerical simulations and laboratory experiments to investigate the properties of the generalised wavefront sensor. With this we created a new filter that can decouple the dynamic range from the sensitivity. These properties make it suitable for adaptive optic systems where a large range of phase aberrations have to be measured with high precision.

Performance improvement of 64-QAM coherent optical communication system by optimizing symbol decision boundary based on support vector machine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Wei; Zhang, Junfeng; Gao, Mingyi; Shen, Gangxiang

2018-03-01

High-order modulation signals are suited for high-capacity communication systems because of their high spectral efficiency, but they are more vulnerable to various impairments. For the signals that experience degradation, when symbol points overlap on the constellation diagram, the original linear decision boundary cannot be used to distinguish the classification of symbol. Therefore, it is advantageous to create an optimum symbol decision boundary for the degraded signals. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated the 64-quadrature-amplitude modulation (64-QAM) coherent optical communication system using support-vector machine (SVM) decision boundary algorithm to create the optimum symbol decision boundary for improving the system performance. We investigated the influence of various impairments on the 64-QAM coherent optical communication systems, such as the impairments caused by modulator nonlinearity, phase skew between in-phase (I) arm and quadrature-phase (Q) arm of the modulator, fiber Kerr nonlinearity and amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise. We measured the bit-error-ratio (BER) performance of 75-Gb/s 64-QAM signals in the back-to-back and 50-km transmission. By using SVM to optimize symbol decision boundary, the impairments caused by I/Q phase skew of the modulator, fiber Kerr nonlinearity and ASE noise are greatly mitigated.

Localized surface plasmons modulated nonlinear optical processes in metal film-coupled and upconversion nanocrystals-coated nanoparticles (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Dangyuan

2016-09-01

In the first part of this talk, I will show our experimental investigation on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of metal film-coupled nanosphere monomers and dimers both with nanometric gaps. We have developed a new methodology - polarization resolved spectral decomposition and color decoding to "visualizing" unambiguously the spectral and radiation properties of the complex plasmonic gap modes in these hybrid nanostructures. Single-particle spectroscopic measurements indicate that these hybrid nanostructures can simultaneously enhance several nonlinear optical processes, such as second harmonic generation, two-photon absorption induced luminescence, and hyper-Raman scattering. In the second part, I will show how the polarization state of the emissions from sub-10 nm upconversion nanocrystals (UCNCs) can be modulated when they form a hybrid complex with a gold nanorod (GNR). Our single-particle scattering experiments expose how an interplay between excitation polarization and GNR orientation gives rise to an extraordinary polarized nature of the upconversion emissions from an individual hybrid nanostructure. We support our results by numerical simulations and, using Förster resonance energy transfer theory, we uncover how an overlap between the UCNC emission and GNR extinction bands as well as the mutual orientation between emission and plasmonic dipoles jointly determine the polarization state of the UC emissions.

Dispersive optical soliton solutions for the hyperbolic and cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations via the extended sinh-Gordon equation expansion method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seadawy, Aly R.; Kumar, Dipankar; Chakrabarty, Anuz Kumar

2018-05-01

The (2+1)-dimensional hyperbolic and cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations describe the propagation of ultra-short pulses in optical fibers of nonlinear media. By using an extended sinh-Gordon equation expansion method, some new complex hyperbolic and trigonometric functions prototype solutions for two nonlinear Schrödinger equations were derived. The acquired new complex hyperbolic and trigonometric solutions are expressed by dark, bright, combined dark-bright, singular and combined singular solitons. The obtained results are more compatible than those of other applied methods. The extended sinh-Gordon equation expansion method is a more powerful and robust mathematical tool for generating new optical solitary wave solutions for many other nonlinear evolution equations arising in the propagation of optical pulses.

Graphene-clad tapered fiber: effective nonlinearity and propagation losses.

PubMed

Gorbach, A V; Marini, A; Skryabin, D V

2013-12-15

We derive a pulse propagation equation for a graphene-clad optical fiber, treating the optical response of the graphene and nonlinearity of the dielectric fiber core as perturbations in asymptotic expansion of Maxwell equations. We analyze the effective nonlinear and attenuation coefficients due to the graphene layer. Based on the recent experimental measurements of the nonlinear graphene conductivity, we predict considerable enhancement of the effective nonlinearity for subwavelength fiber core diameters.

Investigations on nucleation, HRXRD, optical, piezoelectric, polarizability and Z-scan analysis of L-arginine maleate dihydrate single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakthy Priya, S.; Alexandar, A.; Surendran, P.; Lakshmanan, A.; Rameshkumar, P.; Sagayaraj, P.

2017-04-01

An efficient organic nonlinear optical single crystal of L-arginine maleate dihydrate (LAMD) has been grown by slow evaporation solution technique (SEST) and slow cooling technique (SCT). The crystalline perfection of the crystal was examined using high-resolution X-ray diffractometry (HRXRD) analysis. Photoluminescence study confirmed the optical properties and defects level in the crystal lattice. Electromechanical behaviour was observed using piezoelectric co-efficient (d33) analysis. The photoconductivity analysis confirmed the negative photoconducting nature of the material. The dielectric constant and loss were measured as a function of frequency with varying temperature and vice-versa. The laser damage threshold (LDT) measurement was carried out using Nd:YAG Laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm (Focal length is 35 cm) and the obtained results showed that LDT value of the crystal is high compared to KDP crystal. The high laser damage threshold of the grown crystal makes it a potential candidate for second and higher order nonlinear optical device application. The third order nonlinear optical parameters of LAMD crystal is determined by open-aperture and closed-aperture studies using Z-scan technique. The third order linear and nonlinear optical parameters such as the nonlinear refractive index (n2), two photon absorption coefficient (β), Real part (Reχ3) and imaginary part (Imχ3) of third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility are calculated.

Enhanced nonlinear optical properties of L-arginine stabilized gold nanoparticles embedded in PVP polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sunatkari, A. L.; Talwatkar, S. S.; Tamgadge, Y. S.; Muley, G. G.

2018-05-01

Highly stable colloidal gold nanoparticles (GNPs) stabilised in l-arginine were synthesized and embedded in polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) polymer matrix to fabricate thin films by spin coating method. Nonlinear optical response of GNP-PVP nanocomposite were investigated using single beam Z-scan technique using He-Ne laser beam in CW regime operated at 632.8 nm as an excitation source. The sign of nonlinear refractive index was found negative, which is of self-defocusing nature. The nonlinear optical parameters estimated for GNP-PVP nanocomposite and found values as large as n2≈(1.7 -3.1 ) ×10-4c m2W-1, β ≈(2.40 -4.69 ) ×10-5c m W-1 and χef f (3 )≈(2.30 -4.34 ) ×10-4e s u . The nonlinear refractive index, absorption coefficient and third order nonlinear susceptibility have found decreasing with the increase in the concentration of l-arginine. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks show the blue shift. The average size of the GNPs is found reducing from 11 nm to 7.5 nm with the increase in the stabilizer concentration, as analysed by transmission electron microscopy. The XRD study reveals face-centred cubic (fcc) structure of GNPs. The huge nonlinearity is attributed to the thermo-optic phenomenon. The huge enhancement in third order nonlinear susceptibility and nonlinear refractive index indicates that this optical material possess a high potential for various optoelectronic devices applications.

All-optical phase modulation in a cavity-polariton Mach–Zehnder interferometer

PubMed Central

Sturm, C.; Tanese, D.; Nguyen, H.S.; Flayac, H.; Galopin, E.; Lemaître, A.; Sagnes, I.; Solnyshkov, D.; Amo, A.; Malpuech, G.; Bloch, J.

2014-01-01

Quantum fluids based on light is a highly developing research field, since they provide a nonlinear platform for developing optical functionalities and quantum simulators. An important issue in this context is the ability to coherently control the properties of the fluid. Here we propose an all-optical approach for controlling the phase of a flow of cavity-polaritons, making use of their strong interactions with localized excitons. Here we illustrate the potential of this method by implementing a compact exciton–polariton interferometer, which output intensity and polarization can be optically controlled. This interferometer is cascadable with already reported polariton devices and is promising for future polaritonic quantum optic experiments. Complex phase patterns could be also engineered using this optical method, providing a key tool to build photonic artificial gauge fields. PMID:24513781

Polarization and Thickness Dependent Absorption Properties of Black Phosphorus: New Saturable Absorber for Ultrafast Pulse Generation

PubMed Central

Li, Diao; Jussila, Henri; Karvonen, Lasse; Ye, Guojun; Lipsanen, Harri; Chen, Xianhui; Sun, Zhipei

2015-01-01

Black phosphorus (BP) has recently been rediscovered as a new and interesting two-dimensional material due to its unique electronic and optical properties. Here, we study the linear and nonlinear optical properties of BP flakes. We observe that both the linear and nonlinear optical properties are anisotropic and can be tuned by the film thickness in BP, completely different from other typical two-dimensional layered materials (e.g., graphene and the most studied transition metal dichalcogenides). We then use the nonlinear optical properties of BP for ultrafast (pulse duration down to ~786 fs in mode-locking) and large-energy (pulse energy up to >18 nJ in Q-switching) pulse generation in fiber lasers at the near-infrared telecommunication band ~1.5 μm. We observe that the output of our BP based pulsed lasers is linearly polarized (with a degree-of-polarization ~98% in mode-locking, >99% in Q-switching, respectively) due to the anisotropic optical property of BP. Our results underscore the relatively large optical nonlinearity of BP with unique polarization and thickness dependence, and its potential for polarized optical pulse generation, paving the way to BP based nonlinear and ultrafast photonic applications (e.g., ultrafast all-optical polarization switches/modulators, frequency converters etc.). PMID:26514090

Efficient, nonlinear phase estimation with the nonmodulated pyramid wavefront sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frazin, Richard A.

2018-04-01

The sensitivity of the the pyramid wavefront sensor (PyWFS) has made it a popular choice for astronomical adaptive optics (AAO) systems, and it is at its most sensitive when it is used without modulation of the input beam. In non-modulated mode, the device is highly nonlinear. Hence, all PyWFS implementations on current AAO systems employ modulation to make the device more linear. The upcoming era of 30-m class telescopes and the demand for ultra-precise wavefront control stemming from science objectives that include direct imaging of exoplanets make using the PyWFS without modulation desirable. This article argues that nonlinear estimation based on Newton's method for nonlinear optimization can be useful for mitigating the effects of nonlinearity in the non-modulated PyWFS. The proposed approach requires all optical modeling to be pre-computed, which has the advantage of avoiding real-time simulations of beam propagation. Further, the required real-time calculations are amenable to massively parallel computation. Numerical experiments simulate a currently operational PyWFS. A singular value analysis shows that the common practice of calculating two "slope" images from the four PyWFS pupil images discards critical information and is unsuitable for the non-modulated PyWFS simulated here. Instead, this article advocates estimators that use the raw pixel values not only from the four geometrical images of the pupil, but from surrounding pixels as well. The simulations indicate that nonlinear estimation can be effective when the Strehl ratio of the input beam is greater than 0.3, and the improvement relative to linear estimation tends to increase at larger Strehl ratios. At Strehl ratios less than about 0.5, the performances of both the nonlinear and linear estimators are relatively insensitive to noise, since they are dominated by nonlinearity error.

Giant nonlinear interaction between two optical beams via a quantum dot embedded in a photonic wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, H. A.; Grange, T.; Reznychenko, B.; Yeo, I.; de Assis, P.-L.; Tumanov, D.; Fratini, F.; Malik, N. S.; Dupuy, E.; Gregersen, N.; Auffèves, A.; Gérard, J.-M.; Claudon, J.; Poizat, J.-Ph.

2018-05-01

Optical nonlinearities usually appear for large intensities, but discrete transitions allow for giant nonlinearities operating at the single-photon level. This has been demonstrated in the last decade for a single optical mode with cold atomic gases, or single two-level systems coupled to light via a tailored photonic environment. Here, we demonstrate a two-mode giant nonlinearity with a single semiconductor quantum dot (QD) embedded in a photonic wire antenna. We exploit two detuned optical transitions associated with the exciton-biexciton QD level scheme. Owing to the broadband waveguide antenna, the two transitions are efficiently interfaced with two free-space laser beams. The reflection of one laser beam is then controlled by the other beam, with a threshold power as low as 10 photons per exciton lifetime (1.6 nW ). Such a two-color nonlinearity opens appealing perspectives for the realization of ultralow-power logical gates and optical quantum gates, and could also be implemented in an integrated photonic circuit based on planar waveguides.

Hong-Ou-Mandel Interference with a Single Atom.

PubMed

Ralley, K A; Lerner, I V; Yurkevich, I V

2015-09-14

The Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) effect is widely regarded as the quintessential quantum interference phenomenon in optics. In this work we examine how nonlinearity can smear statistical photon bunching in the HOM interferometer. We model both the nonlinearity and a balanced beam splitter with a single two-level system and calculate a finite probability of anti-bunching arising in this geometry. We thus argue that the presence of such nonlinearity would reduce the visibility in the standard HOM setup, offering some explanation for the diminution of the HOM visibility observed in many experiments. We use the same model to show that the nonlinearity affects a resonant two-photon propagation through a two-level impurity in a waveguide due to a "weak photon blockade" caused by the impossibility of double-occupancy and argue that this effect might be stronger for multi-photon propagation.

Sensitivity of nonlinear photoionization to resonance substructure in collective excitation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mazza, T.; Karamatskou, A.; Ilchen, M.

Collective behaviour is a characteristic feature in many-body systems, important for developments in fields such as magnetism, superconductivity, photonics and electronics. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the optically nonlinear response of collective excitations. Here we demonstrate how the nonlinear interaction of a many-body system with intense XUV radiation can be used as an effective probe for characterizing otherwise unresolved features of its collective response. Resonant photoionization of atomic xenon was chosen as a case study. The excellent agreement between experiment and theory strongly supports the prediction that two distinct poles underlie the giant dipole resonance. Our results pavemore » the way towards a deeper understanding of collective behaviour in atoms, molecules and solid-state systems using nonlinear spectroscopic techniques enabled by modern short-wavelength light sources.« less

Experimental implementation of a nonlinear beamsplitter based on a phase-sensitive parametric amplifier

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fang, Yami; Feng, Jingliang; Cao, Leiming

2016-03-28

Beamsplitters have played an important role in quantum optics experiments. They are often used to split and combine two beams, especially in the construct of an interferometer. In this letter, we experimentally implement a nonlinear beamsplitter using a phase-sensitive parametric amplifier, which is based on four-wave mixing in hot rubidium vapor. Here we show that, despite the different frequencies of the two input beams, the output ports of the nonlinear beamsplitter exhibit interference phenomena. We make measurements of the interference fringe visibility and study how various parameters, such as the intensity gain of the amplifier, the intensity ratio of themore » two input beams, and the one and two photon detunings, affect the behavior of the nonlinear beamsplitter. It may find potential applications in quantum metrology and quantum information processing.« less

Sensitivity of nonlinear photoionization to resonance substructure in collective excitation

DOE PAGES

Mazza, T.; Karamatskou, A.; Ilchen, M.; ...

2015-04-09

Collective behaviour is a characteristic feature in many-body systems, important for developments in fields such as magnetism, superconductivity, photonics and electronics. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the optically nonlinear response of collective excitations. Here we demonstrate how the nonlinear interaction of a many-body system with intense XUV radiation can be used as an effective probe for characterizing otherwise unresolved features of its collective response. Resonant photoionization of atomic xenon was chosen as a case study. The excellent agreement between experiment and theory strongly supports the prediction that two distinct poles underlie the giant dipole resonance. Our results pavemore » the way towards a deeper understanding of collective behaviour in atoms, molecules and solid-state systems using nonlinear spectroscopic techniques enabled by modern short-wavelength light sources.« less

Resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation using III–V semiconductor all-dielectric metasurfaces

DOE PAGES

Liu, Sheng; Sinclair, Michael B.; Saravi, Sina; ...

2016-08-08

Nonlinear optical phenomena in nanostructured materials have been challenging our perceptions of nonlinear optical processes that have been explored since the invention of lasers. For example, the ability to control optical field confinement, enhancement, and scattering almost independently allows nonlinear frequency conversion efficiencies to be enhanced by many orders of magnitude compared to bulk materials. Also, the subwavelength length scale renders phase matching issues irrelevant. Compared with plasmonic nanostructures, dielectric resonator metamaterials show great promise for enhanced nonlinear optical processes due to their larger mode volumes. Here, we present, for the first time, resonantly enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) using galliummore » arsenide (GaAs) based dielectric metasurfaces. Using arrays of cylindrical resonators we observe SHG enhancement factors as large as 10 4 relative to unpatterned GaAs. At the magnetic dipole resonance, we measure an absolute nonlinear conversion efficiency of ~2 × 10 –5 with ~3.4 GW/cm 2 pump intensity. In conclusion, the polarization properties of the SHG reveal that both bulk and surface nonlinearities play important roles in the observed nonlinear process.« less

Insight into the effect of screw dislocations and oxygen vacancy defects on the optical nonlinear refraction response in chemically grown ZnO/Al2O3 films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agrawal, Arpana; Saroj, Rajendra K.; Dar, Tanveer A.; Baraskar, Priyanka; Sen, Pratima; Dhar, Subhabrata

2017-11-01

We report the effect of screw dislocations and oxygen vacancy defects on the optical nonlinear refraction response of ZnO films grown on a sapphire substrate at various oxygen flow rates using the chemical vapor deposition technique. The nonlinear refraction response was investigated in the off-resonant regime using a CW He-Ne laser source to examine the role of the intermediate bandgap states. It has been observed that the structural defects strongly influence the optical nonlinearity in the off-resonant regime. Nonlinearity has been found to improve as the oxygen flow rate is lowered from 2 sccm to 0.3 sccm. From photoluminescence studies, we observe that the enhanced defect density of the electronic defect levels due to the increased concentration of structural defects (with the decrease in the oxygen flow rate) is responsible for this improved optical nonlinearity along with the thermal effect. This suggests that defect engineering is an effective way to tailor the nonlinearity of ZnO films and their utility for optoelectronic device applications.

Digital nonlinearity compensation in high-capacity optical communication systems considering signal spectral broadening effect.

PubMed

Xu, Tianhua; Karanov, Boris; Shevchenko, Nikita A; Lavery, Domaniç; Liga, Gabriele; Killey, Robert I; Bayvel, Polina

2017-10-11

Nyquist-spaced transmission and digital signal processing have proved effective in maximising the spectral efficiency and reach of optical communication systems. In these systems, Kerr nonlinearity determines the performance limits, and leads to spectral broadening of the signals propagating in the fibre. Although digital nonlinearity compensation was validated to be promising for mitigating Kerr nonlinearities, the impact of spectral broadening on nonlinearity compensation has never been quantified. In this paper, the performance of multi-channel digital back-propagation (MC-DBP) for compensating fibre nonlinearities in Nyquist-spaced optical communication systems is investigated, when the effect of signal spectral broadening is considered. It is found that accounting for the spectral broadening effect is crucial for achieving the best performance of DBP in both single-channel and multi-channel communication systems, independent of modulation formats used. For multi-channel systems, the degradation of DBP performance due to neglecting the spectral broadening effect in the compensation is more significant for outer channels. Our work also quantified the minimum bandwidths of optical receivers and signal processing devices to ensure the optimal compensation of deterministic nonlinear distortions.

Nonlinear optical response of the collagen triple helix and second harmonic microscopy of collagen liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deniset-Besseau, A.; De Sa Peixoto, P.; Duboisset, J.; Loison, C.; Hache, F.; Benichou, E.; Brevet, P.-F.; Mosser, G.; Schanne-Klein, M.-C.

2010-02-01

Collagen is characterized by triple helical domains and plays a central role in the formation of fibrillar and microfibrillar networks, basement membranes, as well as other structures of the connective tissue. Remarkably, fibrillar collagen exhibits efficient Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and SHG microscopy proved to be a sensitive tool to score fibrotic pathologies. However, the nonlinear optical response of fibrillar collagen is not fully characterized yet and quantitative data are required to further process SHG images. We therefore performed Hyper-Rayleigh Scattering (HRS) experiments and measured a second order hyperpolarisability of 1.25 10-27 esu for rat-tail type I collagen. This value is surprisingly large considering that collagen presents no strong harmonophore in its amino-acid sequence. In order to get insight into the physical origin of this nonlinear process, we performed HRS measurements after denaturation of the collagen triple helix and for a collagen-like short model peptide [(Pro-Pro-Gly)10]3. It showed that the collagen large nonlinear response originates in the tight alignment of a large number of weakly efficient harmonophores, presumably the peptide bonds, resulting in a coherent amplification of the nonlinear signal along the triple helix. To illustrate this mechanism, we successfully recorded SHG images in collagen liquid solutions by achieving liquid crystalline ordering of the collagen triple helices.

High-Energy, Multi-Octave-Spanning Mid-IR Sources via Adiabatic Difference Frequency Generation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-10-17

plan. We have evaluated a brand -new concept in nonlinear optics, adiabatic difference frequency generation (ADFG) for the efficient transfer of...achieved the main goals of our research plan. We have evaluated a brand -new concept in nonlinear optics, adiabatic difference frequency generation (ADFG...research plan. We have evaluated a brand -new concept in nonlinear optics, adiabatic difference frequency generation (ADFG) for the efficient transfer of

Symposium on New Materials for Nonlinear Optics

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-01-01

C. B. Aakeroy, N. Azoz, P. D. Calvert, M. Kadim, A. J. McCaffery, and K. R. Seddon 35 . Clathrasils: New Materials for Nonlinear Optical...of Quantum Confined Semiconductor Structures - D.S. Chemla 2: 35 Preparation and Characterization of Small Semiconductor Particulates - Norman Herron 3...presiding 2:00 Opening Remarks - John Sohn 2:05 Approaches for the Design of Materials for Nonlinear Optics - M. Lahav 2: 35 Control of Symmetry and Asymmetry

Black phosphorus quantum dots for femtosecond laser photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Meng; Jiang, Xiao-Fang; Yan, Yu-Rong; Wang, Xu-De; Luo, Ai-Ping; Xu, Wen-Cheng; Luo, Zhi-Chao

2018-01-01

As a rising two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial, layered black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets have shown promising applications in electronics and photonics. Besides the 2D layered structure, recently black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) exhibiting unique optoelectronic properties had been successfully fabricated. However, the nonlinear optical properties of BPQDs at the telecommunication band have not been investigated. Herein, we synthesized the BPQDs by using a liquid exfoliation method that combined probe sonication and bath sonication. It was found that the evident saturable absorption ability of BPQDs at 1.55 μm waveband could be clearly observed. As for the applications of ultrafast photonics, we fabricated the BPQDs saturable absorber (BPQDs-SA) and applied it to an ultrafast laser. By virtue of the excellent nonlinear optical properties of BPQDs, the fiber laser delivers the stable pulse train with duration as short as 291 fs, whose performance could, to the best of our knowledge, compete with nowadays' commercial optical saturable absorber devices. In addition, due to the highly nonlinear optical effect generated by the fabricated BPQDs-SA, the multi-soliton nonlinear dynamics in the fiber laser were also investigated. The obtained results suggest that the BPQDs could be an attractive nonlinear optical material for applications in the field of nonlinear optics.

Ground Based Experiments in Support of Microgravity Research Results-Vapor Growth of Organic Nonlinear Optical Thin Film

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zugrav, M. Ittu; Carswell, William E.; Haulenbeek, Glen B.; Wessling, Francis C.

2001-01-01

This work is specifically focused on explaining previous results obtained for the crystal growth of an organic material in a reduced gravity environment. On STS-59, in April 1994, two experiments were conducted with N,N-dimethyl-p-(2,2-dicyanovinyl) aniline (DCVA), a promising nonlinear optical (NLO) material. The space experiments were set to reproduce laboratory experiments that yielded small, bulk crystals of DCVA. The results of the flight experiment, however, were surprising. Rather than producing a bulk single crystal, the result was the production of two high quality, single crystalline thin films. This result was even more intriguing when it is considered that thin films are more desirable for NLO applications than are bulk single crystals. Repeated attempts on the ground to reproduce these results were fruitless. A second set of flight experiments was conducted on STS-69 in September 1995. This time eight DCVA experiments were flown, with each of seven experiments containing a slight change from the first reference experiment. The reference experiment was programmed with growth conditions identical to those of the STS-59 mission. The slight variations in each of the other seven were an attempt to understand what particular parameter was responsible for the preference of thin film growth over bulk crystal growth in microgravity. Once again the results were surprising. In all eight cases thin films were grown again, albeit with varying quality. So now we were faced with a phenomenon that not only takes place in microgravity, but also is very robust, resisting all attempts to force the growth of bulk single crystals.

Effect of reduction time on third order optical nonlinearity of reduced graphene oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sreeja, V. G.; Vinitha, G.; Reshmi, R.; Anila, E. I.; Jayaraj, M. K.

2017-04-01

We report the influence of reduction time on structural, linear and nonlinear optical properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin films synthesized by spin coating method. We observed that the structural, linear and nonlinear optical properties can be tuned with reduction time in GO is due to the increased structural ordering because of the restoration of sp2 carbon atoms with the time of reduction. The nonlinear absorption studies by open aperture Z-scan technique exhibited a saturable absorption. The nonlinear refraction studies showed the self de focusing nature of rGO by closed aperture Z scan technique. The nonlinear absorption coefficient and saturation intensity varies with the time for reduction of GO which is attributed to the depletion of valence band and the conduction band filling effect. Our results emphasize duration for reduction of GO dependent optical nonlinearity of rGO thin films to a great extent and explore its applications Q switched mode locking laser systems for generating ultra short laser pulses and in optical sensors. The rGO coated films were characterized by X-Ray diffraction method (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Photoluminescence (PL) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements.

Mach-Zehnder interferometer implementation for thermo-optical and Kerr effect study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bundulis, Arturs; Nitiss, Edgars; Busenbergs, Janis; Rutkis, Martins

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose the Mach-Zehnder interferometric method for third-order nonlinear optical and thermo-optical studies. Both effects manifest themselves as refractive index dependence on the incident light intensity and are widely employed for multiple opto-optical and thermo-optical applications. With the implemented method, we have measured the Kerr and thermo-optical coefficients of chloroform under CW, ns and ps laser irradiance. The application of lasers with different light wavelengths, pulse duration and energy allowed us to distinguish the processes responsible for refractive index changes in the investigated solution. Presented setup was also used for demonstration of opto-optical switching. Results from Mach-Zehnder experiment were compared to Z-scan data obtained in our previous studies. Based on this, a quality comparison of both methods was assessed and advantages and disadvantages of each method were analyzed.

Determination of refraction nonlinear index, for effect thermal, of solutions with nanoparticles of gold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olivares-Vargas, A.; Trejo-Durán, M.; Alvarado-Méndez, E.; Cornejo-Monroy, D.; Mata-Chávez, R. I.; Estudillo-Ayala, J. M.; Castaño-Meneses, V.

2013-09-01

Research of nonlinear optical properties of materials for manufacturing opto-electronic devices, had a great growth in the last years. The solutions with nanoparticle metals present nonlinear optical properties. In this work we present the results of characterizing, analyzing and determining the magnitude and sign of the nonlinear refractive index, using the z-scan technique in solutions with nanoparticles of gold, lipoic acid and sodium chloride. We used a continuous Argon laser at 514 nm with variable power, an 18 cms lens, and a chopper. We determined the nonlinear refractive index in the order of 10-9. These materials have potential applications mainly as optical limiters.

Self-Organization of Light in Optical Media with Competing Nonlinearities.

PubMed

Maucher, F; Pohl, T; Skupin, S; Krolikowski, W

2016-04-22

We study the propagation of light beams through optical media with competing nonlocal nonlinearities. We demonstrate that the nonlocality of competing focusing and defocusing nonlinearities gives rise to self-organization and stationary states with stable hexagonal intensity patterns, akin to transverse crystals of light filaments. Signatures of this long-range ordering are shown to be observable in the propagation of light in optical waveguides and even in free space. We consider a specific form of the nonlinear response that arises in atomic vapor upon proper light coupling. Yet, the general phenomenon of self-organization is a generic consequence of competing nonlocal nonlinearities, and may, hence, also be observed in other settings.

Predicting the nonlinear optical response in the resonant region from the linear characterization: a self-consistent theory for the first-, second-, and third-order (non)linear optical response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Moreno, Javier; Clays, Koen; Kuzyk, Mark G.

2010-08-01

We introduce a self-consistent theory for the description of the optical linear and nonlinear response of molecules that is based strictly on the results of the experimental characterization. We show how the Thomas-Kuhn sum-rules can be used to eliminate the dependence of the nonlinear response on parameters that are not directly measurable. Our approach leads to the successful modeling of the dispersion of the nonlinear response of complex molecular structures with different geometries (dipolar and octupolar), and can be used as a guide towards the modeling in terms of fundamental physical parameters.

Nonlinear Optical Properties of Organic and Polymeric Thin Film Materials of Potential for Microgravity Processing Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abdeldayem, Hossin; Frazier, Donald O.; Paley, Mark S.; Penn, Benjamin; Witherow, William K.; Bank, Curtis; Shields, Angela; Hicks, Rosline; Ashley, Paul R.

1996-01-01

In this paper, we will take a closer look at the state of the art of polydiacetylene, and metal-free phthalocyanine films, in view of the microgravity impact on their optical properties, their nonlinear optical properties and their potential advantages for integrated optics. These materials have many attractive features with regard to their use in integrated optical circuits and optical switching. Thin films of these materials processed in microgravity environment show enhanced optical quality and better molecular alignment than those processed in unit gravity. Our studies of these materials indicate that microgravity can play a major role in integrated optics technology. Polydiacetylene films are produced by UV irradiation of monomer solution through an optical window. This novel technique of forming polydiacetylene thin films has been modified for constructing sophisticated micro-structure integrated optical patterns using a pre-programmed UV-Laser beam. Wave guiding through these thin films by the prism coupler technique has been demonstrated. The third order nonlinear parameters of these films have been evaluated. Metal-free phthalocyanine films of good optical quality are processed in our laboratories by vapor deposition technique. Initial studies on these films indicate that they have excellent chemical, laser, and environmental stability. They have large nonlinear optical parameters and show intrinsic optical bistability. This bistability is essential for optical logic gates and optical switching applications. Waveguiding and device making investigations of these materials are underway.

Tuning group-velocity dispersion by optical force.

PubMed

Jiang, Wei C; Lin, Qiang

2013-07-15

We propose an optomechanical approach for dispersion dynamic tuning and microengineering by taking advantage of the optical force in nano-optomechanical structures. Simulations of a suspended coupled silicon waveguide show that the zero-dispersion wavelength can be tuned by 40 nm by an optical pump power of 3 mW. Our approach exhibits great potential for broad applications in dispersion-sensitive processes, which not only offers a new root toward versatile tunable nonlinear photonics but may also open up a great avenue toward a new regime of nonlinear dynamics coupling between nonlinear optical and optomechanical effects.

Optical solitons to the resonance nonlinear Schrödinger equation by Sine-Gordon equation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inc, Mustafa; Aliyu, Aliyu Isa; Yusuf, Abdullahi; Baleanu, Dumitru

2018-01-01

In this paper, we examined the optical solitons to the resonant nonlinear Schrödinger equation (R-NLSE) which describes the propagation of solitons through optical fibers. Three types of nonlinear media fibers are studied. They are; quadratic-cubic law, Kerr law and parabolic law. Dark, bright, dark-bright or combined optical and singular soliton solutions are derived using the sine-Gordon equation method (SGEM). The constraint conditions that naturally fall out of the solution structure which guarantee the existence of these solitons are also reported.

Dynamics of Nonlinear Excitation of the High-Order Mode in a Single-Mode Step-Index Optical Fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burdin, V.; Bourdine, A.

2018-04-01

This work is concerned with approximate model of higher-order mode nonlinear excitation in a singlemode silica optical fiber. We present some results of simulation for step-index optical fiber under femtosecond optical pulse launching, which confirm ability of relatively stable higher-order mode excitation in such singlemode optical fiber over sufficiently narrow range of launched optical power variation.

Experimental observation of low threshold optical bistability in exfoliated graphene with low oxidation degree

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharif, Morteza A.; Majles Ara, M. H.; Ghafary, Bijan; Salmani, Somayeh; Mohajer, Salman

2016-03-01

We have experimentally investigated low threshold Optical Bistability (OB) and multi-stability in exfoliated graphene ink with low oxidation degree. Theoretical predictions of N-layer problem and the resonator feedback problem show good agreement with the experimental observation. In contrary to the other graphene oxide samples, we have indicated that the absorbance does not restrict OB process. We have concluded from the experimental results and Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation (NLSE) that the nonlinear dispersion - rather than absorption - is the main nonlinear mechanism of OB. In addition to the enhanced nonlinearity, exfoliated graphene with low oxidation degree possesses semiconductors group III-V equivalent band gap energy, high charge carrier mobility and thus, ultra-fast optical response which makes it a unique optical material for application in all optical switching, especially in THz frequency range.

Influence of optical activity on rogue waves propagating in chiral optical fibers.

PubMed

Temgoua, D D Estelle; Kofane, T C

2016-06-01

We derive the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation in chiral optical fiber with right- and left-hand nonlinear polarization. We use the similarity transformation to reduce the generalized chiral NLS equation to the higher-order integrable Hirota equation. We present the first- and second-order rational solutions of the chiral NLS equation with variable and constant coefficients, based on the modified Darboux transformation method. For some specific set of parameters, the features of chiral optical rogue waves are analyzed from analytical results, showing the influence of optical activity on waves. We also generate the exact solutions of the two-component coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations, which describe optical activity effects on the propagation of rogue waves, and their properties in linear and nonlinear coupling cases are investigated. The condition of modulation instability of the background reveals the existence of vector rogue waves and the number of stable and unstable branches. Controllability of chiral optical rogue waves is examined by numerical simulations and may bring potential applications in optical fibers and in many other physical systems.

Maximizing the optical network capacity.

PubMed

Bayvel, Polina; Maher, Robert; Xu, Tianhua; Liga, Gabriele; Shevchenko, Nikita A; Lavery, Domaniç; Alvarado, Alex; Killey, Robert I

2016-03-06

Most of the digital data transmitted are carried by optical fibres, forming the great part of the national and international communication infrastructure. The information-carrying capacity of these networks has increased vastly over the past decades through the introduction of wavelength division multiplexing, advanced modulation formats, digital signal processing and improved optical fibre and amplifier technology. These developments sparked the communication revolution and the growth of the Internet, and have created an illusion of infinite capacity being available. But as the volume of data continues to increase, is there a limit to the capacity of an optical fibre communication channel? The optical fibre channel is nonlinear, and the intensity-dependent Kerr nonlinearity limit has been suggested as a fundamental limit to optical fibre capacity. Current research is focused on whether this is the case, and on linear and nonlinear techniques, both optical and electronic, to understand, unlock and maximize the capacity of optical communications in the nonlinear regime. This paper describes some of them and discusses future prospects for success in the quest for capacity. © 2016 The Authors.

Nonlinear-optical activity owing to anisotropy of ultrafast nonlinear refraction in cubic materials.

PubMed

Hutchings, D C

1995-08-01

The evolution of the polarization state in a cubic material with an anisotropic Kerr nonlinearity is examined. It is shown that in certain cases this provides a mechanism for nonlinear-optical activity, leaving the state of the polarization unchanged but causing a signif icant rotation in its major axis. The use of the anisotropic ultrafast nonlinear refraction that exists just beneath the half-gap in semiconductors to demonstrate these effects is discussed.

Ripple distribution for nonlinear fiber-optic channels.

PubMed

Sorokina, Mariia; Sygletos, Stylianos; Turitsyn, Sergei

2017-02-06

We demonstrate data rates above the threshold imposed by nonlinearity on conventional optical signals by applying novel probability distribution, which we call ripple distribution, adapted to the properties of the fiber channel. Our results offer a new direction for signal coding, modulation and practical nonlinear distortions compensation algorithms.

1984 European Conference on Optics, Optical Systems and Applications, Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 9-12, 1984, Proceedings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boelger, B.; Ferwerda, H. A.

Various papers on optics, optical systems, and their applications are presented. The general topics addressed include: laser systems, optical and electrooptical materials and devices; novel spectroscopic techniques and applications; inspection, remote sensing, velocimetry, and gauging; optical design and image formation; holography, image processing, and storage; and integrated and fiber optics. Also discussed are: nonlinear optics; nonlinear photorefractive materials; scattering and diffractions applications in materials processing, deposition, and machining; medical and biological applications; and focus on industry.

Nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic waves with the auroral ionosphere

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wong, Alfred Y.

1999-09-20

The ionosphere provides us with an opportunity to perform plasma experiments in an environment with long confinement times, very large-scale lengths, and no confining walls. The auroral ionosphere with its nearly vertical magnetic field geometry is uniquely endowed with large amount of free energy from electron and ion precipitation along the magnetic field and mega-ampere current across the magnetic field. To take advantage of this giant outdoor laboratory, two facilities HAARP and HIPAS, with frequencies ranging from the radio to optical bands, are now available for active probing of and interaction with this interesting region. The ponderomotive pressures from themore » self-consistent wave fields have produced significant local perturbations of density and particle distributions at heights where the incident EM frequency matches a plasma resonance. This paper will review theory and experiments covering the nonlinear phenomena of parametric decay instability to wave collapse processes. At HF frequencies plasma lenses can be created by preconditioning pulses to focus what is a normally divergent beam into a high-intensity spot to further enhance nonlinear phenomena. At optical wavelengths a large rotating liquid metal mirror is used to focus laser pulses up to a given height. Such laser pulses are tuned to the same wavelengths of selected atomic and molecular resonances, with resulting large scattering cross sections. Ongoing experiments on dual-site experiments and excitation of ELF waves will be presented. The connection of such basic studies to environmental applications will be discussed. Such applications include the global communication using ELF waves, the ozone depletion and remediation and the control of atmospheric CO{sub 2} through the use of ion cyclotron resonant heating.« less

Nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic waves with the auroral ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Alfred Y.

1999-09-01

The ionosphere provides us with an opportunity to perform plasma experiments in an environment with long confinement times, very large-scale lengths, and no confining walls. The auroral ionosphere with its nearly vertical magnetic field geometry is uniquely endowed with large amount of free energy from electron and ion precipitation along the magnetic field and mega-ampere current across the magnetic field. To take advantage of this giant outdoor laboratory, two facilities HAARP and HIPAS, with frequencies ranging from the radio to optical bands, are now available for active probing of and interaction with this interesting region. The ponderomotive pressures from the self-consistent wave fields have produced significant local perturbations of density and particle distributions at heights where the incident EM frequency matches a plasma resonance. This paper will review theory and experiments covering the nonlinear phenomena of parametric decay instability to wave collapse processes. At HF frequencies plasma lenses can be created by preconditioning pulses to focus what is a normally divergent beam into a high-intensity spot to further enhance nonlinear phenomena. At optical wavelengths a large rotating liquid metal mirror is used to focus laser pulses up to a given height. Such laser pulses are tuned to the same wavelengths of selected atomic and molecular resonances, with resulting large scattering cross sections. Ongoing experiments on dual-site experiments and excitation of ELF waves will be presented. The connection of such basic studies to environmental applications will be discussed. Such applications include the global communication using ELF waves, the ozone depletion and remediation and the control of atmospheric CO2 through the use of ion cyclotron resonant heating.

Nonlinear tunneling of optical soliton in 3 coupled NLS equation with symbolic computation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mani Rajan, M.S., E-mail: senthilmanirajanofc@gmail.com; Mahalingam, A.; Uthayakumar, A.

We investigated the soliton solution for N coupled nonlinear Schrödinger (CNLS) equations. These equations are coupled due to the cross-phase-modulation (CPM). Lax pair of this system is obtained via the Ablowitz–Kaup–Newell–Segur (AKNS) scheme and the corresponding Darboux transformation is constructed to derive the soliton solution. One and two soliton solutions are generated. Using two soliton solutions of 3 CNLS equation, nonlinear tunneling of soliton for both with and without exponential background has been discussed. Finally cascade compression of optical soliton through multi-nonlinear barrier has been discussed. The obtained results may have promising applications in all-optical devices based on optical solitons,more » study of soliton propagation in birefringence fiber systems and optical soliton with distributed dispersion and nonlinearity management. -- Highlights: •We consider the nonlinear tunneling of soliton in birefringence fiber. •3-coupled NLS (CNLS) equation with variable coefficients is considered. •Two soliton solutions are obtained via Darboux transformation using constructed Lax pair. •Soliton tunneling through dispersion barrier and well are investigated. •Finally, cascade compression of soliton has been achieved.« less

Magnetic field induced changes in linear and nonlinear optical properties of Ti incorporated Cr2O3 nanostructured thin film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baraskar, Priyanka; Chouhan, Romita; Agrawal, Arpana; Choudhary, R. J.; Sen, Pranay K.; Sen, Pratima

2018-03-01

We report the magnetic field effect on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of pulse laser ablated Ti-incorporated Cr2O3 nanostructured thin film. Optical properties have been experimentally analyzed under Voigt geometry by performing ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and closed aperture Z-scan technique using a continuous wave He-Ne laser source. Nonlinear optical response reveals a single peak-valley feature in the far field diffraction pattern in absence of magnetic field (B = 0) confirming self-defocussing effect. This feature switches to a valley-peak configuration for B = 5000G, suggesting self-focusing effect. For B ≤ 750G, oscillations were observed revealing the occurrence of higher order nonlinearity. Origin of nonlinearity is attributed to the near resonant d-d transitions observed from the broad peak occurring around 2 eV. These transitions are of magnetic origin and get modified under the application of external magnetic field. Our results suggest that magnetic field can be used as an effective tool to monitor the sign of optical nonlinearity and hence the thermal expansion in Ti-incorporated Cr2O3 nanostructured thin film.

The effect of excitation intensity variation and silver nanoparticle codoping on nonlinear optical properties of mixed tellurite and zinc oxide glass doped with Nd2O3 studied through ultrafast z-scan spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreira, L.; Falci, R. F.; Darabian, H.; Anjos, V.; Bell, M. J. V.; Kassab, L. R. P.; Bordon, C. D. S.; Doualan, J. L.; Camy, P.; Moncorgé, R.

2018-05-01

The research on Nd3+ doped new solid-state laser hosts with specific thermo-mechanical and optical properties is very active. Nd3+ doped tellurite glasses are suitable for these applications. They have high linear and nonlinear refraction index, wide transmittance range. The TeO2-ZnO (TZO) glass considered in the present work combines all those features and the nonlinear optical properties can be used for the development of Kerr-lens mode-locked sub picosecond lasers. Recently the laser performance of Nd3+ doped TZO glass and was reported and laser slope efficiency of 21% was observed. We investigate how the intensity variation and the silver nanoparticles codoping affects the nonlinear optical properties of Nd3+ doped TZO glasses. Intensity dependent nonlinear refraction indices coefficients at 750, 800 and 850 nm were observed. The nonlinear optical features were obtained through ultrafast single beam z-scan technique with excitations at 750, 800 and 850 nm and are up to two orders of magnitude higher than those reported in the literature.

Theoretical investigation of intensity-dependent optical nonlinearity in graphene-aided D-microfiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shah, Manoj Kumar; Lu, Rongguo; Zhang, Yali; Ye, Shengwei; Zhang, Shangjian; Liu, Yong

2018-01-01

We theoretically investigate the intensity-dependent optical nonlinearity in graphene-aided D-microfiber, by tuning the chemical potential of graphene and varying radial distance and radii of the D-microfiber. Utilizing an interplay between graphene and the enhanced evanescent field of a guided mode in the waveguide of interest, the net utility of nonlinear coefficient is harnessed up to a very high value of 106 W-1m-1. Importantly, which is ∼ two orders of magnitude larger than in PMMA-graphene-PMMA waveguide. The highly dispersive nature of the waveguide, D ∼ 103 ps/nm-km, and large nonlinear figure-of-merit, FOMNL ∼ 1.29, have raised the possibilities of utilizing slow light structures to operate devices at few watts power level with microscale length. These studies have opened one window towards the next-generation all fiber-optic graphene nonlinear optical devices.

Dispersive optical soliton solutions for higher order nonlinear Sasa-Satsuma equation in mono mode fibers via new auxiliary equation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khater, Mostafa M. A.; Seadawy, Aly R.; Lu, Dianchen

2018-01-01

In this research, we apply new technique for higher order nonlinear Schrödinger equation which is representing the propagation of short light pulses in the monomode optical fibers and the evolution of slowly varying packets of quasi-monochromatic waves in weakly nonlinear media that have dispersion. Nonlinear Schrödinger equation is one of the basic model in fiber optics. We apply new auxiliary equation method for nonlinear Sasa-Satsuma equation to obtain a new optical forms of solitary traveling wave solutions. Exact and solitary traveling wave solutions are obtained in different kinds like trigonometric, hyperbolic, exponential, rational functions, …, etc. These forms of solutions that we represent in this research prove the superiority of our new technique on almost thirteen powerful methods. The main merits of this method over the other methods are that it gives more general solutions with some free parameters.

Analysis on nonlinear optical properties of Cd (Zn) Se quantum dots synthesized using three different stabilizing agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

J, Joy Sebastian Prakash; G, Vinitha; Ramachandran, Murugesan; Rajamanickam, Karunanithi

2017-10-01

Three different stabilizing agents, namely, L-cysteine, Thioglycolic acid and cysteamine hydrochloride were used to synthesize Cd(Zn)Se quantum dots (QDs). It was characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The non-linear optical properties (non-linear absorption and non-linear refraction) of synthesized Cd(Zn)Se quantum dots were studied with z-scan technique using diode pumped continuous wavelaser system at a wavelength of 532 nm. Our (organic) synthesized quantum dots showed optical properties similar to the inorganic materials reported elsewhere.

Four-Wave Mixing of Gigawatt Power, Long-Wave Infrared Radiation in Gases and Semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pigeon, Jeremy James

The nonlinear optics of gigawatt power, 10 microm, 3 and 200 ps long pulses propagating in gases and semiconductors has been studied experimentally and numerically. In this work, the development of a high-repetition rate, picosecond, CO2 laser system has enabled experiments using peak intensities in the range of 1-10 GW/cm2, approximately one thousand times greater than previous nonlinear optics experiments in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectral region. The first measurements of the nonlinear refractive index of the atomic and molecular gases Kr, Xe, N2, O2 and the air at a wavelength near 10 microm were accomplished by studying the four-wave mixing (FWM) of dual-wavelength, 200 ps CO2 laser pulses. These measurements indicate that the nonlinearities of the diatomic molecules N2, O2 and the air are dominated by the molecular contribution to the nonlinear refractive index. Supercontinuum (SC) generation covering the infrared spectral range, from 2-20 microm, was realized by propagating 3 ps, 10 microm pulses in an approximately 7 cm long, Cr-doped GaAs crystal. Temporal measurements of the SC radiation show that pulse splitting accompanies the generation of such broadband light in GaAs. The propagation of 3 ps, 10 microm pulses in GaAs was studied numerically by solving the Generalized Nonlinear Schrodinger Equation (GNLSE). These simulations, combined with analytic estimates, were used to determine that stimulated Raman scattering combined with a modulational instability caused by the propagation of intense LWIR radiation in the negative group velocity dispersion region of GaAs are responsible for the SC generation process. The multiple FWM of a 106 GHz, 200 ps CO2 laser beat-wave propagating in GaAs was used to generate a broadband FWM spectrum that was compressed by the negative group velocity dispersion of GaAs and NaCl crystals to form trains of high-power, picosecond pulses at a wavelength near 10 microm. Experimental FWM spectra obtained using 165 and 882 GHz beat-waves revealed an unexpected and rapid decrease in the FWM yield that was not predicted by the GNLSE model that accounts for third-order nonlinearities alone. These results suggest that the effective nonlinear refractive index of GaAs, having formidable second- and third-order susceptibilities, may be altered by quadratic nonlinearities.

Manipulating and probing angular momentum and quantized circulation in optical fields and matter waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lowney, Joseph Daniel

Methods to generate, manipulate, and measure optical and atomic fields with global or local angular momentum have a wide range of applications in both fundamental physics research and technology development. In optics, the engineering of angular momentum states of light can aid studies of orbital angular momentum (OAM) exchange between light and matter. The engineering of optical angular momentum states can also be used to increase the bandwidth of optical communications or serve as a means to distribute quantum keys, for example. Similar capabilities in Bose-Einstein condensates are being investigated to improve our understanding of superfluid dynamics, superconductivity, and turbulence, the last of which is widely considered to be one of most ubiquitous yet poorly understood subjects in physics. The first part of this two-part dissertation presents an analysis of techniques for measuring and manipulating quantized vortices in BECs. The second part of this dissertation presents theoretical and numerical analyses of new methods to engineer the OAM spectra of optical beams. The superfluid dynamics of a BEC are often well described by a nonlinear Schrodinger equation. The nonlinearity arises from interatomic scattering and enables BECs to support quantized vortices, which have quantized circulation and are fundamental structural elements of quantum turbulence. With the experimental tools to dynamically manipulate and measure quantized vortices, BECs are proving to be a useful medium for testing the theoretical predictions of quantum turbulence. In this dissertation we analyze a method for making minimally destructive in situ observations of quantized vortices in a BEC. Secondly, we numerically study a mechanism to imprint vortex dipoles in a BEC. With these advancements, more robust experiments of vortex dynamics and quantum turbulence will be within reach. A more complete understanding of quantum turbulence will enable principles of microscopic fluid flow to be related to the statistical properties of turbulence in a superfluid. In the second part of this dissertation we explore frequency mixing, a subset of nonlinear optical processes in which one or more input optical beam(s) are converted into one or more output beams with different optical frequencies. The ability of parametric nonlinear processes such as second harmonic generation or parametric amplification to manipulate the OAM spectra of optical beams is an active area of research. In a theoretical and numerical investigation, two complimentary methods for sculpting the OAM spectra are developed. The first method employs second harmonic generation with two non-collinear input beams to develop a broad spectrum of OAM states in an optical field. The second method utilizes parametric amplification with collinear input beams to develop an OAM-dependent gain or attenuation, termed dichroism for OAM, to effectively narrow the OAM spectrum of an optical beam. The theoretical principles developed in this dissertation enhance our understanding of how nonlinear processes can be used to engineer the OAM spectra of optical beams and could serve as methods to increase the bandwidth of an optical signal by multiplexing over a range of OAM states.

Achieving nonlinear optical modulation via four-wave mixing in a four-level atomic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hai-Chao; Ge, Guo-Qin; Zubairy, M. Suhail

2018-05-01

We propose an accessible scheme for implementing tunable nonlinear optical amplification and attenuation via a synergetic mechanism of four-wave mixing (FWM) and optical interference in a four-level ladder-type atomic system. By constructing a cyclic atom-field interaction, we show that two reverse FWM processes can coexist via optical transitions in different branches. In the suitable input-field conditions, strong interference effects between the input fields and the generated FWM fields can be induced and result in large amplification and deep attenuation of the output fields. Moreover, such an optical modulation from enhancement to suppression can be controlled by tuning the relative phase. The quantum system can be served as a switchable optical modulator with potential applications in quantum nonlinear optics.

Progress in linear optics, non-linear optics and surface alignment of liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, H. L.; Meyer, R. B.; Hurd, A. J.; Karn, A. J.; Arakelian, S. M.; Shen, Y. R.; Sanda, P. N.; Dove, D. B.; Jansen, S. A.; Hoffmann, R.

We first discuss the progress in linear optics, in particular, the formulation and application of geometrical-optics approximation and its generalization. We then discuss the progress in non-linear optics, in particular, the enhancement of a first-order Freedericksz transition and intrinsic optical bistability in homeotropic and parallel oriented nematic liquid crystal cells. Finally, we discuss the liquid crystal alignment and surface effects on field-induced Freedericksz transition.

Properties and Frequency Conversion of High-Brightness Diode-Laser Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boller, Klaus-Jochen; Beier, Bernard; Wallenstein, Richard

An overview of recent developments in the field of high-power, high-brightness diode-lasers, and the optically nonlinear conversion of their output into other wavelength ranges, is given. We describe the generation of continuous-wave (CW) laser beams at power levels of several hundreds of milliwatts to several watts with near-perfect spatial and spectral properties using Master-Oscillator Power-Amplifier (MOPA) systems. With single- or double-stage systems, using amplifiers of tapered or rectangular geometry, up to 2.85 W high-brightness radiation is generated at wavelengths around 810nm with AlGaAs diodes. Even higher powers, up to 5.2W of single-frequency and high spatial quality beams at 925nm, are obtained with InGaAs diodes. We describe the basic properties of the oscillators and amplifiers used. A strict proof-of-quality for the diode radiation is provided by direct and efficient nonlinear optical conversion of the diode MOPA output into other wavelength ranges. We review recent experiments with the highest power levels obtained so far by direct frequency doubling of diode radiation. In these experiments, 100mW single-frequency ultraviolet light at 403nm was generated, as well as 1W of single-frequency blue radiation at 465nm. Nonlinear conversion of diode radiation into widely tunable infrared radiation has recently yielded record values. We review the efficient generation of widely tunable single-frequency radiation in the infrared with diode-pumped Optical Parametric Oscillators (OPOs). With this system, single-frequency output radiation with powers of more than 0.5W was generated, widely tunable around wavelengths of 2.1,m and 1.65,m and with excellent spectral and spatial quality. These developments are clear indicators of recent advances in the field of high-brightness diode-MOPA systems, and may emphasize their future central importance for applications within a vast range of optical wavelengths.

Spatial and temporal ultrafast imaging and control of terahertz wavepackets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koehl, Richard Michael

Some polar optical phonons couple strongly to far- infrared electromagnetic radiation and move at light-like speeds through dielectric media. These phonon-polaritons retain both ionic and electromagnetic character. One of the fruitful implications of this mixing is that vibrational and electronic nonlinearities in ferroelectric and other highly anharmonic media interact with traveling electromagnetic waves spanning several frequency regimes, permitting nonlinear wave mixing at infrared and optical frequencies. Nonlinear optical mixing techniques are well-developed because optical light is easy to produce, but the lack of similar far- infrared sources has stymied similar efforts at terahertz frequencies. Nonlinear interactions in this frequency regime provide information about vibrational potential energy surfaces and are very strong when the lattice vibration is associated with a phase transition. In this thesis, I review methods based on a well known nonlinear optical technique, impulsive stimulated Raman scattering (ISRS), to monitor the progress of coherent phonon polaritons in a highly nonlinear ferroelectric, lithium tantalate. I also advance multiple-pulse ISRS optical techniques to attempt to elucidate information about the ferroelectric's vibrational potential energy surface, and I discuss significant recent progress that has been made in the development of ultrafast optical tools to generate far-infrared radiation through ISRS at specified times and spatial locations and control the interactions of coherent phonon-polariton wavepackets. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)

Analysis of originating ultra-short optical dissipative solitary pulses in the actively mode-locked semiconductor heterolasers with an external fiber cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcherbakov, Alexandre S.; Campos Acosta, Joaquin; Pons Aglio, Alicia; Moreno Zarate, Pedro; Mansurova, Svetlana

2010-06-01

We present an advanced approach to describing low-power trains of bright picosecond optical dissipative solitary pulses with an internal frequency modulation in practically important case of exploiting semiconductor heterolaser operating in near-infrared range in the active mode-locking regime. In the chosen schematic arrangement, process of the active mode-locking is caused by a hybrid nonlinear cavity consisting of this heterolaser and an external rather long single-mode optical fiber exhibiting square-law dispersion, cubic Kerr nonlinearity, and small linear optical losses. Our analysis of shaping dissipative solitary pulses includes three principal contributions associated with the modulated gain, total optical losses, as well as with linear and nonlinear phase shifts. In fact, various trains of the non-interacting to one another optical dissipative solitons appear within simultaneous balance between the second-order dispersion and cubic-law Kerr nonlinearity as well as between active medium gain and linear optical losses in a hybrid cavity. Our specific approach makes possible taking the modulating signals providing non-conventional composite regimes of a multi-pulse active mode-locking. Within our model, a contribution of the appearing nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau operator to the parameters of dissipative solitary pulses is described via exploiting an approximate variational procedure involving the technique of trial functions.

Realization of a Knill-Laflamme-Milburn controlled-NOT photonic quantum circuit combining effective optical nonlinearities

PubMed Central

Okamoto, Ryo; O’Brien, Jeremy L.; Hofmann, Holger F.; Takeuchi, Shigeki

2011-01-01

Quantum information science addresses how uniquely quantum mechanical phenomena such as superposition and entanglement can enhance communication, information processing, and precision measurement. Photons are appealing for their low-noise, light-speed transmission and ease of manipulation using conventional optical components. However, the lack of highly efficient optical Kerr nonlinearities at the single photon level was a major obstacle. In a breakthrough, Knill, Laflamme, and Milburn (KLM) showed that such an efficient nonlinearity can be achieved using only linear optical elements, auxiliary photons, and measurement [Knill E, Laflamme R, Milburn GJ (2001) Nature 409:46–52]. KLM proposed a heralded controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate for scalable quantum computation using a photonic quantum circuit to combine two such nonlinear elements. Here we experimentally demonstrate a KLM CNOT gate. We developed a stable architecture to realize the required four-photon network of nested multiple interferometers based on a displaced-Sagnac interferometer and several partially polarizing beamsplitters. This result confirms the first step in the original KLM “recipe” for all-optical quantum computation, and should be useful for on-demand entanglement generation and purification. Optical quantum circuits combining giant optical nonlinearities may find wide applications in quantum information processing, communication, and sensing. PMID:21646543

Second-harmonic generation in substoichiometric silicon nitride layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pecora, Emanuele; Capretti, Antonio; Miano, Giovanni; Dal Negro, Luca

2013-03-01

Harmonic generation in optical circuits offers the possibility to integrate wavelength converters, light amplifiers, lasers, and multiple optical signal processing devices with electronic components. Bulk silicon has a negligible second-order nonlinear optical susceptibility owing to its crystal centrosymmetry. Silicon nitride has its place in the microelectronic industry as an insulator and chemical barrier. In this work, we propose to take advantage of silicon excess in silicon nitride to increase the Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) efficiency. Thin films have been grown by reactive magnetron sputtering and their nonlinear optical properties have been studied by femtosecond pumping over a wide range of excitation wavelengths, silicon nitride stoichiometry and thermal processes. We demonstrate SHG in the visible range (375 - 450 nm) using a tunable 150 fs Ti:sapphire laser, and we optimize the SH emission at a silicon excess of 46 at.% demonstrating a maximum SHG efficiency of 4x10-6 in optimized films. Polarization properties, generation efficiency, and the second order nonlinear optical susceptibility are measured for all the investigated samples and discussed in terms of an effective theoretical model. Our findings show that the large nonlinear optical response demonstrated in optimized Si-rich silicon nitride materials can be utilized for the engineering of nonlinear optical functions and devices on a Si chip.

Numerical investigation of a scalable setup for efficient terahertz generation using a segmented tilted-pulse-front excitation.

PubMed

Pálfalvi, László; Tóth, György; Tokodi, Levente; Márton, Zsuzsanna; Fülöp, József András; Almási, Gábor; Hebling, János

2017-11-27

A hybrid-type terahertz pulse source is proposed for high energy terahertz pulse generation. It is the combination of the conventional tilted-pulse-front setup and a transmission stair-step echelon-faced nonlinear crystal with a period falling in the hundred-micrometer range. The most important advantage of the setup is the possibility of using plane parallel nonlinear optical crystal for producing good-quality, symmetric terahertz beam. Another advantage of the proposed setup is the significant reduction of imaging errors, which is important in the case of wide pump beams that are used in high energy experiments. A one dimensional model was developed for determining the terahertz generation efficiency, and it was used for quantitative comparison between the proposed new hybrid setup and previously introduced terahertz sources. With lithium niobate nonlinear material, calculations predict an approximately ten-fold increase in the efficiency of the presently described hybrid terahertz pulse source with respect to that of the earlier proposed setup, which utilizes a reflective stair-step echelon and a prism shaped nonlinear optical crystal. By using pump pulses of 50 mJ pulse energy, 500 fs pulse length and 8 mm beam spot radius, approximately 1% conversion efficiency and 0.5 mJ terahertz pulse energy can be reached with the newly proposed setup.

Nonlinear silicon photonics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borghi, M.; Castellan, C.; Signorini, S.; Trenti, A.; Pavesi, L.

2017-09-01

Silicon photonics is a technology based on fabricating integrated optical circuits by using the same paradigms as the dominant electronics industry. After twenty years of fervid development, silicon photonics is entering the market with low cost, high performance and mass-manufacturable optical devices. Until now, most silicon photonic devices have been based on linear optical effects, despite the many phenomenologies associated with nonlinear optics in both bulk materials and integrated waveguides. Silicon and silicon-based materials have strong optical nonlinearities which are enhanced in integrated devices by the small cross-section of the high-index contrast silicon waveguides or photonic crystals. Here the photons are made to strongly interact with the medium where they propagate. This is the central argument of nonlinear silicon photonics. It is the aim of this review to describe the state-of-the-art in the field. Starting from the basic nonlinearities in a silicon waveguide or in optical resonator geometries, many phenomena and applications are described—including frequency generation, frequency conversion, frequency-comb generation, supercontinuum generation, soliton formation, temporal imaging and time lensing, Raman lasing, and comb spectroscopy. Emerging quantum photonics applications, such as entangled photon sources, heralded single-photon sources and integrated quantum photonic circuits are also addressed at the end of this review.

Enhanced optical nonlinearity and fiber-optical frequency comb controlled by a single atom in a whispering-gallery-mode microtoroid resonator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiahua; Zhang, Suzhen; Yu, Rong; Zhang, Duo; Wu, Ying

2014-11-01

Based on a single atom coupled to a fiber-coupled, chip-based microresonator [B. Dayan et al., Science 319, 1062 (2008), 10.1126/science.1152261], we put forward a scheme to generate optical frequency combs at driving laser powers as low as a few nanowatts. Using state-of-the-art experimental parameters, we investigate in detail the influences of different atomic positions and taper-resonator coupling regimes on optical-frequency-comb generation. In addition to numerical simulations demonstrating this effect, a physical explanation of the underlying mechanism is presented. We find that the combination of the atom and the resonator can induce a large third-order nonlinearity which is significantly stronger than Kerr nonlinearity in Kerr frequency combs. Such enhanced nonlinearity can be used to generate optical frequency combs if driven with two continuous-wave control and probe lasers and significantly reduce the threshold of nonlinear optical processes. The comb spacing can be well tuned by changing the frequency beating between the driving control and probe lasers. The proposed method is versatile and can be adopted to different types of resonators, such as microdisks, microspheres, microtoroids or microrings.

Observation of a group of dark rogue waves in a telecommunication optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baronio, F.; Frisquet, B.; Chen, S.; Millot, G.; Wabnitz, S.; Kibler, B.

2018-01-01

Over the past decade, the rogue wave debate has stimulated the comparison of predictions and observations among different branches of wave physics, particularly between hydrodynamics and optics, in situations where analogous dynamical behaviors can be identified, thanks to the use of common universal models. Although the scalar nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) has constantly played a central role for rogue wave investigations, moving beyond the standard NLSE model is relevant and needful for describing more general classes of physical systems and applications. In this direction, the coupled NLSEs are known to play a pivotal role for the understanding of the complex wave dynamics in hydrodynamics and optics. Benefiting from the advanced technology of high-speed telecommunication-grade components, and relying on a careful design of the nonlinear propagation of orthogonally polarized optical pump waves in a randomly birefringent telecom fiber, this work explores, both theoretically and experimentally, the rogue wave dynamics governed by such coupled NLSEs. We report, for the first time, the evidence of a group of three dark rogue waves, the so-called dark three-sister rogue waves, where experiments, numerics, and analytics show a very good consistency.

Gyroscopic behavior exhibited by the optical Kerr effect in bimetallic Au-Pt nanoparticles suspended in ethanol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández-Valdés, D.; Torres-Torres, C.; Martínez-González, C. L.; Trejo-Valdez, M.; Hernández-Gómez, L. H.; Torres-Martínez, R.

2016-07-01

The modification in the third-order nonlinear optical response exhibited by rotating bimetallic Au-Pt nanoparticles in an ethanol solution was analyzed. The samples were prepared by a sol-gel processing route. The anisotropy associated to the elemental composition of the nanoparticles was confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurements. The size of the nanoparticles varies in the range from 9 to 13 nm, with an average size of 11 nm. Changes in the spatial orientation of the nanomaterials automatically generated a variation in their plasmonic response evaluated by UV-Vis spectroscopy. A two-wave mixing experiment was conducted to explore an induced birefringence at 532 nm wavelength with nanosecond pulses interacting with the samples. A strong optical Kerr effect was identified to be the main responsible effect for the third-order nonlinear optical phenomenon exhibited by the nanoparticles. It was estimated that the rotation of inhomogeneous nanostructures can provide a remarkable change in the participation of different surface plasmon resonances, if they correspond to multimetallic nanoparticles. Potential applications for developing low-dimensional gyroscopic systems can be contemplated.

Ultrafast Spectroscopic Studies of Two-Photon States in Third Order Optical Processes of Dye Chromophores.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Yi-Zhong

1995-01-01

Conjugated organic and polymeric materials usually have large, nonresonant third order optical nonlinearity due to correlations of their delocalized pi -electrons. Most materials studied so far show positive values of third order nonlinear susceptibility when all frequencies that generate the third order effect are below any optical transition. A new class of organic molecules, namely indole squarylium (ISQ) and anilinium squarylium (BSQ), exhibit negative < gamma(-omega_4;omega_1, omega_2,omega_3)> when all three frequencies, omega_1, omega_2 and omega_3, lie below the first electronic transition. Although quantum many-electron calculations based on multiple-excitation configuration interaction have shown that the negative third order coefficient is essentially due to the contribution from high-lying two-photon states, the field of experimental studies exploring the microscopic origins of the negative squaraines remains uncultivated. The work presented in this thesis involves extensive experimental investigation of squaraines using techniques such as time-resolved transit absorption spectroscopy and saturable absorption. Theoretical simulations studying nonlinear absorption behavior of a simplified two-level system with ultrashort pulses are also presented. Part of the thesis is dedicated to the development, fabrication and characterization of our ultrafast laser system which offers tunable femtosecond pulses at wavelengths from UV to IR and served as a major tool in the experimental measurements. The dynamics of the population inversion between the ground state and the first excited state was also investigated through time-resolved experiments. The experiment results agree well with the theoretical predictions. Strong couplings between the gateway state and high-lying two-photon states were observed in BSQ squarylium molecules, which suggested a complete quantum calculation with multiple energy levels is required to correctly describe the negative third order effect.

Structural control of nonlinear optical absorption and refraction in dense metal nanoparticle arrays.

PubMed

Kohlgraf-Owens, Dana C; Kik, Pieter G

2009-08-17

The linear and nonlinear optical properties of a composite containing interacting spherical silver nanoparticles embedded in a dielectric host are studied as a function of interparticle separation using three dimensional frequency domain simulations. It is shown that for a fixed amount of metal, the effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility of the composite chi((3))(omega) can be significantly enhanced with respect to the linear optical properties, due to a combination of resonant surface plasmon excitation and local field redistribution. It is shown that this geometry-dependent susceptibility enhancement can lead to an improved figure of merit for nonlinear absorption. Enhancement factors for the nonlinear susceptibility of the composite are calculated, and the complex nature of the enhancement factors is discussed.

Optical soliton solutions of the cubic-quintic non-linear Schrödinger's equation including an anti-cubic term

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaplan, Melike; Hosseini, Kamyar; Samadani, Farzan; Raza, Nauman

2018-07-01

A wide range of problems in different fields of the applied sciences especially non-linear optics is described by non-linear Schrödinger's equations (NLSEs). In the present paper, a specific type of NLSEs known as the cubic-quintic non-linear Schrödinger's equation including an anti-cubic term has been studied. The generalized Kudryashov method along with symbolic computation package has been exerted to carry out this objective. As a consequence, a series of optical soliton solutions have formally been retrieved. It is corroborated that the generalized form of Kudryashov method is a direct, effectual, and reliable technique to deal with various types of non-linear Schrödinger's equations.

Superresolution fluorescence imaging by pump-probe setup using repetitive stimulated transition process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dake, Fumihiro; Fukutake, Naoki; Hayashi, Seri; Taki, Yusuke

2018-02-01

We proposed superresolution nonlinear fluorescence microscopy with pump-probe setup that utilizes repetitive stimulated absorption and stimulated emission caused by two-color laser beams. The resulting nonlinear fluorescence that undergoes such a repetitive stimulated transition is detectable as a signal via the lock-in technique. As the nonlinear fluorescence signal is produced by the multi-ply combination of incident beams, the optical resolution can be improved. A theoretical model of the nonlinear optical process is provided using rate equations, which offers phenomenological interpretation of nonlinear fluorescence and estimation of the signal properties. The proposed method is demonstrated as having the scalability of optical resolution. Theoretical resolution and bead image are also estimated to validate the experimental result.

Nonlinear optical measurements of conducting copolymers of aniline under CW laser excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pramodini, S.; Poornesh, P.

2015-08-01

Synthesis and measurements of third-order optical nonlinearity and optical limiting of conducting copolymers of aniline are presented. Single beam z-scan technique was employed for the nonlinear optical studies. Continuous wave He-Ne laser operating at 633 nm was used as the source of excitation. Copolymer samples exhibited reverse saturable absorption (RSA) process. The nonlinear refraction studies depict that the copolymers exhibit self-defocusing property. The estimated values of βeff, n2 and χ(3) were found to be of the order of 10-2 cm/W, 10-5 esu and 10-7 esu respectively. Self-diffraction rings were observed due to refractive index change when exposed to the laser beam. A good optical limiting and clamping of power of ∼0.9 mW and ∼0.05 mW was observed. Therefore, copolymers of aniline emerge as a potential candidate for photonic device applications.

Optical super-resolution effect induced by nonlinear characteristics of graphene oxide films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yong-chuang; Nie, Zhong-quan; Zhai, Ai-ping; Tian, Yan-ting; Liu, Chao; Shi, Chang-kun; Jia, Bao-hua

2018-01-01

In this work, we focus on the optical super-resolution effect induced by strong nonlinear saturation absorption (NSA) of graphene oxide (GO) membranes. The third-order optical nonlinearities are characterized by the canonical Z-scan technique under femtosecond laser (wavelength: 800 nm, pulse width: 100 fs) excitation. Through controlling the applied femtosecond laser energy, NSA of the GO films can be tuned continuously. The GO film is placed at the focal plane as a unique amplitude filter to improve the resolution of the focused field. A multi-layer system model is proposed to present the generation of a deep sub-wavelength spot associated with the nonlinearity of GO films. Moreover, the parameter conditions to achieve the best resolution (˜λ/6) are determined entirely. The demonstrated results here are useful for high density optical recoding and storage, nanolithography, and super-resolution optical imaging.

Third order nonlinear optical properties of Mn doped CeO2 nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mani Rahulan, K.; Angeline Little Flower, N.; Annie Sujatha, R.; Mohana Priya, P.; Gopalakrishnan, C.

2018-05-01

Mn doped CeO2 nanoparticles with different ratios of Mn were synthesized by hydrothermal method and their structural properties were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD patterns revealed that the peaks are highly crystalline structure with no segregation of Mn. The surface morphology from SEM reveals that particle size decreases with increase in Mn concentration. Nonlinear optical studies of the samples were measured by single-beam open aperture Z-scan technique using 5 ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The measured optical nonlinearity of all the samples exhibit typical third order nonlinear optical behavior including two-photon absorption (2 PA) and reverse saturable absorption (RSA). The experimental results show that the presence of RSA in these nanoparticles makes them a promising material for the fabrication of optical limiting devices. .

Tuning the group delay of optical wave packets in liquid-crystal light valves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bortolozzo, U.; Residori, S.; Huignard, J. P.

2009-05-01

By performing two-wave mixing experiments in a liquid-crystal light valve, optical pulses are slowed down to group velocities as slow as a few tenths of mm/s, corresponding to a very large group index. We present experiments and model of the slow-light process occurring in the liquid-crystal light valve, showing that this is characterized by multiple-beam diffraction in the Raman-Nath regime. Depending on the initial frequency detuning between pump and signal, the different output order beams are distinguished by different group delays. The group delay can be tuned by changing the main parameters of the experiment: the detuning between the pump and the input wave packet, the strength of the nonlinearity, and the intensity of the pump beam.

Enhancing light-atom interactions via atomic bunching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmittberger, Bonnie L.; Gauthier, Daniel J.

2014-07-01

There is a broad interest in enhancing the strength of light-atom interactions to the point where injecting a single photon induces a nonlinear material response. Here we show theoretically that sub-Doppler-cooled two-level atoms that are spatially organized by weak optical fields give rise to a nonlinear material response that is greatly enhanced beyond that attainable in a homogeneous gas. Specifically, in the regime where the intensity of the applied optical fields is much less than the off-resonance saturation intensity, we show that the third-order nonlinear susceptibility scales inversely with atomic temperature and, due to this scaling, can be two orders of magnitude larger than that of a homogeneous gas for typical experimental parameters. As a result, we predict that spatially bunched two-level atoms can exhibit single-photon nonlinearities. Our model is valid for all regimes of atomic bunching and simultaneously accounts for the backaction of the atoms on the optical fields. Our results agree with previous theoretical and experimental results for light-atom interactions that have considered only limited regimes of atomic bunching. For lattice beams tuned to the low-frequency side of the atomic transition, we find that the nonlinearity transitions from a self-focusing type to a self-defocusing type at a critical intensity. We also show that higher than third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities are significant in the regime where the dipole potential energy is on the order of the atomic thermal energy. We therefore find that it is crucial to retain high-order nonlinearities to accurately predict interactions of laser fields with spatially organized ultracold atoms. The model presented here is a foundation for modeling low-light-level nonlinear optical processes for ultracold atoms in optical lattices.

Laser beam self-focusing in turbulent dissipative media.

PubMed

Hafizi, B; Peñano, J R; Palastro, J P; Fischer, R P; DiComo, G

2017-01-15

A high-power laser beam propagating through a dielectric in the presence of fluctuations is subject to diffraction, dissipation, and optical Kerr nonlinearity. A method of moments was applied to a stochastic, nonlinear enveloped wave equation to analyze the evolution of the long-term spot radius. For propagation in atmospheric turbulence described by a Kolmogorov-von Kármán spectral density, the analysis was benchmarked against field experiments in the low-power limit and compared with simulation results in the high-power regime. Dissipation reduced the effect of self-focusing and led to chromatic aberration.

Electrical and Nonlinear Optical Studies of Specific Organic Molecular and Nonconjugated Conductive Polymeric Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narayanan, Ananthakrishnan

In this research, structural, electrical and nonlinear optical characteristics of: (a) single crystal films involving a noncentrosymmetric molecule DAST and a laser dye IR125 and (b) specific nonconjugated conducting polymers including poly(beta-pinene) and polynorbornene have been studied. 4'-dimethylamino-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate (DAST) is a well known second order nonlinear optical material. This material has exceptionally high electro-optic coefficients, high thermal stability and ultrafast response time. In this work single crystal films involving a combination of DAST and IR125 have been prepared using modified shear method and the films have been characterized using polarized optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, polarization dependent optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The electro-optic coefficient of these films measured at 633nm was found to be 300pm/V. Since IR-125 has a strong absorption band from 500nm to 800nm, these films are promising for various applications in nonlinear optics at longer wavelength and for light emission. Nonconjugated conducting polymers are a class of polymers that have at least one double bond in their repeat units. 1,4-cis polyisoprene, polyalloocimene, styrene butadiene rubber, poly(ethylenepyrrolediyl) derivatives, and poly(beta-pinene) are some of the well known examples of nonconjugated conducting polymers. In this work, polynorborne, a new addition to the class of nonconjugated conducting polymers is discussed. Like other polymers in this class, polynorbornene exhibits increase in electrical conductivity by many orders of magnitude upon doping with iodine. The maximum electrical conductivity of this material is 0.01 S/cm. As shown by using FTIR microscopy, the C=C bonds are transformed into cation radicals when polynorborne is doped. This is due to the charge-transfer from the double bond to the dopant (iodine). These materials like other nonconjugated conducting polymers have significant applications in electro-optics and photonics. Electron paramagnetic resonance measurements on poly(beta-pinene) before and after doping with iodine are reported in this work. The EPR signal of this polymer increases proportionally with the iodine concentration due to the formation of cation radicals upon doping and charge-transfer. The results agree well with the doping mechanism of nonconjugated conducting polymers discussed earlier in literature. Hyperfine splitting in heavily doped polymers is observed due to the reduced distance between the cation radical and the iodine anion. Off-resonant electro-optic measurements in doped poly(beta-pinene) at 790nm, 800nm, 810nm and 1.55microm using field-induced birefringence technique have been studied. The results show that this material exhibits the highest cubic nonlinearities of all known materials. The Kerr coefficient measured at 1.55microm is 1.6x10-10 m/V2 which is about 30 times higher than that of conjugated polymers. Results of two photon measurements in this doped polymer using pump-probe technique with a pulsed, mode-locked (150 fs pulses) beam from a Ti-Sapphire laser are reported. The measured value of alpha2 at 790 nm and 795 nm were found to be 2.28+/-0.1 cm/MW and 2.5+/-0.1 cm/MW respectively. The data confirms that the nonlinearity in this material is ultrafast and electronic in nature. Such large nonlinearities in these materials are attributed the charge confinement in these materials in a sub-nanometer domain (upon doping) resulting in a metal-like quantum dot structure. Photovoltaic measurements in a composite involving poly(beta-pinene) and C60 are discussed. This is the first time a nonconjugated conducting polymer based photovoltaic cell has been fabricated. A composite involving 4% C60 by weight produced a photovoltage of 280mV for an incident light intensity of 6mW/sq.cm. These low cost devices have applications in solar cells, photodetectors etc. A nonlinear optical waveguide was prepared by casting a thin film of poly(beta-pinene) on bare multi-mode optical fiber and doping it with iodine. The doped fibers were of excellent optical quality. Two-photon absorption experiments were conducted using these waveguides and large changes in transmission upto 28% was observed in 15cm long fiber. More work needs to be done to confirm this result. This is a significant step in the direction of making these materials a viable choice for ultrafast (femtosecond time-scale) optical devices. To summarize, these works included detailed investigations of structural, electrical and nonlinear optical characteristics of specific molecular crystal films and nonconjugated conducting polymers.

Double closed-loop control of integrated optical resonance gyroscope with mean-square exponential stability.

PubMed

Li, Hui; Liu, Liying; Lin, Zhili; Wang, Qiwei; Wang, Xiao; Feng, Lishuang

2018-01-22

A new double closed-loop control system with mean-square exponential stability is firstly proposed to optimize the detection accuracy and dynamic response characteristic of the integrated optical resonance gyroscope (IORG). The influence mechanism of optical nonlinear effects on system detection sensitivity is investigated to optimize the demodulation gain, the maximum sensitivity and the linear work region of a gyro system. Especially, we analyze the effect of optical parameter fluctuation on the parameter uncertainty of system, and investigate the influence principle of laser locking-frequency noise on the closed-loop detection accuracy of angular velocity. The stochastic disturbance model of double closed-loop IORG is established that takes the unfavorable factors such as optical effect nonlinearity, disturbed disturbance, optical parameter fluctuation and unavoidable system noise into consideration. A robust control algorithm is also designed to guarantee the mean-square exponential stability of system with a prescribed H ∞ performance in order to improve the detection accuracy and dynamic performance of IORG. The conducted experiment results demonstrate that the IORG has a dynamic response time less than 76us, a long-term bias stability 7.04°/h with an integration time of 10s over one-hour test, and the corresponding bias stability 1.841°/h based on Allan deviation, which validate the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed detection scheme.

Nonlinear optical polymers for electro-optic signal processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindsay, Geoffrey A.

1991-01-01

Photonics is an emerging technology, slated for rapid growth in communications systems, sensors, imagers, and computers. Its growth is driven by the need for speed, reliability, and low cost. New nonlinear polymeric materials will be a key technology in the new wave of photonics devices. Electron-conjubated polymeric materials offer large electro-optic figures of merit, ease of processing into films and fibers, ruggedness, low cost, and a plethora of design options. Several new broad classes of second-order nonlinear optical polymers were developed at the Navy's Michelson Laboratory at China Lake, California. Polar alignment in thin film waveguides was achieved by electric-field poling and Langmuir-Blodgett processing. Our polymers have high softening temperatures and good aging properties. While most of the films can be photobleached with ultraviolet (UV) light, some have excellent stability in the 500-1600 nm range, and UV stability in the 290-310 nm range. The optical nonlinear response of these polymers is subpicosecond. Electro-optic switches, frequency doublers, light modulators, and optical data storage media are some of the device applications anticipated for these polymers.

Second-order nonlinear optical properties of composite material of an azo-chromophore with a tricyanodiphenyl acceptor in a poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate) matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shelkovnikov, Vladimir; Selivanova, Galina; Lyubas, Gleb; Korotaev, Sergey; Shundrina, Inna; Tretyakov, Evgeny; Zueva, Ekaterina; Plekhanov, Alexander; Mikerin, Sergey; Simanchuk, Andrey

2017-07-01

The composite material of new synthesized 4-((4-(N,N-n-dibutylamino) phenyl)diazenyl)-biphenyl-2,3,4-tricarbonitrile (GAS dye) in commercial poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate) (PSMMA) was prepared, poled and its nonlinear optical properties compared with DR1 dye were studied. High thermal stability of the composite material was revealed, and the maximal concentration of the chromophore was found to reach ∼20 wt%. The dipole moment, polarizability tensor, and first hyperpolarizability tensor of the investigated dyes were calculated by within the framework of the coupled perturbed density functional theory. A nanosecond second-harmonic generation Maker fringes technique was used which is capable of providing the magnitude of the second-order nonlinearity of optical materials at a wavelength of 1064 nm. For the tested GAS-PSMMA composite material, maximal coefficient d33 was found to be 50 pm/V. The nonlinear optical response, which was achieved here, shows possible usefulness of the GAS dye as a component for molecular design of nonlinear-optical materials with advanced characteristics.

Guest-host polymer fibers for nonlinear optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuzyk, M. G.; Paek, U. C.; Dirk, C. W.

1991-08-01

We report on the fabrication of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nonlinear optical fibers with dye-doped cores. The dye-doped cores have an elevated refractive index that defines a waveguiding region with a large third-order susceptibility and with single-mode dimensions. The measured third-order susceptibility of a squarylium-doped PMMA film material and the measured optical loss of the dye-doped fiber core results in a figure of merit that is suitable for all-optical device applications at λ=1.3 μm. The impact of further improvements in PMMA loss and chromophore nonlinearity are also discussed.

Nonlinear Analyte Concentration Gradients for One-Step Kinetic Analysis Employing Optical Microring Resonators

PubMed Central

Marty, Michael T.; Kuhnline Sloan, Courtney D.; Bailey, Ryan C.; Sligar, Stephen G.

2012-01-01

Conventional methods to probe the binding kinetics of macromolecules at biosensor surfaces employ a stepwise titration of analyte concentrations and measure the association and dissociation to the immobilized ligand at each concentration level. It has previously been shown that kinetic rates can be measured in a single step by monitoring binding as the analyte concentration increases over time in a linear gradient. We report here the application of nonlinear analyte concentration gradients for determining kinetic rates and equilibrium binding affinities in a single experiment. A versatile nonlinear gradient maker is presented, which is easily applied to microfluidic systems. Simulations validate that accurate kinetic rates can be extracted for a wide range of association and dissociation rates, gradient slopes and curvatures, and with models for mass transport. The nonlinear analyte gradient method is demonstrated with a silicon photonic microring resonator platform to measure prostate specific antigen-antibody binding kinetics. PMID:22686186

Nonlinear analyte concentration gradients for one-step kinetic analysis employing optical microring resonators.

PubMed

Marty, Michael T; Sloan, Courtney D Kuhnline; Bailey, Ryan C; Sligar, Stephen G

2012-07-03

Conventional methods to probe the binding kinetics of macromolecules at biosensor surfaces employ a stepwise titration of analyte concentrations and measure the association and dissociation to the immobilized ligand at each concentration level. It has previously been shown that kinetic rates can be measured in a single step by monitoring binding as the analyte concentration increases over time in a linear gradient. We report here the application of nonlinear analyte concentration gradients for determining kinetic rates and equilibrium binding affinities in a single experiment. A versatile nonlinear gradient maker is presented, which is easily applied to microfluidic systems. Simulations validate that accurate kinetic rates can be extracted for a wide range of association and dissociation rates, gradient slopes, and curvatures, and with models for mass transport. The nonlinear analyte gradient method is demonstrated with a silicon photonic microring resonator platform to measure prostate specific antigen-antibody binding kinetics.

Measuring of nonlinear properties of spatial light modulator with different wavelengths

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalid, Farah G.; Younis Al-Dabagh, Samar; Ahmed, Sudad S.; Mahmood, Aseel I.; Al-Naimee, Kais

2018-05-01

The non-linear optical properties of Spatial Light Modulator(SLM) represented by Nonlinear Refractive Index (NLR) and nonlinear Absorption coefficient has been measured in this work using highly sensitive method known as Z-scan technique for different wavelengths (red and green). The capability to do instant measurements of different nonlinear optical parameters lead to consider these techniques as a one of the most desired and effective methods that could apply for different materials. The results showed that the NLR were in the same power for the different wavelengths while the nonlinear absorption is higher in case of green laser.

Magnetophotonic crystals based on yttrium-iron-garnet infiltrated opals: Magnetization-induced second-harmonic generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murzina, T. V.; Kim, E. M.; Kapra, R. V.; Moshnina, I. V.; Aktsipetrov, O. A.; Kurdyukov, D. A.; Kaplan, S. F.; Golubev, V. G.; Bader, M. A.; Marowsky, G.

2006-01-01

Three-dimensional magnetophotonic crystals (MPCs) based on artificial opals infiltrated by yttrium iron garnet (YIG) are fabricated and their structural, optical, and nonlinear optical properties are studied. The formation of the crystalline YIG inside the opal matrix is checked by x-ray analysis. Two templates are used for the infiltration by YIG: bare opals and those covered by a thin platinum film. Optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) technique is used to study the magnetization-induced nonlinear-optical properties of the composed MPCs. A high nonlinear magneto-optical Kerr effect in the SHG intensity is observed at the edge of the photonic band gap of the MPCs.

Numerical investigation of an all-optical switch in a graded nonlinear plasmonic grating.

PubMed

Wang, Guoxi; Lu, Hua; Liu, Xueming; Gong, Yongkang

2012-11-09

We have proposed and numerically investigated an all-optical switch based on a metal-insulator-metal waveguide with graded nonlinear plasmonic gratings. The influences of grating depth and refractive index of a Kerr nonlinear medium on the transmission of the switch are exactly analyzed by utilizing transmission line theory. The finite-difference time-domain simulation results show that the highly compact structure possesses excellent switch function by tuning the incident electric field intensity. In addition, the simulation results show that this all-optical switch has an ultrawide operating frequency regime and femtosecond-scale response time (~130 fs). Such a switch can find potential applications for all-optical signal processing and optical communication.

Optical solitons and modulation instability analysis with (3 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear Shrödinger equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inc, Mustafa; Aliyu, Aliyu Isa; Yusuf, Abdullahi; Baleanu, Dumitru

2017-12-01

This paper addresses the (3 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear Shrödinger equation (NLSE) that serves as the model to study the propagation of optical solitons through nonlinear optical fibers. Two integration schemes are employed to study the equation. These are the complex envelope function ansatz and the solitary wave ansatz with Jaccobi elliptic function methods, we present the exact dark, bright and dark-bright or combined optical solitons to the model. The intensity as well as the nonlinear phase shift of the solitons are reported. The modulation instability aspects are discussed using the concept of linear stability analysis. The MI gain is got. Numerical simulation of the obtained results are analyzed with interesting figures showing the physical meaning of the solutions.

Nonlinear Optics with 2D Layered Materials.

PubMed

Autere, Anton; Jussila, Henri; Dai, Yunyun; Wang, Yadong; Lipsanen, Harri; Sun, Zhipei

2018-06-01

2D layered materials (2DLMs) are a subject of intense research for a wide variety of applications (e.g., electronics, photonics, and optoelectronics) due to their unique physical properties. Most recently, increasing research efforts on 2DLMs are projected toward the nonlinear optical properties of 2DLMs, which are not only fascinating from the fundamental science point of view but also intriguing for various potential applications. Here, the current state of the art in the field of nonlinear optics based on 2DLMs and their hybrid structures (e.g., mixed-dimensional heterostructures, plasmonic structures, and silicon/fiber integrated structures) is reviewed. Several potential perspectives and possible future research directions of these promising nanomaterials for nonlinear optics are also presented. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Laterally azo-bridged h-shaped ferroelectric dimesogens for second-order nonlinear optics: ferroelectricity and second harmonic generation.

PubMed

Zhang, Yongqiang; Martinez-Perdiguero, Josu; Baumeister, Ute; Walker, Christopher; Etxebarria, Jesus; Prehm, Marko; Ortega, Josu; Tschierske, Carsten; O'Callaghan, Michael J; Harant, Adam; Handschy, Mark

2009-12-30

Two classes of laterally azo-bridged H-shaped ferroelectric liquid crystals (FLCs), incorporating azobenzene and disperse red 1 (DR-1) chromophores along the FLC polar axes, were synthesized and characterized by polarized light microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, 2D X-ray diffraction analysis, and electro-optical investigations. They represent the first H-shaped FLC materials exhibiting the ground-state, thermodynamically stable enantiotropic SmC* phase, i.e., ground-state ferroelectricity. Second harmonic generation measurements of one compound incorporating a DR-1 chromophore at the incident wavelength of 1064 nm give a nonlinear coefficient of d(22) = 17 pm/V, the largest nonlinear optics coefficient reported to date for calamitic FLCs. This value enables viable applications of FLCs in nonlinear optics.

Plasmon-enhanced versatile optical nonlinearities in a Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure.

PubMed

Yao, Lin-Hua; Zhang, Jun-Pei; Dai, Hong-Wei; Wang, Ming-Shan; Zhang, Lu-Man; Wang, Xia; Han, Jun-Bo

2018-06-27

A Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure has been synthesized by using an electrodeposition method based on an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane. The third-order optical nonlinearities, second harmonic generation (SHG) and photoluminescence (PL) properties containing ultrafast supercontinuum generation and plasmon mediated thermal emission have been investigated. Significant optical enhancements have been obtained near surface plasmon resonance wavelength in all the abovementioned nonlinear processes. Comparative studies between the Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure and the corresponding single-component Au and Ag hybrid structures demonstrate that the Au-Ag-Au multi-segmental hybrid structure has much larger optical nonlinearities than its counterparts. These results demonstrate that the Au-Ag-Au hybrid structure is a promising candidate for applications in plasmonic devices and enhancement substrates.

Optical nonlinearities of excitons in monolayer MoS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soh, Daniel B. S.; Rogers, Christopher; Gray, Dodd J.; Chatterjee, Eric; Mabuchi, Hideo

2018-04-01

We calculate linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities arising from the excitonic states of monolayer MoS2 for in-plane light polarizations, using second-quantized bound and unbound exciton operators. Optical selection rules are critical for obtaining the susceptibilities. We derive the valley-chirality rule for the second-order harmonic generation in monolayer MoS2 and find that the third-order harmonic process is efficient only for linearly polarized input light while the third-order two-photon process (optical Kerr effect) is efficient for circularly polarized light using a higher order exciton state. The absence of linear absorption due to the band gap and the unusually strong two-photon third-order nonlinearity make the monolayer MoS2 excitonic structure a promising resource for coherent nonlinear photonics.

Double-clad photonic crystal fiber coupler for compact nonlinear optical microscopy imaging.

PubMed

Fu, Ling; Gu, Min

2006-05-15

A 1 x 2 double-clad photonic crystal fiber coupler is fabricated by the fused tapered method, showing a low excess loss of 1.1 dB and a splitting ratio of 97/3 over the entire visible and near-infrared wavelength range. In addition to the property of splitting the laser power, the double-clad feature of the coupler facilitates the separation of a near-infrared single-mode beam from a visible multimode beam, which is ideal for nonlinear optical microscopy imaging. In conjunction with a gradient-index lens, this coupler is used to construct a miniaturized microscope based on two-photon fluorescence and second-harmonic generation. Three-dimensional nonlinear optical images demonstrate potential applications of the coupler to compact all-fiber and nonlinear optical microscopy and endoscopy.

Spatiotemporal chaos and two-dimensional dissipative rogue waves in Lugiato-Lefever model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panajotov, Krassimir; Clerc, Marcel G.; Tlidi, Mustapha

2017-06-01

Driven nonlinear optical cavities can exhibit complex spatiotemporal dynamics. We consider the paradigmatic Lugiato-Lefever model describing driven nonlinear optical resonator. This model is one of the most-studied nonlinear equations in optics. It describes a large spectrum of nonlinear phenomena from bistability, to periodic patterns, localized structures, self-pulsating localized structures and to a complex spatiotemporal behavior. The model is considered also as prototype model to describe several optical nonlinear devices such as Kerr media, liquid crystals, left handed materials, nonlinear fiber cavity, and frequency comb generation. We focus our analysis on a spatiotemporal chaotic dynamics in one-dimension. We identify a route to spatiotemporal chaos through an extended quasiperiodicity. We have estimated the Kaplan-Yorke dimension that provides a measure of the strange attractor complexity. Likewise, we show that the Lugiato-Leferver equation supports rogues waves in two-dimensional settings. We characterize rogue-wave formation by computing the probability distribution of the pulse height. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Theory and Applications of the Lugiato-Lefever Equation", edited by Yanne K. Chembo, Damia Gomila, Mustapha Tlidi, Curtis R. Menyuk.

Nonlinear Optical Properties of Traditional and Novel Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krupa, Sean J.

Nonlinear optical processes are an excellent candidate to provide the heralded, indistinguishable, or entangled photons necessary for development of quantum mechanics based technology which currently lack bright sources of these photons. In order to support these technologies, and others, two classes of materials: traditional and novel, were investigated via optical characterization methods with goal of gaining insight into which materials and experimental conditions yield the greatest nonlinear optical effects. Optical characterization of periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) helped support the development of a simple, efficient photon pair source that could be easily integrated into optical networks. Additionally, an in-situ measurement of the 2nd order nonlinear optical coefficient was developed to aid in the characterization of PPLN pair sources. Lastly, an undergraduate demonstration of quantum key distribution was constructed such that students could see the primary application for PPLN photon pair sources in an affordable, approachable demonstration. A class of novel optical materials known as 2D materials has been identified as potential replacements to the traditional nonlinear optical materials discussed in Part I. Through optical characterization of second harmonic generation (SHG) the ideal conditions for spontaneous parametric downconversion were established as well as signal thresholds for successful detection. Attempts to observe SPDC produces hints that weak generate SPDC may be present in WS2 samples however this is incredibly difficult to confirm. As growth techniques of 2D materials improve, a photonic device constructed from these materials may be possible, however it will need some mechanism e.g. stacking, a cavity, etc. to help enhance the SPDC signal.

Model-based estimation and control for off-axis parabolic mirror alignment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Joyce; Savransky, Dmitry

2018-02-01

This paper propose an model-based estimation and control method for an off-axis parabolic mirror (OAP) alignment. Current studies in automated optical alignment systems typically require additional wavefront sensors. We propose a self-aligning method using only focal plane images captured by the existing camera. Image processing methods and Karhunen-Loève (K-L) decomposition are used to extract measurements for the observer in closed-loop control system. Our system has linear dynamic in state transition, and a nonlinear mapping from the state to the measurement. An iterative extended Kalman filter (IEKF) is shown to accurately predict the unknown states, and nonlinear observability is discussed. Linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) is applied to correct the misalignments. The method is validated experimentally on the optical bench with a commercial OAP. We conduct 100 tests in the experiment to demonstrate the consistency in between runs.

Separating higher-order nonlinearities in transient absorption microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Jesse W.; Anderson, Miguel; Park, Jong Kang; Fischer, Martin C.; Warren, Warren S.

2015-08-01

The transient absorption response of melanin is a promising optically-accessible biomarker for distinguishing malignant melanoma from benign pigmented lesions, as demonstrated by earlier experiments on thin sections from biopsied tissue. The technique has also been demonstrated in vivo, but the higher optical intensity required for detecting these signals from backscattered light introduces higher-order nonlinearities in the transient response of melanin. These components that are higher than linear with respect to the pump or the probe introduce intensity-dependent changes to the overall response that complicate data analysis. However, our data also suggest these nonlinearities might be advantageous to in vivo imaging, in that different types of melanins have different nonlinear responses. Therefore, methods to separate linear from nonlinear components in transient absorption measurements might provide additional information to aid in the diagnosis of melanoma. We will discuss numerical methods for analyzing the various nonlinear contributions to pump-probe signals, with the ultimate objective of real time analysis using digital signal processing techniques. To that end, we have replaced the lock-in amplifier in our pump-probe microscope with a high-speed data acquisition board, and reprogrammed the coprocessor field-programmable gate array (FPGA) to perform lock-in detection. The FPGA lock-in offers better performance than the commercial instrument, in terms of both signal to noise ratio and speed. In addition, the flexibility of the digital signal processing approach enables demodulation of more complicated waveforms, such as spread-spectrum sequences, which has the potential to accelerate microscopy methods that rely on slow relaxation phenomena, such as photo-thermal and phosphorescence lifetime imaging.

Effect of control-beam polarization and power on optical time-domain demultiplexing in a new nonlinear optical loop mirror design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grendár, Drahomír; Pottiez, Olivier; Dado, Milan; Müllerová, Jarmila; Dubovan, Jozef

2009-05-01

A new scheme of a control-beam-driven nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) with a birefringent twisted fiber and a symmetrical coupler designed for optical time division demultiplexing (OTDM) is analyzed. The theoretical model of the proposed NOLM scheme considers the evolution of polarization states of data and control beams and the mutual interactions of the data and control beams due to the cross-phase modulation (XPM). Attention is given to the optical switching commanded by the control-beam power and by the manipulation of nonlinear polarization rotation of the data and control beam. The simulations of NOLM transmissions demonstrate that the cross talk between demultiplexed and nondemultiplexed beams as an important parameter for optical switching by the presented NOLM can be significantly reduced. The results show that the device can be of interest for all-optical signal manipulations in optical communication networks.

Pilot Project for Spaceborne Massive Optical Storage Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Y. J.

1996-01-01

A space bound storage device has many special requirements. In addition to large storage capacity, fas read/ write time, and high reliability, it also needs to have small volume, light weight, low power consumption, radiation hardening, ability to operate in extreme temperature ranges, etc. Holographic optical recording technology, which has been making major advancements in recent years, is an extremely promising candidate. The goal of this pilot project is to demonstrate a laboratory bench-top holographic optical recording storage system (HORSS) based on nonlinear polymer films 1 and/or other advanced photo-refractive materials. This system will be used as a research vehicle to study relevant optical properties of novel holographic optical materials, to explore massive optical storage technologies based on the photo-refractive effect and to evaluate the feasibility of developing a massive storage system, based on holographic optical recording technology, for a space bound experiment in the near future.

Research on spectrum broadening covering visible light of a fiber femtosecond optical frequency comb for absolute frequency measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Shuai; Wu, Tengfei; Li, Shuyi; Xia, Chuanqing; Han, Jibo; Zhang, Lei; Zhao, Chunbo

2018-03-01

As a bridge connecting microwave frequency and optical frequency, femtosecond laser has important significance in optical frequency measurement. Compared with the traditional Ti-sapphire femtosecond optical frequency comb, with the advantages of compact structure, strong anti-interference ability and low cost, the fiber femtosecond optical frequency comb has a wider application prospect. An experiment of spectrum broadening in a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber pumped by an Er-fiber mode-locked femtosecond laser is studied in this paper. Based on optical amplification and frequency doubling, the central wavelength of the output spectrum is 780nm and the average power is 232mW. With the femtosecond pulses coupled into two different photonic crystal fibers, the coverage of visible spectrum is up to 500nm-960nm. The spectral shape and width can be optimized by changing the polarization state for satisfying the requirments of different optical frequencies measurement.

The third-order optical nonlinearities of Ge-Ga-Sb(In)-S chalcogenide glasses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guo, Haitao, E-mail: guoht_001@opt.ac.cn; Chen, Hongyan; Hou, Chaoqi

2011-05-15

Research highlights: {yields} It is firstly demonstrated that the nonlinear refractive index n{sub 2} is dependent on the covalency of bonds in chalcogenide glass. {yields} Homopolar metallic bonds in chalcogenide glass have positive contribution to large nonlinear refractive index n{sub 2} also. {yields} The 80GeS{sub 2}.20Sb{sub 2}S{sub 3} glass would be expected to be used in the all-optical switches working at 1330 nm and 1550 nm telecommunication wavelengths. -- Abstract: The third-order optical nonlinearities of 80GeS{sub 2}.(20 - x)Ga{sub 2}S{sub 3}.xY{sub 2}S{sub 3} (x = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and Y = Sb or In) chalcogenide glasses were investigatedmore » utilizing the Z-scan method at the wavelength of 800 nm and their linear optical properties and structure were also studied. By analyzing the compositional dependences and possible influencing factors including the linear refractive index, the concentration of lone electron pairs, the optical bandgap and the amount of weak covalent/homopolar bonds, it indicates that the electronic contribution in weak heteropolar covalent and homopolar metallic bonds is responsible for large nonlinear refractive index n{sub 2} in the chalcogenide glasses. These chalcogenide glasses have characteristics of environmentally friendship, wide transparency in the visible region, high nonlinear refractive index n{sub 2} and low nonlinear absorption coefficient {beta}, and would be expected to be used in the all-optical switches working at 1330 nm and 1550 nm telecommunication wavelengths.« less

Measurement of nonlinear optical refraction of composite material based on sapphire with silver by Kerr-lens autocorrelation method.

PubMed

Yu, Xiang-xiang; Wang, Yu-hua

2014-01-13

Silver nanoparticles synthesized in a synthetic sapphire matrix were fabricated by ion implantation using the metal vapor vacuum arc ion source. The optical absorption spectrum of the Ag: Al2O3 composite material has been measured. The analysis of the supercontinuum spectrum displayed the nonlinear refractive property of this kind of sample. Nonlinear optical refraction index was identified at 800 nm excitation using the Kerr-lens autocorrelation (KLAC) technique. The spectrum showed that the material possessed self-defocusing property (n(2) = -1.1 × 10(-15) cm(2)W). The mechanism of nonlinear refraction has been discussed.

Investigation of the spatial distribution of second-order nonlinearity in thermally poled optical fibers.

PubMed

An, Honglin; Fleming, Simon

2005-05-02

The spatial distribution of second-order nonlinearity in thermally poled optical fibers was characterized by second-harmonic microscopy. The second-order nonlinearity was found to be confined to a thin layer close to the anode surface and progressed further into the silica as the poling time increased. Position uncertainty of the anode metal wire was observed to have an effect, as the nonlinear layers were found not always symmetrically located around the nearest points between the anode and cathode. Optical microscopy results were obtained on etched poled fiber cross-sections and compared with those from second-harmonic microscopy.

Sensing nitrous oxide with QCL-coupled silicon-on-sapphire ring resonators.

PubMed

Smith, Clinton J; Shankar, Raji; Laderer, Matthew; Frish, Michael B; Loncar, Marko; Allen, Mark G

2015-03-09

We report the initial evaluation of a mid-infrared QCL-coupled silicon-on-sapphire ring resonator gas sensor. The device probes the N(2)O 2241.79 cm(-1) optical transition (R23 line) in the ν(3) vibrational band. N(2)O concentration is deduced using a non-linear least squares fit, based on coupled-mode theory, of the change in ring resonator Q due to gas absorption losses in the evanescent portion of the waveguide optical mode. These early experiments demonstrated response to 5000 ppmv N(2)O.

Vortex algebra by multiply cascaded four-wave mixing of femtosecond optical beams.

PubMed

Hansinger, Peter; Maleshkov, Georgi; Garanovich, Ivan L; Skryabin, Dmitry V; Neshev, Dragomir N; Dreischuh, Alexander; Paulus, Gerhard G

2014-05-05

Experiments performed with different vortex pump beams show for the first time the algebra of the vortex topological charge cascade, that evolves in the process of nonlinear wave mixing of optical vortex beams in Kerr media due to competition of four-wave mixing with self-and cross-phase modulation. This leads to the coherent generation of complex singular beams within a spectral bandwidth larger than 200nm. Our experimental results are in good agreement with frequency-domain numerical calculations that describe the newly generated spectral satellites.

Nonlinear optical enhancement induced by synergistic effect of graphene nanosheets and CdS nanocrystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Baohua, E-mail: bhzhu@henu.edu.cn, E-mail: yzgu@henu.edu.cn; Cao, Yawan; Wang, Chong

2016-06-20

CdS nanocrystals are attached on graphene nanosheets and their nonlinear optical properties are investigated by picosecond Z-scan technique at 532 nm. We found that synergistic effect between the graphene and CdS makes a major enhancement on the nonlinear optical absorption of graphene/CdS nanohybrid in comparison with cooperative effect, and the synergistic improvement is restricted by nonradiative defects in hybrid. The synergistic mechanism involving the local field theory and charge transfer evolution is proposed.

Dispersive optical solitons and modulation instability analysis of Schrödinger-Hirota equation with spatio-temporal dispersion and Kerr law nonlinearity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Inc, Mustafa; Aliyu, Aliyu Isa; Yusuf, Abdullahi; Baleanu, Dumitru

2018-01-01

This paper obtains the dark, bright, dark-bright or combined optical and singular solitons to the perturbed nonlinear Schrödinger-Hirota equation (SHE) with spatio-temporal dispersion (STD) and Kerr law nonlinearity in optical fibers. The integration algorithm is the Sine-Gordon equation method (SGEM). Furthermore, the modulation instability analysis (MI) of the equation is studied based on the standard linear-stability analysis and the MI gain spectrum is got.

Nonlinear Optical Properties of Au-Nanoparticles Conjugated with Lipoic Acid in Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trejo-Durán, M.; Cornejo-Monroy, D.; Alvarado-Méndez, E.; Olivares-Vargas, A.; Castano, V. M.

2014-08-01

Gold nanoparticles were chemically conjugated with lipoic acid to control their optical properties. Z-scan and other optical techniques were used to characterize the non-linear behavior of the resulting nanostructured materials. The results show that the nonlinearity is of thermal origin, which can be controlled by the use of lipoic acid as well as other organic molecules conjugated onto metal nanoparticles. In particular, the presence of lipoic acid increases n_2 and dn/dT.

Nonlinear and anisotropic polarization rotation in two-dimensional Dirac materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ashutosh; Ghosh, Saikat; Agarwal, Amit

2018-05-01

We predict nonlinear optical polarization rotation in two-dimensional massless Dirac systems including graphene and 8-P m m n borophene. When illuminated, a continuous-wave optical field leads to a nonlinear steady state of photoexcited carriers in the medium. The photoexcited population inversion and the interband coherence give rise to a finite transverse optical conductivity σx y(ω ) . This in turn leads to definitive signatures in associated Kerr and Faraday polarization rotation, which are measurable in a realistic experimental scenario.

Solitonic Dispersive Hydrodynamics: Theory and Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maiden, Michelle D.; Anderson, Dalton V.; Franco, Nevil A.; El, Gennady A.; Hoefer, Mark A.

2018-04-01

Ubiquitous nonlinear waves in dispersive media include localized solitons and extended hydrodynamic states such as dispersive shock waves. Despite their physical prominence and the development of thorough theoretical and experimental investigations of each separately, experiments and a unified theory of solitons and dispersive hydrodynamics are lacking. Here, a general soliton-mean field theory is introduced and used to describe the propagation of solitons in macroscopic hydrodynamic flows. Two universal adiabatic invariants of motion are identified that predict trapping or transmission of solitons by hydrodynamic states. The result of solitons incident upon smooth expansion waves or compressive, rapidly oscillating dispersive shock waves is the same, an effect termed hydrodynamic reciprocity. Experiments on viscous fluid conduits quantitatively confirm the soliton-mean field theory with broader implications for nonlinear optics, superfluids, geophysical fluids, and other dispersive hydrodynamic media.

Dispersion-free continuum two-dimensional electronic spectrometer

PubMed Central

Zheng, Haibin; Caram, Justin R.; Dahlberg, Peter D.; Rolczynski, Brian S.; Viswanathan, Subha; Dolzhnikov, Dmitriy S.; Khadivi, Amir; Talapin, Dmitri V.; Engel, Gregory S.

2015-01-01

Electronic dynamics span broad energy scales with ultrafast time constants in the condensed phase. Two-dimensional (2D) electronic spectroscopy permits the study of these dynamics with simultaneous resolution in both frequency and time. In practice, this technique is sensitive to changes in nonlinear dispersion in the laser pulses as time delays are varied during the experiment. We have developed a 2D spectrometer that uses broadband continuum generated in argon as the light source. Using this visible light in phase-sensitive optical experiments presents new challenges in implementation. We demonstrate all-reflective interferometric delays using angled stages. Upon selecting an ~180 nm window of the available bandwidth at ~10 fs compression, we probe the nonlinear response of broadly absorbing CdSe quantum dots and electronic transitions of Chlorophyll a. PMID:24663470

Effets optiques et structurels de l'implantation ionique dans des couches minces polymeres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cottin, Pierre

The main goal of this work is to highlight the effect of ion implantation---a widely spread technique to modify chemical, electrical or optical properties of materials---on the third order nonlinear optical properties (chi (3)) of polymers. This study was limited to four polymers (PMMA, PVK, PVA, CA) for which we developed a fabrication process to obtain high optical quality thin films and controlled thickness compatible with ion implantation depth. Moreover, these polymers show different chemical structures and have in common to have very low nonlinear optical properties. Two faces of the problem were studied. First, the chemical structure of these polymers was characterized using ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy before and after ion implantation and then was compared with which of intrinsic nonlinear optical polymers. These analysis have clearly shown that from one hand, ion implantation leads to a great number of bond breaks but from the other hand, it creates a high concentration of conjugated bonds characteristic of nonlinear optical polymers. Second, the third order nonlinear optical properties of ion implanted polymers were measured by nonlinear waveguide coupling and by third harmonic generation. For the first method, the coupling function was performed by a diffraction grating etched in a glass substrate whose fabrication process was developed in this particular case. In both cases, the used laser wave-length was 1064 nm with pulse duration of 30 ps and 5 ns respectively. The corresponding modelization for each of these techniques was established and numerically implemented. Both techniques have shown an increase of chi(3) for these polymers after ion implantation but however, they can not reach the performance of chemically designed nonlinear optical polymers. The best results were obtained for 50 keV helium implanted PMMA given |chi(3)(-3o; o, o, o)| = 7.2 x 10-21 m2.V-2 which is six time greater than the pristine material.

Development of a nonlinear fiber-optic spectrometer for human lung tissue exploration

PubMed Central

Peyrot, Donald A.; Lefort, Claire; Steffenhagen, Marie; Mansuryan, Tigran; Ducourthial, Guillaume; Abi-Haidar, Darine; Sandeau, Nicolas; Vever-Bizet, Christine; Kruglik, Sergei G.; Thiberville, Luc; Louradour, Frédéric; Bourg-Heckly, Geneviève

2012-01-01

Several major lung pathologies are characterized by early modifications of the extracellular matrix (ECM) fibrillar collagen and elastin network. We report here the development of a nonlinear fiber-optic spectrometer, compatible with an endoscopic use, primarily intended for the recording of second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal of collagen and two-photon excited fluorescence (2PEF) of both collagen and elastin. Fiber dispersion is accurately compensated by the use of a specific grism-pair stretcher, allowing laser pulse temporal width around 70 fs and excitation wavelength tunability from 790 to 900 nm. This spectrometer was used to investigate the excitation wavelength dependence (from 800 to 870 nm) of SHG and 2PEF spectra originating from ex vivo human lung tissue samples. The results were compared with spectral responses of collagen gel and elastin powder reference samples and also with data obtained using standard nonlinear microspectroscopy. The excitation-wavelength-tunable nonlinear fiber-optic spectrometer presented in this study allows performing nonlinear spectroscopy of human lung tissue ECM through the elastin 2PEF and the collagen SHG signals. This work opens the way to tunable excitation nonlinear endomicroscopy based on both distal scanning of a single optical fiber and proximal scanning of a fiber-optic bundle. PMID:22567579

Electrical control of second-harmonic generation in a WSe 2 monolayer transistor

DOE PAGES

Seyler, Kyle L.; Schaibley, John R.; Gong, Pu; ...

2015-04-20

Nonlinear optical frequency conversion, in which optical fields interact with a nonlinear medium to produce new field frequencies, is ubiquitous in modern photonic systems. However, the nonlinear electric susceptibilities that give rise to such phenomena are often challenging to tune in a given material and, so far, dynamical control of optical nonlinearities remains confined to research laboratories as a spectroscopic tool. In this paper, we report a mechanism to electrically control second-order optical nonlinearities in monolayer WSe 2, an atomically thin semiconductor. We show that the intensity of second-harmonic generation at the A-exciton resonance is tunable by over an ordermore » of magnitude at low temperature and nearly a factor of four at room temperature through electrostatic doping in a field-effect transistor. Such tunability arises from the strong exciton charging effects in monolayer semiconductors, which allow for exceptional control over the oscillator strengths at the exciton and trion resonances. The exciton-enhanced second-harmonic generation is counter-circularly polarized to the excitation laser due to the combination of the two-photon and one-photon valley selection rules, which have opposite helicity in the monolayer. Finally, our study paves the way towards a new platform for chip-scale, electrically tunable nonlinear optical devices based on two-dimensional semiconductors.« less

Triphenylamine Derived 3-Acetyl and 3-Benzothiazolyl Bis and Tris Coumarins: Synthesis, Photophysical and DFT Assisted Hyperpolarizability Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erande, Yogesh; Kothavale, Shantaram; Sreenath, Mavila C.; Chitrambalam, Subramaniyan; Joe, Isaac H.; Sekar, Nagaiyan

2018-02-01

Triphenylamine derived bis- and tris-branched donor-pi-acceptor coumarins with acetyl and benzothiazolyl acceptors are studied for their linear and nonlinear optical properties that originate from their photophysical and molecular structure. Plots of solvent polarities versus the Stokes shift, frontier molecular orbital analysis and Generalised Mulliken Hush analysis have established their strong charge transfer character supported by the strong emission solvatochromism of these chromophores. On the basis of excited state intramolecular charge transfer, the first-, second- and third-order polarizability of these dyes are determined by a solvatochromic method and supported by density functional theory calculations using CAM-B3LYP/6-31g(d). Compared to the acetyl group, the benzothiazolyl group is a strong acceptor, and its corresponding derivatives show enhanced absorption, emission maxima and non-linear optical response. Bond length alternation and bond order alternation analysis reveals that these chromophores approach the cyanine-like framework which is responsible for maximum perturbation to produce high nonlinear optical response. Third order nonlinear susceptibility for dyes 1 and 2 is determined by Z-scan measurement. All of these methods are used to determine the nonlinear optical properties, and thermogravimetric analysis suggests that these chromophores are thermally robust and efficient nonlinear optical materials.

Tuning the nonlinear response of (6,5)-enriched single-wall carbon nanotubes dispersions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aréstegui, O. S.; Silva, E. C. O.; Baggio, A. L.; Gontijo, R. N.; Hickmann, J. M.; Fantini, C.; Alencar, M. A. R. C.; Fonseca, E. J. S.

2017-04-01

Ultrafast nonlinear optical properties of (6,5)-enriched single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) dispersions are investigated using the thermally managed Z-scan technique. As the (6,5) SWCNTs presented a strong resonance in the range of 895-1048 nm, the nonlinear refractive index (n2) and the absorption coefficients (β) measurements were performed tuning the laser exactly around absorption peak of the (6,5) SWCNTs. It is observed that the nonlinear response is very sensitive to the wavelength and the spectral behavior of n2 is strongly correlated to the tubes one-photon absorption band, presenting also a peak when the laser photon energy is near the tube resonance energy. This result suggests that a suitable selection of nanotubes types may provide optimized nonlinear optical responses in distinct regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Analysis of the figures of merit indicated that this material is promising for ultrafast nonlinear optical applications under near infrared excitation.

Optical Quasi-Soliton Solutions for the Cubic-Quintic Nonlinear SCHRÖDINGER Equation with Variable Coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Qin; Zhang, Jie-Fang

Optical quasi-soliton solutions for the cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation (CQNLSE) with variable coefficients are considered. Based on the extended tanh-function method, we not only successfully obtained bright and dark quasi-soliton solutions, but also obtained the kink quasi-soliton solutions under certain parametric conditions. We conclude that the quasi-solitons induced by the combined effects of the group velocity dispersion (GVD) distribution, the nonlinearity distribution, higher-order nonlinearity distribution, and the amplification or absorption coefficient are quite different from those of the solitons induced only by the combined effects of the GVD, the nonlinearity distribution, and the amplification or absorption coefficient without considering the higher-order nonlinearity distribution (i.e. α(z)=0). Furthermore, we choose appropriate optical fiber parameters D(z) and R(z) to control the velocity of quasi-soliton and time shift, and discuss the evolution behavior of the special quasi-soliton.

Investigation on the growth, spectral, lifetime, mechanical analysis and third-order nonlinear optical studies of L-methionine admixtured D-mandelic acid single crystal: A promising material for nonlinear optical applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayaprakash, P.; Sangeetha, P.; Kumari, C. Rathika Thaya; Caroline, M. Lydia

2017-08-01

A nonlinear optical bulk single crystal of L-methionine admixtured D-mandelic acid (LMDMA) has been grown by slow solvent evaporation technique using water as solvent at ambient temperature. The crystallized LMDMA single crystal subjected to single crystal X-ray diffraction study confirmed monoclinic system with the acentric space group P21. The FTIR analysis gives information about the modes of vibration in the various functional groups present in LMDMA. The UV-visible spectral analysis assessed the optical quality and linear optical properties such as extinction coefficient, reflectance, refractive index and from which optical conductivity and electric susceptibility were also evaluated. The frequency doubling efficiency was observed using Kurtz Perry powder technique. A multiple shot laser was utilized to evaluate the laser damage threshold energy of the crystal. Discrete thermodynamic properties were carried out by TG-DTA studies. The hardness, Meyer's index, yield strength, elastic stiffness constant, Knoop hardness, fracture toughness and brittleness index were analyzed using Vickers microhardness tester. Layer growth pattern and the surface defect were examined by chemical etching studies using optical microscope. Fluorescence emission spectrum was recorded and lifetime was also studied. The electric field response of crystal was investigated from the dielectric studies at various temperatures at different frequencies. The third-order nonlinear optical response in LMDMA has been investigated using Z-scan technique with He-Ne laser at 632.8 nm and nonlinear parameters such as refractive index (n2), absorption coefficient (β) and susceptibility (χ3) investigated extensively for they are in optical phase conjucation, high-speed optical switches and optical dielectric devices.

Supercomputations and big-data analysis in strong-field ultrafast optical physics: filamentation of high-peak-power ultrashort laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voronin, A. A.; Panchenko, V. Ya; Zheltikov, A. M.

2016-06-01

High-intensity ultrashort laser pulses propagating in gas media or in condensed matter undergo complex nonlinear spatiotemporal evolution where temporal transformations of optical field waveforms are strongly coupled to an intricate beam dynamics and ultrafast field-induced ionization processes. At the level of laser peak powers orders of magnitude above the critical power of self-focusing, the beam exhibits modulation instabilities, producing random field hot spots and breaking up into multiple noise-seeded filaments. This problem is described by a (3  +  1)-dimensional nonlinear field evolution equation, which needs to be solved jointly with the equation for ultrafast ionization of a medium. Analysis of this problem, which is equivalent to solving a billion-dimensional evolution problem, is only possible by means of supercomputer simulations augmented with coordinated big-data processing of large volumes of information acquired through theory-guiding experiments and supercomputations. Here, we review the main challenges of supercomputations and big-data processing encountered in strong-field ultrafast optical physics and discuss strategies to confront these challenges.

Bright-dark and dark-dark solitons for the coupled cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations in a twin-core nonlinear optical fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yu-Qiang; Tian, Bo; Liu, Lei; Chai, Han-Peng

2017-11-01

In this paper, we investigate the coupled cubic-quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equations, which can describe the effects of quintic nonlinearity on the ultrashort optical soliton pulse propagation in a twin-core nonlinear optical fiber. Through the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchy reduction, we present the bright-dark and dark-dark soliton solutions in terms of the Grammian for such equations. With the help of analytic and graphic analysis, head-on and overtaking elastic interactions between the two solitons are presented, as well as the bound-state solitons. Particularly, we find the inelastic interaction between the bright-dark two solitons. One of the electromagnetic fields presents the V-shape profile, while the other one presents the Y-shape profile.

Nonlinear pulse propagation in one-dimensional metal-dielectric multilayer stacks: ultrawide bandwidth optical limiting.

PubMed

Scalora, Michael; Mattiucci, Nadia; D'Aguanno, Giuseppe; Larciprete, MariaCristina; Bloemer, Mark J

2006-01-01

We numerically study the nonlinear optical properties of metal-dielectric photonic band gap structures in the pulsed regime. We exploit the high chi3 of copper metal to induce nonlinear effects such as broadband optical limiting, self-phase modulation, and unusual spectral narrowing of high intensity pulses. We show that in a single pass through a typical, chirped multilayer stack nonlinear transmittance and peak powers can be reduced by nearly two orders of magnitude compared to low light intensity levels across the entire visible range. Chirping dielectric layer thickness dramatically improves the linear transmittance through the stack and achieves large fields inside the copper to access the large nonlinearity. At the same time, the linear properties of the stack block most of the remaining electromagnetic spectrum.

Comprehensive analysis of the optical Kerr coefficient of graphene

DOE PAGES

Soh, Daniel B. S.; Hamerly, Ryan; Mabuchi, Hideo

2016-08-25

We present a comprehensive analysis of the nonlinear optical Kerr effect in graphene. We directly solve the S-matrix element to calculate the absorption rate, utilizing the Volkov-Keldysh-type crystal wave functions. We then convert to the nonlinear refractive index coefficients through the Kramers-Kronig relation. In this formalism, the source of Kerr nonlinearity is the interplay of optical fields that cooperatively drive the transition from valence to conduction band. This formalism makes it possible to identify and compute the rates of distinct nonlinear processes that contribute to the Kerr nonlinear refractive index coefficient. The four identified mechanisms are two-photon absorption, Raman transition,more » self-coupling, and quadratic ac Stark effect. As a result, we present a comparison of our theory with recent experimental and theoretical results.« less

Nonlinear optical memory for manipulation of orbital angular momentum of light.

PubMed

de Oliveira, R A; Borba, G C; Martins, W S; Barreiro, S; Felinto, D; Tabosa, J W R

2015-11-01

We report on the demonstration of a nonlinear optical memory (NOM) for storage and on-demand manipulation of orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light via higher-order nonlinear processes in cold cesium atoms. A spatially resolved phase-matching technique is used to select each order of the nonlinear susceptibility associated, respectively, with time-delayed four-, six-, and eight-wave mixing processes. For a specific configuration of the stored OAM of the incident beams, we demonstrated that the OAM of the retrieved beam can be manipulated according to the order of the nonlinear process chosen by the operator for reading out the NOM. This demonstration indicates new pathways for applications in classical and quantum information processing where OAM of light is used to encode optical information.

Nonlinear optical studies of curcumin metal derivatives with cw laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Henari, F. Z., E-mail: fzhenari@rcsi-mub.com; Cassidy, S.

2015-03-30

We report on measurements of the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients for curcumin and curcumin metal complexes of boron, copper, and iron at different wavelengths using the Z-scan technique. These materials are found to be novel nonlinear media. It was found that the addition of metals slightly influences its nonlinearity. These materials show a large negative nonlinear refractive index of the order of 10{sup −7} cm{sup 2}/W and negative nonlinear absorption of the order of 10{sup −6} cm/W. The origin of the nonlinearity was investigated by comparison of the formalism that is known as the Gaussian decomposition modelmore » with the thermal lens model. The optical limiting behavior based on the nonlinear refractive index was also investigated.« less

Utilizing strongly absorbing materials for low-loss surface-wave nonlinear optics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grosse, Nicolai B.; Franz, Philipp; Heckmann, Jan; Pufahl, Karsten; Woggon, Ulrike

2018-04-01

Optical media endowed with large nonlinear susceptibilities are highly prized for their employment in frequency conversion and the generation of nonclassical states of light. Although the presence of an optical resonance can greatly increase the nonlinear response (e.g., in epsilon-near-zero materials), the non-negligible increase in linear absorption often precludes the application of such materials in nonlinear optics. Absorbing materials prepared as thin films, however, can support a low-loss surface wave: the long-range surface exciton polariton (LRSEP). Its propagation lifetime increases with greater intrinsic absorption and reduced film thickness, provided that the film is embedded in a transparent medium (symmetric cladding). We explore LRSEP propagation in a molybdenum film by way of a prism-coupling configuration. Our observations show that excitation of the LRSEP mode leads to a dramatic increase in the yield of second-harmonic generation. This implies that the LRSEP mode is an effective vehicle for utilizing the nonlinear response of absorbing materials.

Nonlinear optics and crystalline whispering gallery mode resonators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsko, Andrey; Savchenkov, Anatoliy; Ilchenko, Vladimir S.; Maleki, Lute

2004-01-01

We report on our recent results concerning fabrication of high-Q whispering gallery mode crystalline resonaors, and discuss some possible applications of lithium niobate WGM resonators in nonlinear optics and photonics.

Robust iterative method for nonlinear Helmholtz equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Lijun; Lu, Ya Yan

2017-08-01

A new iterative method is developed for solving the two-dimensional nonlinear Helmholtz equation which governs polarized light in media with the optical Kerr nonlinearity. In the strongly nonlinear regime, the nonlinear Helmholtz equation could have multiple solutions related to phenomena such as optical bistability and symmetry breaking. The new method exhibits a much more robust convergence behavior than existing iterative methods, such as frozen-nonlinearity iteration, Newton's method and damped Newton's method, and it can be used to find solutions when good initial guesses are unavailable. Numerical results are presented for the scattering of light by a nonlinear circular cylinder based on the exact nonlocal boundary condition and a pseudospectral method in the polar coordinate system.

Photonic Switching Devices Using Light Bullets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goorjian, Peter M. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

A unique ultra-fast, all-optical switching device or switch is made with readily available, relatively inexpensive, highly nonlinear optical materials. which includes highly nonlinear optical glasses, semiconductor crystals and/or multiple quantum well semiconductor materials. At the specified wavelengths. these optical materials have a sufficiently negative group velocity dispersion and high nonlinear index of refraction to support stable light bullets. The light bullets counter-propagate through, and interact within the waveguide to selectively change each others' directions of propagation into predetermined channels. In one embodiment, the switch utilizes a rectangularly planar slab waveguide. and further includes two central channels and a plurality of lateral channels for guiding the light bullets into and out of the waveguide. An advantage of the present all-optical switching device lies in its practical use of light bullets, thus preventing the degeneration of the pulses due to dispersion and diffraction at the front and back of the pulses. Another advantage of the switching device is the relative insensitivity of the collision process to the time difference in which the counter-propagating pulses enter the waveguide. since. contrary to conventional co-propagating spatial solitons, the relative phase of the colliding pulses does not affect the interaction of these pulses. Yet another feature of the present all-optical switching device is the selection of the light pulse parameters which enables the generation of light bullets in nonlinear optical materials. including highly nonlinear optical glasses and semiconductor materials such as semiconductor crystals and/or multiple quantum well semiconductor materials.

Experimental demonstration of 1535-1555-nm simultaneous optical wavelength interchange with a nonlinear photonic crystal.

PubMed

Chowdhury, A; Staus, C; Boland, B F; Kuech, T F; McCaughan, L

2001-09-01

We present results of what is to our knowledge the first experimental demonstration of simultaneous optical wavelength interchange by use of a two-dimensional second-order nonlinear photonic crystal. Fabrication and performance parameters of a 1535-1555-nm wavelength interchange nonlinear photonic crystal fabricated in lithium niobate are discussed.

Photodeposition of amorphous polydiacetylene films from monomer solutions onto transparent substrates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paley, M. S.; Frazier, D. O.; Abdeldeyem, H.; Armstrong, S.; McManus, S. P.

1995-01-01

Polydiacetylenes are a very promising class of polymers for both photonic and electronic applications because of their highly conjugated structures. For these applications, high-quality thin polydiacetylene films are required. We have discovered a novel technique for obtaining such films of a polydiacetylene derivative of 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline using photodeposition from monomer solutions onto UV transparent substrates. This heretofore unreported process yields amorphous polydiacetylene films with thicknesses on the order of I micron that have optical quality superior to that of films grown by standard crystal growth techniques. Furthermore, these films exhibit good third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities; degenerate four-wave mixing experiments give x(3) values on the order of 10(exp -8) - 10(exp -7) esu. We have conducted masking experiments which demonstrate that photodeposition occurs only where the substrate is directly irradiated, clearly indicating that the reaction occurs at the surface. Additionally, we have also been able to carry out photodeposition using lasers to form thin polymer circuits. In this work, we discuss the photodeposition of polydiacetylene thin films from solution, perform chemical characterization of these films, investigate the role of the substrate, speculate on the mechanism of the reaction, and make a preliminary determination of the third-order optical nonlinearity of the films. This simple, straightforward technique may ultimately make feasible the production of polydiacetylene thin films for technological applications.

Second order optical nonlinearity of graphene due to electric quadrupole and magnetic dipole effects.

PubMed

Cheng, J L; Vermeulen, N; Sipe, J E

2017-03-06

We present a practical scheme to separate the contributions of the electric quadrupole-like and the magnetic dipole-like effects to the forbidden second order optical nonlinear response of graphene, and give analytic expressions for the second order optical conductivities, calculated from the independent particle approximation, with relaxation described in a phenomenological way. We predict strong second order nonlinear effects, including second harmonic generation, photon drag, and difference frequency generation. We discuss in detail the controllability of these effects by tuning the chemical potential, taking advantage of the dominant role played by interband optical transitions in the response.

Second harmonic generation by all-optical poling and its relaxation in the polymer films containing azo sulfonamide chromophores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortyl, E.; Chan, S. W.; Nunzi, J.-M.; Kucharski, S.

2006-11-01

Polyurethane polymers containing azo sulfonamide chromophores were obtained by coupling reaction of the precursor polyurethane with corresponding diazonium salts. The chromophores, showing high hyperpolarizability value on molecular scale, were found to undergo orientation by all-optical poling method yielding macroscopic nonlinear optical response. The rate of generation and decay of the second-order nonlinear susceptibility was evaluated as a function of time. It was established that the polymers containing sulfonamide type chromophores showed higher stability of the nonlinear optical signal as compared with those modified with a nitro-acceptor groups of the Disperse Red type.

Nonlinear optical investigation of the Tris(2‧,2-bipyridyl)iron(II) tetrafluoroborate using z-scan technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zidan, M. D.; Al-Ktaifani, M. M.; Allahham, A.

2017-05-01

Z-scan measurements were performed with a CW diode laser at 635 nm to investigate the nonlinear optical properties of Tris(2‧,2-bipyridyl)iron(II) tetrafluoroborate in ethanol at two concentrations. Theoretical fit was carried out to evaluate the nonlinear absorption coefficient (β) and the negative nonlinear refractive index (n2) for the studied complex. Furthermore, the ground-state absorption cross sections (σg), the excited-state absorption cross sections (σex) and thermo-optic coefficient were also estimated. The investigations show large NLO response, which is predominantly associated with substantial conjugation between the aromatic ring π-electron system and d-electron set metal center. The obtained results give a strong indication that Tris(2‧,2-bipyridyl)iron(II) tetrafluoroborate have a potential application in optical domain.

Large optical nonlinearity of indium tin oxide in its epsilon-near-zero region.

PubMed

Alam, M Zahirul; De Leon, Israel; Boyd, Robert W

2016-05-13

Nonlinear optical phenomena are crucial for a broad range of applications, such as microscopy, all-optical data processing, and quantum information. However, materials usually exhibit a weak optical nonlinearity even under intense coherent illumination. We report that indium tin oxide can acquire an ultrafast and large intensity-dependent refractive index in the region of the spectrum where the real part of its permittivity vanishes. We observe a change in the real part of the refractive index of 0.72 ± 0.025, corresponding to 170% of the linear refractive index. This change in refractive index is reversible with a recovery time of about 360 femtoseconds. Our results offer the possibility of designing material structures with large ultrafast nonlinearity for applications in nanophotonics. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Propagation of hypergeometric Gaussian beams in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Bin; Bian, Lirong; Zhou, Xin; Chen, Kai

2018-01-01

Optical vortex beams have attracted lots of interest due to its potential application in image processing, optical trapping and optical communications, etc. In this work, we theoretically and numerically investigated the propagation properties of hypergeometric Gaussian (HyGG) beams in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media. Based on the Snyder-Mitchell model, analytical expressions for propagation of the HyGG beams in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media were obtained. The influence of input power and optical parameters on the evolutions of the beam width and radius of curvature is illustrated, respectively. The results show that the beam width and radius of curvature of the HyGG beams remain invariant, like a soliton when the input power is equal to the critical power. Otherwise, it varies periodically like a breather, which is the result of competition between the beam diffraction and nonlinearity of the medium.

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of Sb-doped GeSe2 thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhen-Ying; Chen, Fen; Lu, Shun-Bin; Wang, Yong-Hui; Shen, Xiang; Dai, Shi-Xun; Nie, Qiu-Hua

2015-06-01

Sb-doped GeSe2 chalcogenide thin films are prepared by the magnetron co-sputtering method. The linear optical properties of as-deposited films are derived by analyzing transmission spectra. The refractive index rises and the optical band gap decreases from 2.08 eV to 1.41 eV with increasing the Sb content. X-ray photoelectron spectra further confirm the formation of a covalent Sb-Se bond. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of thin films are investigated under femtosecond laser excitation at 800 nm. The results show that the third-order nonlinear optical properties are enhanced with increasing the concentration of Sb. The nonlinear refraction indices of these thin films are measured to be on the order of 10-18 m2/W with a positive sign and the nonlinear absorption coefficients are obtained to be on the order of 10-10 m/W. These excellent properties indicate that Sb-doped Ge-Se films have a good prospect in the applications of nonlinear optical devices. Project supported by the National Key Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB722703), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 61377061), the Young Leaders of Academic Climbing Project of the Education Department of Zhejiang Province, China (Grant No. pd2013092), the Program for Innovative Research Team of Ningbo City, China (Grant No. 2009B217), and the K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University, China.

Third order nonlinear optical properties of a paratellurite single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duclère, J.-R.; Hayakawa, T.; Roginskii, E. M.; Smirnov, M. B.; Mirgorodsky, A.; Couderc, V.; Masson, O.; Colas, M.; Noguera, O.; Rodriguez, V.; Thomas, P.

2018-05-01

The (a,b) plane angular dependence of the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility, χ(3) , of a c-cut paratellurite (α-TeO2) single crystal was quantitatively evaluated here by the Z-scan technique, using a Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser operated at 800 nm. In particular, the mean value Re( ⟨χ(3)⟩a,b )(α-TeO2) of the optical tensor has been extracted from such experiments via a direct comparison with the data collected for a fused silica reference glass plate. A R e (⟨χ(3)⟩(a,b )(α-TeO2)):R e (χ(3))(SiO2 glass) ratio roughly equal to 49.1 is found, and our result compares thus very favourably with the unique experimental value (a ratio of ˜50) reported by Kim et al. [J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 76, 2486 (1993)] for a pure TeO2 glass. In addition, it is shown that the angular dependence of the phase modulation within the (a,b) plane can be fully understood in the light of the strong dextro-rotatory power known for TeO2 materials. Taking into account the optical activity, some analytical model serving to estimate the diagonal and non-diagonal components of the third order nonlinear susceptibility tensor has been thus developed. Finally, Re( χxxxx(3) ) and Re( χxxyy(3) ) values of 95.1 ×10-22 m 2/V2 and 42.0 ×10-22 m2/V2 , respectively, are then deduced for a paratellurite single crystal, considering fused silica as a reference.

Enhanced optical limiting effect in fluorine-functionalized graphene oxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Fang; Wang, Zhengping; Wang, Duanliang; Wang, Shenglai; Xu, Xinguang

2017-09-01

Nonlinear optical absorption of fluorine-functionalized graphene oxide (F-GO) solution was researched by the open-aperture Z-scan method using 1064 and 532 nm lasers as the excitation sources. The F-GO dispersion exhibited strong optical limiting property and the fitted results demonstrated that the optical limiting behavior was the result of a two-photon absorption process. For F-GO nanosheets, the two-photon absorption coefficients at 1064 nm excitation are 20% larger than the values at 532 nm excitation and four times larger than that of pure GO nanosheets. It indicates that the doping of fluorine can effectively improve the nonlinear optical property of GO especially in infrared waveband, and fluorine-functionalized graphene oxide is an excellent nonlinear absorption material in infrared waveband.

Control of optical bistability and third-order nonlinearity via tunneling induced quantum interference in triangular quantum dot molecules

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tian, Si-Cong, E-mail: tiansicong@ciomp.ac.cn; Tong, Cun-Zhu, E-mail: tongcz@ciomp.ac.cn; Zhang, Jin-Long

The optical bistability of a triangular quantum dot molecules embedded inside a unidirectional ring cavity is studied. The type, the threshold and the hysteresis loop of the optical bistability curves can be modified by the tunneling parameters, as well as the probe laser field. The linear and nonlinear susceptibilities of the medium are also studied to interpret the corresponding results. The physical interpretation is that the tunneling can induce the quantum interference, which modifies the linear and the nonlinear response of the medium. As a consequence, the characteristics of the optical bistability are changed. The scheme proposed here can bemore » utilized for optimizing and controlling the optical switching process.« less

Single-shot measurement of nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction.

PubMed

Jayabalan, J; Singh, Asha; Oak, Shrikant M

2006-06-01

A single-shot method for measurement of nonlinear optical absorption and refraction is described and analyzed. A spatial intensity variation of an elliptical Gaussian beam in conjugation with an array detector is the key element of this method. The advantages of this single-shot technique were demonstrated by measuring the two-photon absorption and free-carrier absorption in GaAs as well as the nonlinear refractive index of CS2 using a modified optical Kerr setup.

NONLINEAR AND FIBER OPTICS: Influence of nonlinearity of the parameters of guided modes in fiber waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goncharenko, I. A.

1990-04-01

The shift formula method is used to obtain analytic expressions which provide estimates of the influence of nonlinearity on the parameters of fiber waveguide modes. Depending on the sign of the nonlinear susceptibility of the waveguide core, the nonlinearity can improve or impair (right down to complete loss) the waveguiding properties of fibers. The optical power at which a fiber loses its guiding properties is constant far from the cutoff, but rises steeply near the critical cutoff frequency. The nonlinearity can be used to vary the zero dispersion wavelength and the range of single-mode operation of a fiber waveguide.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Minissale, S.; Yerci, S.; Dal Negro, L.

We investigate the nonlinear optical properties of Si-rich silicon oxide (SRO) and Si-rich silicon nitride (SRN) samples as a function of silicon content, annealing temperature, and excitation wavelength. Using the Z-scan technique, we measure the non-linear refractive index n{sub 2} and the nonlinear absorption coefficient {beta} for a large number of samples fabricated by reactive co-sputtering. Moreover, we characterize the nonlinear optical parameters of SRN in the broad spectral region 1100-1500 nm and show the strongest nonlinearity at 1500 nm. These results demonstrate the potential of the SRN matrix for the engineering of compact devices with enhanced Kerr nonlinearities formore » silicon photonics applications.« less

A fiber-laser-pumped four-wavelength continuous-wave mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Peng; Shang, Yaping; Li, Xiao; Xu, Xiaojun

2017-10-01

In this paper, a four-wavelength continuous-wave mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator was demonstrated for the first time. The pump source was a home-built linearly polarized Yb-doped fiber laser and the maximum output power was 72.5 W. The pump source had three central wavelengths locating at 1060 nm, 1065 nm and 1080 nm. Four idler emissions with different wavelengths were generated which were 3132 nm, 3171 nm, 3310 nm and 3349 nm under the maximum pump power. The maximum idler output reached 8.7 W, indicating a 15% pump-to-idler slope efficiency. The signal wave generated in the experiment had two wavelengths which were 1595 nm and 1603 nm under the maximum pump power. It was analyzed that four nonlinear progresses occurred in the experiment, two of them being optical parametric oscillation and the rest two being intracavity difference frequency generation.

Tunable and Reconfigurable Optical Negative-Index Materials with Low Losses

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-21

to study metric signature transitions and the cosmological “Big Bang”. • A theory for basic nonlinear optical processes in NIMs and in double...h-MMs) can be used to study metric signature transitions and the cosmological “Big Bang”. • A theory for basic nonlinear optical processes in NIMs

Numerical calculation of nonlinear ultrashort laser pulse propagation in transparent Kerr media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Cord L.; Heisterkamp, Alexander; Ertmer, Wolfgang; Lubatschowski, Holger

2005-03-01

In the focal region of tightly focused ultrashort laser pulses, sufficient high intensities to initialize nonlinear ionization processes are easily achieved. Due to these nonlinear ionization processes, mainly multiphoton ionization and cascade ionization, free electrons are generated in the focus resulting in optical breakdown. A model including both nonlinear pulse propagation and plasma generation is used to calculate numerically the interaction of ultrashort pulses with their self-induced plasma in the vicinity of the focus. The model is based on a (3+1)-dimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equation describing the pulse propagation coupled to a system of rate equations covering the generation of free electrons. It is applicable to any transparent Kerr medium, whose linear and nonlinear optical parameters are known. Numerical calculations based on this model are used to understand nonlinear side effects, such as streak formation, occurring in addition to optical breakdown during short pulse refractive eye surgeries like fs-LASIK. Since the optical parameters of water are a good first-order approximation to those of corneal tissue, water is used as model substance. The free electron density distribution induced by focused ultrashort pulses as well as the pulses spatio-temporal behavior are studied in the low-power regime around the critical power for self-focusing.

Natural Silk as a Photonics Component: a Study on Its Light Guiding and Nonlinear Optical Properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kujala, Sami; Mannila, Anna; Karvonen, Lasse; Kieu, Khanh; Sun, Zhipei

2016-03-01

Silk fibers are expected to become a pathway to biocompatible and bioresorbable waveguides, which could be used to deliver localized optical power for various applications, e.g., optical therapy or imaging inside living tissue. Here, for the first time, the linear and nonlinear optical properties of natural silk fibers have been studied. The waveguiding properties of silk fibroin of largely unprocessed Bombyx mori silkworm silk are assessed using two complementary methods, and found to be on the average 2.8 dB mm-1. The waveguide losses of degummed silk are to a large extent due to scattering from debris on fiber surface and helical twisting of the fiber. Nonlinear optical microscopy reveals both configurational defects such as torsional twisting, and strong symmetry breaking at the center of the fiber, which provides potential for various nonlinear applications. Our results show that nonregenerated B. mori silk can be used for delivering optical power over short distances, when the waveguide needs to be biocompatible and bioresorbable, such as embedding the waveguide inside living tissue.

Combination of highly nonlinear fiber, an optical bandpass filter, and a Fabry-Perot filter to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of a supercontinuum continuous-wave optical source.

PubMed

Nan, Yinbo; Huo, Li; Lou, Caiyun

2005-05-20

We present a theoretical study of a supercontinuum (SC) continuous-wave (cw) optical source generation in highly nonlinear fiber and its noise properties through numerical simulations based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Fluctuations of pump pulses generate substructures between the longitudinal modes that result in the generation of white noise and then in degradation of coherence and in a decrease of the modulation depths and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). A scheme for improvement of the SNR of a multiwavelength cw optical source based on a SC by use of the combination of a highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF), an optical bandpass filter, and a Fabry-Perot (FP) filter is presented. Numerical simulations show that the improvement in modulation depth is relative to the HNLF's length, the 3-dB bandwidth of the optical bandpass filter, and the reflection ratio of the FP filter and that the average improvement in modulation depth is 13.7 dB under specified conditions.

Optical Sidebands Multiplier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strekalov, Dmitry V.; Yu, Nan

2010-01-01

Optical sidebands have been generated with relative frequency tens to hundreds of GHz by using optical sidebands that are generated in a cascade process in high-quality optical resonators with Kerr nonlinearity, such as whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators. For this purpose, the WGM resonator needs to be optically pumped at two frequencies matching its resonances. These two optical components can be one or several free spectral ranges (FSRs), equal to approximately 12 GHz, in this example, apart from each other, and can be easily derived from a monochromatic pump with an ordinary EOM (electro-optic modulation) operating at half the FSR frequency. With sufficient nonlinearity, an optical cascade process will convert the two pump frequencies into a comb-like structure extending many FSRs around the carrier frequency. This has a demonstratively efficient frequency conversion of this type with only a few milliwatt optical pump power. The concept of using Kerr nonlinearity in a resonator for non-degenerate wave mixing has been discussed before, but it was a common belief that this was a weak process requiring very high peak powers to be observable. It was not thought possible for this approach to compete with electro-optical modulators in CW applications, especially those at lower optical powers. By using the high-Q WGM resonators, the effective Kerr nonlinearity can be made so high that, using even weak seeding bands available from a conventional EOM, one can effectively multiply the optical sidebands, extending them into an otherwise inaccessible frequency range.

Photoelectron transport tuning of self-assembled subbands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Zhengwei; Wang, Xinmin; Wu, Weidong; Wang, Xuemin; Peng, Liping; Zhao, Yan; Yan, Dawei; Jiang, Tao; Shen, Changle; Zhan, Zhiqiang; Cao, Linhong; Li, Weihua

2016-02-01

Conventionally, electrical transport of quantum subbands occurs at very high electric fields, indicating that the medium is easy to break down. In the experiments and practical applications, the extreme condition is difficult to satisfy. For quantum information transmission, low power consumption and convenient implementation are what we expect. In this paper, we engineered a special quantum dot array (QDA) embedded in a single crystal matrix. By external optical field excitation, we found a series of subbands made of the self-assembled QDA discretely located in the matrix. Changing the spacing between the quantum dots leads to the variation of subband spacing. Artificially manipulating the microcosmic QDA system can bring interesting macroscopic effects, such as an enhanced absorption intensity in the ultraviolet range, a blue-shift of the surface plasmon resonance peak and nonlinear absorption changed from two-photon absorption to saturated absorption. The intrinsic mechanism of the subband optical response was revealed due to the strong quantum confinement effect and dominant intraband transitions. The weak surface plasmon resonance absorption of Ni QDA gave an excellent figure of merit of the order of 10-10. The composite films are expectation enough to become a prime candidate for nonlinear applications near 532 nm. Therefore with interplay of the weak optical field and subbands, we achieved a tunable photoelectron transport process.Conventionally, electrical transport of quantum subbands occurs at very high electric fields, indicating that the medium is easy to break down. In the experiments and practical applications, the extreme condition is difficult to satisfy. For quantum information transmission, low power consumption and convenient implementation are what we expect. In this paper, we engineered a special quantum dot array (QDA) embedded in a single crystal matrix. By external optical field excitation, we found a series of subbands made of the self-assembled QDA discretely located in the matrix. Changing the spacing between the quantum dots leads to the variation of subband spacing. Artificially manipulating the microcosmic QDA system can bring interesting macroscopic effects, such as an enhanced absorption intensity in the ultraviolet range, a blue-shift of the surface plasmon resonance peak and nonlinear absorption changed from two-photon absorption to saturated absorption. The intrinsic mechanism of the subband optical response was revealed due to the strong quantum confinement effect and dominant intraband transitions. The weak surface plasmon resonance absorption of Ni QDA gave an excellent figure of merit of the order of 10-10. The composite films are expectation enough to become a prime candidate for nonlinear applications near 532 nm. Therefore with interplay of the weak optical field and subbands, we achieved a tunable photoelectron transport process. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Tables 1 and 2. See DOI: 10.1039/c5nr07861j

A Solution-Processed Ultrafast Optical Switch Based on a Nanostructured Epsilon-Near-Zero Medium.

PubMed

Guo, Qiangbing; Cui, Yudong; Yao, Yunhua; Ye, Yuting; Yang, Yue; Liu, Xueming; Zhang, Shian; Liu, Xiaofeng; Qiu, Jianrong; Hosono, Hideo

2017-07-01

All the optical properties of materials are derived from dielectric function. In spectral region where the dielectric permittivity approaches zero, known as epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) region, the propagating light within the material attains a very high phase velocity, and meanwhile the material exhibits strong optical nonlinearity. The interplay between the linear and nonlinear optical response in these materials thus offers unprecedented pathways for all-optical control and device design. Here the authors demonstrate ultrafast all-optical modulation based on a typical ENZ material of indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystals (NCs), accessed by a wet-chemistry route. In the ENZ region, the authors find that the optical response in these ITO NCs is associated with a strong nonlinear character, exhibiting sub-picosecond response time (corresponding to frequencies over 2 THz) and modulation depth up to ≈160%. This large optical nonlinearity benefits from the highly confined geometry in addition to the ENZ enhancement effect of the ITO NCs. Based on these ENZ NCs, the authors successfully demonstrate a fiber optical switch that allows switching of continuous laser wave into femtosecond laser pulses. Combined with facile processibility and tunable optical properties, these solution-processed ENZ NCs may offer a scalable and printable material solution for dynamic photonic and optoelectronic devices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Growth and characterization of new nonlinear optical 1-phenyl-3-(4-dimethylamino phenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (PDAC) single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ravindraswami, K.; Janardhana, K.; Gowda, Jayaprakash; Moolya, B. Narayana

2018-04-01

Non linear optical 1-phenyl-3-(4-dimethylamino phenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (PDAC) was synthesized using Claisen - Schmidt condensation method and studied for optical nonlinearity with an emphasis on structure-property relationship. The structural confirmation studies were carried out using 1H-NMR, FT-IR and single crystal XRD techniques. The nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction parameters in z-scan with nano second laser pulses were obtained by measuring the profile of propagated beam through the samples. The real and imaginary parts of third-order bulk susceptibility χ(3) were evaluated. Thermo gravimetric analysis is carried out to investigate the thermal stability.

Optical nonlinearity of D-A-π-D and D-A-π-A type of new chalcones for potential applications in optical limiting and density functional theory studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra Shekhara Shetty, T.; Chidan Kumar, C. S.; Gagan Patel, K. N.; Chia, Tze Shyang; Dharmaprakash, S. M.; Ramasami, Ponnadurai; Umar, Yunusa; Chandraju, Siddegowda; Quah, Ching Kheng

2017-09-01

Two new chalcones namely, (2E)-1-(3-fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one and (2E)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(3-fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one were synthesized and grown as single crystals by slow evaporation technique in methanol. The FTIR spectrum recorded confirms the presence of functional groups in these materials. The molecular conformation of the compounds was achieved by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The thermal stability of the crystals was determined from TGA/DSC curve. The third order optical nonlinearity of the chalcone compounds in DMF solution has been carried out using an Nd:YAG laser at 532 nm as the source of excitation. The nonlinear optical response was characterized by measuring the intensity dependent refractive index n2 of the medium using Z-scan technique. It is seen that the molecules exhibit a negative (defocusing) nonlinearity and large nonlinear refractive index of the order of -1.8 × 10-11 esu. The third-order nonlinearity of the studied chalcones is dominated by nonlinear refraction, which leads to strong optical limiting of laser. The result reveals that these two new chalcone molecules would be a promising material for optical limiting applications. In addition, the optimized molecular geometry, vibrational frequencies in gas, and the Molecular Electrostatic Potential (MEP) surface parameters of the two molecules were calculated using DFT/B3LYP method with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set in ground state. All the theoretical calculations were found in good agreement with experimental data.

Piezoelectric Field Enhanced Second-Order Nonlinear Optical Susceptibilities in Wurtzite GaN/AlGaN Quantum Wells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Ansheng; Chuang, S.-L.; Ning, C. Z.; Woo, Alex (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Second-order nonlinear optical processes including second-harmonic generation, optical rectification, and difference-frequency generation associated with intersubband transitions in wurtzite GaN/AlGaN quantum well (QW) are investigated theoretically. Taking into account the strain-induced piezoelectric (PZ) effects, we solve the electronic structure of the QW from coupled effective-mass Schrodinger equation and Poisson equation including the exchange-correlation effect under the local-density approximation. We show that the large PZ field in the QW breaks the symmetry of the confinement potential profile and leads to large second-order susceptibilities. We also show that the interband optical pump-induced electron-hole plasma results in an enhancement in the maximum value of the nonlinear coefficients and a redshift of the peak position in the nonlinear optical spectrum. By use of the difference-frequency generation, THz radiation can be generated from a GaN/Al(0.75)Ga(0.25)N with a pump laser of 1.55 micron.

Nonlinear optical effects in organic microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novikov, Vladimir B.; Mamonov, Evgeniy A.; Kopylov, Denis A.; Mitetelo, Nikolai V.; Venkatakrishnarao, D.; Narayana, YSLV; Chandrasekar, R.; Murzina, Tatiana V.

2017-05-01

Organic microstructures attract much attention due to their unique properties originating from the design of their shape and optical parameters. In this work we discuss the linear, second- and third-order nonlinear optical effects in arrays and in individual organic microstructures composed by self-assembling technique and formed randomly on top of a solid substrate. The structures under study consist of micro-spheres, -hemispheres or -frustums made of red laser dye and reveal an intense fluorescence (FL) in the visible spectral range. Importantly, that due to a high value of the refractive index and confined geometry, such micro-structures support the excitation of whispering gallery modes (WGM), which brings about strong and spectrally-selected light localization. We show that an amplification of the nonlinear optical effects is observed for these structures as compared to a homogeneous dye film of similar composition. The obtained data are in agreement with the results of the FDTD calculations performed for the structures of different dimensions. Perspectives of application of such type of organic nonlinear microresonators in optical devices are discussed.

Fabrication and Characterization of Thin Film Ion Implanted Composite Materials for Integrated Nonlinear Optical Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sarkisov, S.; Curley, M.; Williams, E. K.; Wilkosz, A.; Ila, D.; Poker, D. B.; Hensley, D. K.; Smith, C.; Banks, C.; Penn, B.;

Impressive nonlinear optical response exhibited by Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabira, K.; Saheeda, P.; Divyasree, M. C.; Jayalekshmi, S.

2017-12-01

In the present work, the nonlinear optical properties of free-standing films of Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite are investigated to assess their suitability as efficient optical limiters. The PVDF/RGO nanocomposite films are generated by mixing different concentrations of RGO as the filler, with PVDF, using solution casting method. The XRD and FTIR data of these nanocomposite films confirm the enhancement in the β phase of PVDF when RGO is added to PVDF, which is one of the prime factors, enhancing the nonlinear response of the nanocomposite. The open aperture and closed aperture Z-scan technique under nanosecond excitation (532 nm, 7 ns) is used to investigate the nonlinear optical characteristics of the PVDF/RGO nanocomposite films. These films are found to exhibit two photon absorption assisted optical non linearity in the nanosecond regime. The highlight of the present work is the observation of quite low values of the normalized transmittance and low optical limiting threshold power in free standing films of PVDF/RGO nanocomposite. These flexible, free-standing and stable nanocomposite films offer high application prospects in the design of efficient optical limiting devices of any desired size or shape.

Optical rogue waves and stimulated supercontinuum generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solli, Daniel R.; Ropers, Claus; Jalali, Bahram

2010-06-01

Nonlinear action is known for its ability to create unusual phenomena and unexpected events. Optical rogue waves-freak pulses of broadband light arising in nonlinear fiber-testify to the fact that optical nonlinearities are no less capable of generating anomalous events than those in other physical contexts. In this paper, we will review our work on optical rogue waves, an ultrafast phenomenon counterpart to the freak ocean waves known to roam the open oceans. We will discuss the experimental observation of these rare events in real time and the measurement of their heavytailed statistical properties-a probabilistic form known to appear in a wide variety of other complex systems from financial markets to genetics. The nonlinear Schrödinger equation predicts the existence of optical rogue waves, offering a means to study their origins with simulations. We will also discuss the type of initial conditions behind optical rogue waves. Because a subtle but specific fluctuation leads to extreme waves, the rogue wave instability can be harnessed to produce these events on demand. By exploiting this property, it is possible to produce a new type of optical switch as well as a supercontinuum source that operates in the long pulse regime but still achieves a stable, coherent output.

Optical properties of a scorpion (Centruroides limpidus)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullrich, Bruno; Duckworth, Robyn M.; Singh, Akhilesh K.; Barik, Puspendu; Mejía-Villanueva, Vicente O.; Garcia-Pérez, Alberto C.

2016-04-01

Scorpions, elusive by nature, tend to appear nocturnally and are usually not appreciated when encountered. The exoskeleton is capable of fluorescing allowing for their detection at night in order to prevent undesirable encounters. The specificity of their fluorescing suggests specialized optical features. However, despite the blue-green fluorescence, to the best of our knowledge, no further results have been published on the optical properties of scorpions. Their exoskeletal structure whose versatility provides them protection, camouflage, and flexibility has not been studied under laser excitation and monochromatic light. The experiments reveal the nonlinear optical properties, infrared photoluminescence, and photoconductivity of the epicuticle of scorpions, demonstrating that the scorpion’s outer-covering is a prototype of a semiconducting inherently integrated multifunctional polymeric film with appealing potential applications such as optical logics, photonic frequency converters, novel multiplexers handling electronic and photonic inputs, and lasers.

Multimodal nonlinear nanophotonics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kivshar, Yuri S.

2017-05-01

Nonlinear nanophotonics is a rapidly developing field of research with many potential applications for the design of nonlinear nanoantennas, light sources, nanolasers, and ultrafast miniature metadevices. A tight confinement of the local electromagnetic fields in resonant photonic nanostructures can boost nonlinear optical effects, thus offering versatile opportunities for the subwavelength control of light. To achieve the desired functionalities, it is essential to gain flexible control over the near- and far-field properties of nanostructures. To engineer nonlinear scattering from resonant nanoscale elements, both modal and multipolar control of the nonlinear response are widely exploited for enhancing the near-field interaction and optimizing the radiation directionality. Motivated by the recent progress of all-dielectric nanophotonics, where the electric and magnetic multipolar contributions may become comparable, here we review the advances in the recently emerged field of multipolar nonlinear nanophotonics, starting from earlier relevant studies of metallic and metal-dielectric structures supporting localized plasmonic resonances to then discussing the latest results for all-dielectric nanostructures driven by Mie-type multipolar resonances and optically induced magnetic response. These recent developments suggest intriguing opportunities for a design of nonlinear subwavelength light sources with reconfigurable radiation characteristics and engineering large effective optical nonlinearities at the nanoscale, which could have important implications for novel nonlinear photonic devices operating beyond the diffraction limit.

Minimal residual method provides optimal regularization parameter for diffuse optical tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagannath, Ravi Prasad K.; Yalavarthy, Phaneendra K.

2012-10-01

The inverse problem in the diffuse optical tomography is known to be nonlinear, ill-posed, and sometimes under-determined, requiring regularization to obtain meaningful results, with Tikhonov-type regularization being the most popular one. The choice of this regularization parameter dictates the reconstructed optical image quality and is typically chosen empirically or based on prior experience. An automated method for optimal selection of regularization parameter that is based on regularized minimal residual method (MRM) is proposed and is compared with the traditional generalized cross-validation method. The results obtained using numerical and gelatin phantom data indicate that the MRM-based method is capable of providing the optimal regularization parameter.

Minimal residual method provides optimal regularization parameter for diffuse optical tomography.

PubMed

Jagannath, Ravi Prasad K; Yalavarthy, Phaneendra K

2012-10-01

The inverse problem in the diffuse optical tomography is known to be nonlinear, ill-posed, and sometimes under-determined, requiring regularization to obtain meaningful results, with Tikhonov-type regularization being the most popular one. The choice of this regularization parameter dictates the reconstructed optical image quality and is typically chosen empirically or based on prior experience. An automated method for optimal selection of regularization parameter that is based on regularized minimal residual method (MRM) is proposed and is compared with the traditional generalized cross-validation method. The results obtained using numerical and gelatin phantom data indicate that the MRM-based method is capable of providing the optimal regularization parameter.

Contrast Enhancement of the LOASIS CPA Laser and Effects on Electron Beam Performance of LWFA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Toth, Csaba; Gonsalves, Anthony J.; Panasenko, Dmitriy

2009-01-22

A nonlinear optical pulse cleaning technique based on cross-polarized wave (XPW) generation filtering [1] has been implemented to improve laser pulse contrast, and consequently to control pre-ionization in laser-plasma accelerator experiments. Three orders of magnitude improvement in pre-pulse contrast has been achieved, resulting in 4-fold increase in electron charge and improved stability of both the electron beam energy and THz radiation generated as a secondary process in the gas-jet-based LWFA experiments.

Analysis of second order harmonic distortion due to transmitter non-linearity and chromatic and modal dispersion of optical OFDM SSB modulated signals in SMF-MMF fiber links

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patel, Dhananjay; Singh, Vinay Kumar; Dalal, U. D.

2017-01-01

Single mode fibers (SMF) are typically used in Wide Area Networks (WAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and also find applications in Radio over Fiber (RoF) architectures supporting data transmission in Fiber to the Home (FTTH), Remote Antenna Units (RAUs), in-building networks etc. Multi-mode fibers (MMFs) with low cost, ease of installation and low maintenance are predominantly (85-90%) deployed in-building networks providing data access in local area networks (LANs). The transmission of millimeter wave signals through the SMF in WAN and MAN, along with the reuse of MMF in-building networks will not levy fiber reinstallation cost. The transmission of the millimeter waves experiences signal impairments due to the transmitter non-linearity and modal dispersion of the MMF. The MMF exhibiting large modal dispersion limits the bandwidth-length product of the fiber. The second and higher-order harmonics present in the optical signal fall within the system bandwidth. This causes degradation in the received signal and an unwanted radiation of power at the RAU. The power of these harmonics is proportional to the non-linearity of the transmitter and the modal dispersion of the MMF and should be maintained below the standard values as per the international norms. In this paper, a mathematical model is developed for Second-order Harmonic Distortion (HD2) generated due to non-linearity of the transmitter and chromatic-modal dispersion of the SMF-MMF optic link. This is also verified using a software simulation. The model consists of a Mach Zehnder Modulator (MZM) that generates two m-QAM OFDM Single Sideband (SSB) signals based on phase shift of the hybrid coupler (90° and 120°). Our results show that the SSB signal with 120° hybrid coupler has suppresses the higher-order harmonics and makes the system more robust against the HD2 in the SMF-MMF optic link.

Nonlinear Light Dynamics in Multi-Core Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-27

be generated in continuous- discrete optical media such as multi-core optical fiber or waveguide arrays; localisation dynamics in a continuous... discrete nonlinear system. Detailed theoretical analysis is presented of the existence and stability of the discrete -continuous light bullets using a very...and pulse compression using wave collapse (self-focusing) energy localisation dynamics in a continuous- discrete nonlinear system, as implemented in a

ZnO-PVA nanocomposite films for low threshold optical limiting applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Viswanath, Varsha; Beenakumari, C.; Muneera, C. I.

Zinc oxide-PVA nanocomposite films were fabricated adopting a simple method based on solution-casting, incorporating small weight percentages (<1.2 wt%) of ZnO in PVA (∼0.625×10{sup −3}M to 7×10{sup −3}M), and their structure, morphology, linear and low threshold nonlinear optical properties were investigated. The films were characterized as nanostructured ZnO encapsulated between the molecules/chains of the semicrystalline host polymer PVA. The samples exhibited low threshold nonlinear absorption and negative nonlinear refraction, as studied using the Z-scan technique. A switchover from SA to RSA was observed as the concentration of ZnO was increased. The optical limiting of 632.8 nm CW laser light displayedmore » by these nanocomposite films is also demonstrated. The estimated values of the effective coefficients of nonlinear absorption, nonlinear refraction and third-order nonlinear susceptibility, |χ{sup (3)}|, compared to those reported for continuous wave laser light excitation, measure up to the highest among them. The results show that the ZnO-PVA nanocomposite films have great potential applications in future optical and photonic devices.« less

Crystal growth, piezoelectric, non-linear optical and mechanical properties of lithium hydrogen oxalate monohydrate single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandran, Senthilkumar; Paulraj, Rajesh; Ramasamy, P.

2017-05-01

Semi-organic lithium hydrogen oxalate monohydrate non-linear optical single crystals have been grown by slow evaporation solution growth technique at 35 °C. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study showed that the grown crystal belongs to the triclinic system with space group P1. The mechanical strength decreases with increasing load. The piezoelectric coefficient is found to be 1.41 pC/N. The nonlinear optical property was measured using Kurtz Perry powder technique and SHG efficiency was almost equal to that of KDP.

Photonic nonlinearities via quantum Zeno blockade.

PubMed

Sun, Yu-Zhu; Huang, Yu-Ping; Kumar, Prem

2013-05-31

Realizing optical-nonlinear effects at a single-photon level is a highly desirable but also extremely challenging task, because of both fundamental and practical difficulties. We present an avenue to surmounting these difficulties by exploiting quantum Zeno blockade in nonlinear optical systems. Considering specifically a lithium-niobate microresonator, we find that a deterministic phase gate can be realized between single photons with near-unity fidelity. Supported by established techniques for fabricating and operating such devices, our approach can provide an enabling tool for all-optical applications in both classical and quantum domains.

Exact optical solitons in (n + 1)-dimensions with anti-cubic nonlinearity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Younis, Muhammad; Shahid, Iram; Anbreen, Sumaira; Rizvi, Syed Tahir Raza

2018-02-01

The paper studies the propagation of optical solitons in (n + 1)-dimensions under anti-cubic law of nonlinearity. The bright, dark and singular optical solitons are extracted using the extended trial equation method. The constraint conditions, for the existence of these solitons, are also listed. Additionally, a couple of other solutions known as singular periodic and Jacobi elliptic solutions, fall out as a by-product of this scheme. The obtained results are new and reported first time in (n + 1)-dimensions with anti-cubic law of nonlinearity.

Z-scan and optical limiting properties of Hibiscus Sabdariffa dye

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diallo, A.; Zongo, S.; Mthunzi, P.; Rehman, S.; Alqaradawi, S. Y.; Soboyejo, W.; Maaza, M.

2014-12-01

The intensity-dependent refractive index n 2 and the nonlinear susceptibility χ (3) of Hibiscus Sabdariffa dye solutions in the nanosecond regime at 532 nm are reported. More presicely, the variation of n 2, β, and real and imaginary parts of χ (3) versus the natural dye extract concentration has been carried out by z-scan and optical limiting techniques. The third-order nonlinearity of the Hibiscus Sabdariffa dye solutions was found to be dominated by nonlinear refraction, which leads to strong optical limiting of laser.

Tunable optical limiting optofluidic device filled with graphene oxide dispersion in ethanol

PubMed Central

Fang, Chaolong; Dai, Bo; Hong, Ruijin; Tao, Chunxian; Wang, Qi; Wang, Xu; Zhang, Dawei; Zhuang, Songlin

2015-01-01

An optofluidic device with tunable optical limiting property is proposed and demonstrated. The optofluidic device is designed for adjusting the concentration of graphene oxide (GO) in the ethanol solution and fabricated by photolithography technique. By controlling the flow rate ratio of the injection, the concentration of GO can be precisely adjusted so that the optical nonlinearity can be changed. The nonlinear optical properties and dynamic excitation relaxation of the GO/ethanol solution are investigated by using Z-scan and pump-probe measurements in the femtosecond regime within the 1.5 μm telecom band. The GO/ethanol solution presents ultrafast recovery time. Besides, the optical limiting property is in proportion to the concentration of the solution. Thus, the threshold power and the saturated power of the optical limiting property can be simply and efficiently manipulated by controlling the flow rate ratio of the injection. Furthermore, the amplitude regeneration is demonstrated by employing the proposed optofluidic device. The signal quality of intensity-impaired femtosecond pulse is significantly improved. The optofluidic device is compact and has long interaction length of optical field and nonlinear material. Heat can be dissipated in the solution and nonlinear material is isolated from other optical components, efficiently avoiding thermal damage and mechanical damage. PMID:26477662

An Optical Trap for Relativistic Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ping

2002-11-01

Optical traps have achieved remarkable success recently in confining ultra-cold matter.Traps capable of confining ultra-hot matter, or plasma, have also been built for applications such as basic plasma research and thermonuclear fusion. For instance, low-density plasmas with temperature less than 1 keV have been confined with static magnetic fields in Malmberg-Penning traps. Low-density 10-50 keV plasmas are confined in magnetic mirrors and tokamaks. High density plasmas have been trapped in optical traps with kinetic energies up to 10 keV [J. L. Chaloupka and D. D. Meyerhofer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4538 (1999)]. We present the results of experiment, theory and numerical simulation on an optical trap capable of confining relativistic plasma. A stationary interference grating with submicron spacing is created when two high-power (terawatt) laser pulses of equal wavelength (1-micron) are focused from orthogonal directions to the same point in space and time in high density underdense plasma. Light pressure gradients bunch electrons into sheets located at the minima of the interference pattern. The density of the bunched electrons is found to be up to ten times the background density, which is orders-of-magnitude above that previously reported for other optical traps or plasma waves. The amplitudes and frequencies of multiple satellites in the scattered spectrum also indicate the presence of a highly nonlinear ion wave and an electron temperature about 100 keV. Energy transfer from the stronger beam to the weaker beam is also observed. Potential applications include a test-bed for detailed studies of relativistic nonlinear scattering, a positron source and an electrostatic wiggler. This research is also relevant to fast igniter fusion or ion acceleration experiments, in which laser pulses with intensities comparable to those used in the experiment may also potentially beat [Y. Sentoku, et al., Appl. Phys. B 74, 207215 (2002)]. The details of a specific application, the injection of electrons into laser-driven plasma waves, will also be presented. With crossed beams, the energy of a laser-accelerated electron beam is increased and its emittance is decreased compared with a single beam, potentially paving the way towards an all-optical monoenergetic electron injector.

Nonlinear compression of temporal solitons in an optical waveguide via inverse engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, Koushik; Sarma, Amarendra K.

2018-03-01

We propose a novel method based on the so-called shortcut-to-adiabatic passage techniques to achieve fast compression of temporal solitons in a nonlinear waveguide. We demonstrate that soliton compression could be achieved, in principle, at an arbitrarily small distance by inverse-engineering the pulse width and the nonlinearity of the medium. The proposed scheme could possibly be exploited for various short-distance communication protocols and may be even in nonlinear guided wave-optics devices and generation of ultrashort soliton pulses.

Bubble and Drop Nonlinear Dynamics (BDND)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trinh, E. H.; Leal, L. Gary; Thomas, D. A.; Crouch, R. K.

1998-01-01

Free drops and bubbles are weakly nonlinear mechanical systems that are relatively simple to characterize experimentally in 1-G as well as in microgravity. The understanding of the details of their motion contributes to the fundamental study of nonlinear phenomena and to the measurement of the thermophysical properties of freely levitated melts. The goal of this Glovebox-based experimental investigation is the low-gravity assessment of the capabilities of a modular apparatus based on ultrasonic resonators and on the pseudo- extinction optical method. The required experimental task is the accurate measurements of the large-amplitude dynamics of free drops and bubbles in the absence of large biasing influences such as gravity and levitation fields. A single-axis levitator used for the positioning of drops in air, and an ultrasonic water-filled resonator for the trapping of air bubbles have been evaluated in low-gravity and in 1-G. The basic feasibility of drop positioning and shape oscillations measurements has been verified by using a laptop-interfaced automated data acquisition and the optical extinction technique. The major purpose of the investigation was to identify the salient technical issues associated with the development of a full-scale Microgravity experiment on single drop and bubble dynamics.

Bright-type and dark-type vector solitons of the (2 + 1)-dimensional spatially modulated quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation in nonlinear optics and Bose-Einstein condensate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Hong-Yu; Jiang, Li-Hong

2018-03-01

We study a (2 + 1) -dimensional N -coupled quintic nonlinear Schrödinger equation with spatially modulated nonlinearity and transverse modulation in nonlinear optics and Bose-Einstein condensate, and obtain bright-type and dark-type vector multipole as well as vortex soliton solutions. When the modulation depth q is fixed as 0 and 1, we can construct vector multipole and vortex solitons, respectively. Based on these solutions, we investigate the form and phase characteristics of vector multipole and vortex solitons.

Fast and accurate modeling of nonlinear pulse propagation in graded-index multimode fibers.

PubMed

Conforti, Matteo; Mas Arabi, Carlos; Mussot, Arnaud; Kudlinski, Alexandre

2017-10-01

We develop a model for the description of nonlinear pulse propagation in multimode optical fibers with a parabolic refractive index profile. It consists of a 1+1D generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a periodic nonlinear coefficient, which can be solved in an extremely fast and efficient way. The model is able to quantitatively reproduce recently observed phenomena like geometric parametric instability and broadband dispersive wave emission. We envisage that our equation will represent a valuable tool for the study of spatiotemporal nonlinear dynamics in the growing field of multimode fiber optics.

Optical nonlinearities of excitonic states in atomically thin 2D transition metal dichalcogenides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Soh, Daniel Beom Soo

We calculated the optical nonlinearities of the atomically thin monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide material (particularly MoS 2), particularly for those linear and nonlinear transition processes that utilize the bound exciton states. We adopted the bound and the unbound exciton states as the basis for the Hilbert space, and derived all the dynamical density matrices that provides the induced current density, from which the nonlinear susceptibilities can be drawn order-by-order via perturbative calculations. We provide the nonlinear susceptibilities for the linear, the second-harmonic, the third-harmonic, and the kerr-type two-photon processes.

Two-pulse control of Raman scattering in liquid methanol: The dominance of classical nonlinear optical effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spanner, Michael; Brumer, Paul

2006-02-01

Experimental results on adaptive feedback control of transient (i.e., nonimpulsive) Stokes emission in liquid methanol [Pearson and Bucksbaum, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 243003 (2004)] are analyzed. In the experiment, a pump pulse comprising two frequency-shifted Gaussian pulses was used to control the ratio of two Stokes emission lines by varying the relative phase ϕL between the pulses. Extending the theory of stimulated Raman scattering to accommodate two coupled levels, we show that control of this type is possible, in the strongly driven regime, using Raman coupling alone. Control via variation of ϕL is shown to also result from self- and cross-phase-modulation of the pump and Stokes pulses as well as via the focused-beam geometry of the pump pulse. In all cases, the general control mechanism is nonlinear optical modulation between the pump and the Stokes pulse; no coherent quantum interference effects are involved. Finally, although the vibrational populations are affected by the same control mechanisms that affect the Stokes spectra, the ratio of the Stokes spectra peak heights does not directly reflect the ratio of the level populations, as was assumed in the experiment.

Research on tunable multiwavelength fiber lasers with two-section birefringence fibers and a nonlinear optical loop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jiao; Tong, Zhengrong; Zhang, Weihua; Xue, Lifang; Pan, Honggang

2018-05-01

Two types of tunable multiwavelength fiber lasers based on two-section polarization maintaining fibers (PMFs) cascaded/in parallel and nonlinear optical loop are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. Two-section cascaded PMFs and two polarization controllers (PCs) form the two-stage Lyot filter, which can generate comb spectrum to achieve multiwavelength output. When two sections of PMFs are in parallel, PCs in two paths are adjusted to change the beam’s polarization to suppress the light of one branch, and then the light of the other branch passes through the cavity. Additionally, a nonlinear optical loop acts as an intensity-dependent component, which can suppress the mode competition to maintain a stable output of multiwavelength lasing. The nonlinear optical loop is made by a 3 dB coupler, a PC3, and a 200 m high nonlinear fiber. Two types of tunable multiwavelength fiber lasers can achieve tuning of the channel space and the number of lasing wavelengths by adjusting PC1 and PC2. The channel space of the multiwavelengh laser can be tuned at nearly 0.4, 0.68, and 0.92 nm. Meanwhile, the spectral range of multiwavelength lasing can be controlled by PC3 in the nonlinear optical loop, and the tuning range of two multiwavelength lasers is about 2.28 and 1.45 nm, respectively.

Efficient, nonlinear phase estimation with the nonmodulated pyramid wavefront sensor.

PubMed

Frazin, Richard A

2018-04-01

The sensitivity of the pyramid wavefront sensor (PyWFS) has made it a popular choice for astronomical adaptive optics (AAO) systems. The PyWFS is at its most sensitive when it is used without modulation of the input beam. In nonmodulated mode, the device is highly nonlinear. Hence, all PyWFS implementations on current AAO systems employ modulation to make the device more linear. The upcoming era of 30-m class telescopes and the demand for ultra-precise wavefront control stemming from science objectives that include direct imaging of exoplanets make using the PyWFS without modulation desirable. This article argues that nonlinear estimation based on Newton's method for nonlinear optimization can be useful for mitigating the effects of nonlinearity in the nonmodulated PyWFS. The proposed approach requires all optical modeling to be pre-computed, which has the advantage of avoiding real-time simulations of beam propagation. Further, the required real-time calculations are amenable to massively parallel computation. Numerical experiments simulate a PyWFS with faces sloped 3.7° to the horizontal, operating at a wavelength of 0.85 μm, and with an index of refraction of 1.45. A singular value analysis shows that the common practice of calculating two "slope" images from the four PyWFS pupil images discards critical information and is unsuitable for the nonmodulated PyWFS simulated here. Instead, this article advocates estimators that use the raw pixel values not only from the four geometrical images of the pupil, but from surrounding pixels as well. The simulations indicate that nonlinear estimation can be effective when the Strehl ratio of the input beam is greater than 0.3, and the improvement relative to linear estimation tends to increase at larger Strehl ratios. At Strehl ratios less than about 0.5, the performances of both the nonlinear and linear estimators are relatively insensitive to noise since they are dominated by nonlinearity error.

Four-plate piezoelectric actuator driving a large-diameter special optical fiber for nonlinear optical microendoscopy.

PubMed

Wang, Ying; Li, Zhi; Liang, Xiaobao; Fu, Ling

2016-08-22

In nonlinear optical microendoscope (NOME), a fiber with excellent optical characteristics and a miniature scanning mechanism at the distal end are two key components. Double-clad fibers (DCFs) and double-clad photonic crystal fibers (DCPCFs) have shown great optical characteristics but limited vibration amplitude due to large diameter. Besides reducing the damping of fiber cantilever, optimizing the structural of the actuator for lower energy dissipation also contributes to better driving capability. This paper presented an optimized actuator for driving a particular fiber cantilever in the view point of energy. Firstly, deformation energy of a bending fiber cantilever operating in resonant mode is investigated. Secondly, strain and stress analyses revealed that the four-plate actuator achieved lower energy dissipation. Then, finite-element simulations showed that the large-diameter fiber yielded an adequate vibration amplitude driven by a four-plate actuator, which was confirmed by experiments of our home-made four-plate actuator prototypes. Additionally, a NOME based on a DCPCF with a diameter of 350 μm driven by four-plate piezoelectric actuator has been developed. The NOME can excite and collect intrinsic second-harmonic and two-photon fluorescence signals with the excitation power of 10-30 mW and an adequate field of view of 200 μm, which suggest great potential applications in neuroscience and clinical diagnoses.

Nonlinear Optical Interactions in Plasmas at JILA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dollar, F.; Hickstein, D. D.; Popmintchev, D.; Becker, A.; Ellis, J.; Hernandez-Garcia, C.; Jaron-Becker, A.; Popmintchev, T.; Xiong, W.; Murnane, M. M.; Kapteyn, H. C.; Dukovic, G.; Jimenez, J.; Palm, B.; Schnitzenbaumer, K.; Perez-Hernandez, J.; Gaeta, A.; Gao, X.; Shim, B.; Plaja, L.; Levis, R.; Tarazkar, M.; Foord, M. E.; Gaffney, J. A.; Libby, S. B.

2014-10-01

We present data from two recent experiments. First, we demonstrate direct observations of localized light absorption in a single nanoparticle irradiated by a strong femtosecond laser field. By imaging the photoion momentum distribution resulting from plasma formation in a laser-irradiated nanostructure, we map the spatial location of the highly localized plasma and thereby image the nanoscale light absorption. Secondly, we show the high linear and nonlinear UV refractive indices of both neutral atoms and ions compensate for plasma dispersion, even in multiply-ionized gases. The experimental work was primarily funded by DOE Grant Number: DE-SC0008803, the DARPA PULSE program, and ARO W911NF-12-1-0436.

Observations of z-dependent microbunching harmonic intensities using COTR in a SASE FEL.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lumpkin, A. H.; Biedron, S. G.; Dejus, R. J.

The nonlinear generation of harmonics in a self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) free-electron laser (FEL) continues to be of interest. Complementary to such studies is the search for information on the electron beam microbunching harmonic components, which are revealed by coherent optical transition radiation (COTR) experiments. An initial z-dependent set of data has been obtained with the fundamental at 530 nm and the second harmonic at 265 nm. The latter data were collected after every other undulator in a nine-undulator string. These results are compared to estimates based on GINGER and an analytical model for nonlinear harmonic generation.

Selectively Plasmon-Enhanced Second-Harmonic Generation from Monolayer Tungsten Diselenide on Flexible Substrates.

PubMed

Wang, Zhuo; Dong, Zhaogang; Zhu, Hai; Jin, Lei; Chiu, Ming-Hui; Li, Lain-Jong; Xu, Qing-Hua; Eda, Goki; Maier, Stefan A; Wee, Andrew T S; Qiu, Cheng-Wei; Yang, Joel K W

2018-02-27

Monolayer two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) exhibit promising characteristics in miniaturized nonlinear optical frequency converters, due to their inversion asymmetry and large second-order nonlinear susceptibility. However, these materials usually have very short light interaction lengths with the pump laser because they are atomically thin, such that second-harmonic generation (SHG) is generally inefficient. In this paper, we fabricate a judiciously structured 150 nm-thick planar surface consisting of monolayer tungsten diselenide and sub-20 nm-wide gold trenches on flexible substrates, reporting ∼7000-fold SHG enhancement without peak broadening or background in the spectra as compared to WSe 2 on as-grown sapphire substrates. Our proof-of-concept experiment yields effective second-order nonlinear susceptibility of 2.1 × 10 4 pm/V. Three orders of magnitude enhancement is maintained with pump wavelength ranging from 800 to 900 nm, breaking the limitation of narrow pump wavelength range for cavity-enhanced SHG. In addition, SHG amplitude can be dynamically controlled via selective excitation of the lateral gap plasmon by rotating the laser polarization. Such a fully open, flat, and ultrathin profile enables a great variety of functional samples with high SHG from one patterned silicon substrate, favoring scalable production of nonlinear converters. The surface accessibility also enables integration with other optical components for information processing in an ultrathin and flexible form.

Investigation on nonlinear optical properties of MoS2 nanoflake, grown on silicon and quartz substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bayesteh, S.; Mortazavi, S. Z.; Reyhani, A.

2018-03-01

In this study, MoS2 was directly synthesized by one-step thermal chemical vapour deposition (TCVD), on different substrates including Si/SiO2 and quartz, using MoO3 and sulfide powders as precursor. The XRD patterns demonstrate the high crystallinity of MoS2 on Si/SiO2 and quartz substrates. SEM confirmed the formation of MoS2 grown on both substrates. According to line width and frequency difference between the E1 2g and A1g in Raman spectroscopy, it is inferred that the MoS2 grown on Si/SiO2 substrate is monolayer and the MoS2 grown on quartz substrate is multilayer. Moreover, by assessment of MoS2 nanoflake band gap via UV-visible analysis, it verified the formation of few layer structures. In addition, the open-aperture and close-aperture Z-scan techniques were employed to study the nonlinear optical properties including nonlinear absorption and nonlinear refraction of the synthesized MoS2. All experiments were performed using a diode laser with a wavelength of 532 nm as light source. The monolayer MoS2 synthesized on Si/SiO2, display considerable two-photon absorption. However, the multilayer MoS2 synthesized on quartz displayed saturable absorption (SA). It is noticeable that both samples demonstrate obvious self-defocusing behaviour.

Polarization Control with Plasmonic Antenna Tips: A Universal Approach to Optical Nanocrystallography and Vector-Field Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Kyoung-Duck; Raschke, Markus B.

2018-05-01

Controlling the propagation and polarization vectors in linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy enables to probe the anisotropy of optical responses providing structural symmetry selective contrast in optical imaging. Here we present a novel tilted antenna-tip approach to control the optical vector-field by breaking the axial symmetry of the nano-probe in tip-enhanced near-field microscopy. This gives rise to a localized plasmonic antenna effect with significantly enhanced optical field vectors with control of both \\textit{in-plane} and \\textit{out-of-plane} components. We use the resulting vector-field specificity in the symmetry selective nonlinear optical response of second-harmonic generation (SHG) for a generalized approach to optical nano-crystallography and -imaging. In tip-enhanced SHG imaging of monolayer MoS$_2$ films and single-crystalline ferroelectric YMnO$_3$, we reveal nano-crystallographic details of domain boundaries and domain topology with enhanced sensitivity and nanoscale spatial resolution. The approach is applicable to any anisotropic linear and nonlinear optical response, and provides for optical nano-crystallographic imaging of molecular or quantum materials.

Nonlinear cavity optomechanics with nanomechanical thermal fluctuations

PubMed Central

Leijssen, Rick; La Gala, Giada R.; Freisem, Lars; Muhonen, Juha T.; Verhagen, Ewold

2017-01-01

Although the interaction between light and motion in cavity optomechanical systems is inherently nonlinear, experimental demonstrations to date have allowed a linearized description in all except highly driven cases. Here, we demonstrate a nanoscale optomechanical system in which the interaction between light and motion is so large (single-photon cooperativity C0≈103) that thermal motion induces optical frequency fluctuations larger than the intrinsic optical linewidth. The system thereby operates in a fully nonlinear regime, which pronouncedly impacts the optical response, displacement measurement and radiation pressure backaction. Specifically, we measure an apparent optical linewidth that is dominated by thermo-mechanically induced frequency fluctuations over a wide temperature range, and show that in this regime thermal displacement measurements cannot be described by conventional analytical models. We perform a proof-of-concept demonstration of exploiting the nonlinearity to conduct sensitive quadratic readout of nanomechanical displacement. Finally, we explore how backaction in this regime affects the mechanical fluctuation spectra. PMID:28685755