All-optical wavelength multicasting exploiting cross-phase modulation in a dispersion-flattened nonlinear photonic crystal fiber

An all-optical wavelength multicasting scheme with tunable output wavelength and channel numbers has been proposed and demonstrated based on cross-phase modulation (XPM) in a dispersion-flattened highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber. We show that the input signal wavelength can be simultaneously converted to four different wavelengths by filtering the broadened sideband of the continuous-wave (CW) probe beams. The experiments are carried out to investigate into the wavelength tunability, and exploit the dynamic characteristics with variable input signal powers, the ability of multicasting channels scalable, and the relationship between the multicasting signal qualities with variable optical band-pass filter (OBPF) bandwidth. The results indicate that the proposed wavelength multicasting scheme has the advantages of simple structure, efficient operation in a wide wavelength range, as well as transparent to bit rates. Moreover, the system can be upgraded to generate more multicasting channels by increasing the number of CW probe beams.     

All-optical NRZ-to-RZ format conversion with dual channel wavelength multicasting functions exploiting cross-phase modulation in a dispersion-flattened nonlinear photonic crystal fiber

All-optical single-to-dual channel format conversion from NRZ to RZ at 10 Gbit/s using cross phase modulation (XPM) in dispersion flattened highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (DF-HNL-PCF) is demonstrated. Format conversion with dual channels signal multicasting function is achieved by filtering simultaneously the blue- and red-chirped components of broadened optical spectrum induced by XPM between NRZ signal and clock light. Moreover, the wavelength tunability and dynamics characteristics of proposed format converter are also exploited experimentally by using NRZ signal light with different central wavelength and varying input power. Our results show that a wide wavelength operation range of 21.2 nm, extinction ratio (ER) and Q factor of over 10.9 dB and 6.1 are obtained. Furthermore, the influence of central wavelength offset of optical bandpass filter on converted RZ signal quality is investigated. The proposed scheme is simple, robust, and transparent to bit rate, which makes it very potential for application in future photonic networks.     

Supercontinuum generation from dispersion-flattened photonic crystal fiber using picosecond pulses

We present the all-fiber system for supercontiuum (SC) generation with picosecond pulses. By launching1.6-ps pulses from pulsed erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) into a section of photonic crystal fiber (PCF),the spectral broadening is observed. The bandwidth of 237 nm (at 20 dB level) is achieved.     

Design of highly nonlinear dispersion-flattened square photonic crystal fiber for medical applications

In this paper, we report the design of a highly nonlinear dispersion flattened high-index-core square photonic crystal fiber (PCF) for applications in optical coherence tomography (OCT). The finite-difference method with an anisotropic perfectly matched boundary layer is used as a numerical simulation tool. A set of optimized design parameters numerically resulted in a nonlinear coefficient of 79.9W⁻¹ km⁻¹ and a dispersion of −0:186 ps/(nm·km) at a wavelength of approximately 1.06 μm. Owing to its high nonlinear coefficient and flattened dispersion, the PCF is expected to be suitable for broadband supercontinuum generation, which is considered very important in OCT medical applications.     

Degenerate four-wave mixing based all-optical wavelength conversion in a semiconductor optical amplifier and highly-nonlinear photonic crystal fiber parametric loop mirror

The idler is separated from the co-propagating pump in a degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) with a symmetrical parametric loop mirror (PALM), which is composed of two identical SOAs and a 70 m highly-nonlinear photonic crystal fiber (HN-PCF). The signal and pump are coupled into the symmetrical PALM from different ports, respectively. After the DFWM based wavelength conversion (WC) in the clockwise and anticlockwise, the idler exits from the signal port, while the pump outputs from its input port. Therefore, the pump is effectively suppressed in the idler channel without a high-speed tunable filter. Contrast to a traditional PALM, the DFWM based conversion efficiency is increased greatly, and the functions of the amplification and the WC are integrated in the smart SOA and HN-PCF PALM.     

Combined nonlinear effects for UV to visible wavelength generation in a photonic crystal fiber

We experimentally study the combined nonlinear effects,including four-wave mixing,stimulated Raman scattering,soliton dynamics,and cross-phase modulation by coupling femtosecond pulses around 850 nm into the normal dispersion region near the zero-dispersion wavelength in the fundamental mode of a homemade silica photonic crystal fiber. The nonlinear optical dynamics at different stages are demonstrated,and the discrete ultraviolet(UV) to visible wavelengths widely separated from the pump wave are generated by the interaction of several nonlinear effects involved. The UV to visible wavelengths can be used as short pulse sources for multiphoton ionization,fluorescence spectroscopy,and biochemical imaging.     

Broadband wavelength converter based on four-wave mixing in a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber

We demonstrate a 10 Gbit/s nonreturn-to-zero wavelength converter based on four-wave mixing in a 20 m highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber. The tunable wavelength conversion bandwidth (3 dB) is about 100 nm. The conversion efficiency is -16 dB when the pump power is 22.5 dBm. Phase modulation was not used to suppress the stimulated Brillouin scattering; thus the linewidth of the converted wavelength remained very narrow. The eye diagrams show that there is no additional noise during wavelength conversion. The measured power penalty at a 10(-9) bit-error-rate level is about 0.7 dB.     

Optomechanical wavelength and energy conversion in high- double-layer cavities of photonic crystal slabs

We demonstrate that ultrasmall double-layer photonic-crystal-slab cavities exhibit a very high-Q value for a wide range of the layer spacing, which enables us to realize unique optomechanical coupling. By mechanically varying the separation, we can achieve extraordinarily large wavelength conversion. In addition, the light stored in the cavity can generate a large radiation force. We show that this system exhibits extremely high energy conversion efficiency between optical and mechanical energy, leading to a novel approach for the optomechanical control of light and matter.     

Ultrahigh efficiency laser wavelength conversion in a gas-filled hollow core photonic crystal fiber by pure stimulated rotational Raman scattering in molecular hydrogen

We report on the generation of pure rotational stimulated Raman scattering in a hydrogen gas hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. Using the special properties of this low-loss fiber, the normally dominant vibrational stimulated Raman scattering is suppressed, permitting pure conversion to the rotational Stokes frequency in a single-pass configuration pumped by a microchip laser. We report 92% quantum conversion efficiency (40 nJ pulses in 2.9 m fiber) and threshold energies (3 nJ in 35 m) more than 1 x 10(6) times lower than previously reported. The control of the output spectral components by varying only the pump polarization is also shown. The results point to a new generation of highly engineerable and compact laser sources.     

Measurement of the wavelength dependence of beam divergence for photonic crystal fiber

We report measurements of the wavelength dependence of beam divergence for single-mode photonic crystal fiber. These measurements confirm predictions of strongly wavelength-dependent beam divergence, consistent with the effective-index model for the photonic crystal cladding material.