Experimental analysis of phase conjugation properties of four-wave mixing in an SOA after probe broadening due to fibre dispersion

Experimental results are presented which analyze the phase conjugation properties of four-wave mixing signals generated due to the beating between probe pulses broadened by a length of fibre and narrow pump pulses. This results in four-wave mixing pulses significantly narrower than the injected probe pulses albeit with reduced phase conjugation properties, which are examined. The pulses are completely characterized using the second-harmonic generation frequency resolved optical gating technique. The probe pulse is initially broadened due to propagation through 40 m of dispersion compensating fibre. This causes the probe pulse to be much wider than the injected pump pulse, in contrast to previously reported results. The four-wave mixing signal is therefore both wavelength converted and compressed, due to the gating properties of four-wave mixing, with respect to the initial probe signal. The phase conjugation properties of the converted signal are discussed and this signal is then passed through a second length of dispersion compensating fibre in order to further compress the pulse and to examine in more detail the phase conjugation properties.     

Ultrafast nonlinear optical properties of Bi2O3-B2O3-SiO2 oxide glass

The ultrafast nonlinear optical properties of Bi₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂ oxide glass were investigated using a femtosecond optical Kerr shutter (OKS) at wavelength of 800 nm. The nonlinear response time of this Bi₂O₃-doped glass was measured to be <90 fs. The nonlinear refractive-index n₂ was estimated to be 1.6 × 10⁻¹⁴ cm²/W. Measurements for the dependence of Kerr signals on the polarization angle between the pump and probe beams showed that the Kerr signals induced by 30-fs pulse laser arose mainly from the photoinduced birefringence effect.     

Study of optical nonlinearity of functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes by using degenerate four wave mixing and Z-scan techniques

The phase conjugation geometry of degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) technique has been employed to study the third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility (χ³) and second-order hyperpolarizability of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). MWCNTs were grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition method and, subsequently functionalized with carboxylic acid group to improve their solubility in an organic solvent, ethylene glycol. The average hyperpolarizability for each carbon atom has been found to be 4.74 × 10⁻⁴⁶ m⁵/V² for the pump pulse of 8 ns at 532 nm. Decreasing the pulse width of the pump laser decreases the average value of hyperpolarizability. The absorption spectra show a monotonous increase from IR through visible and give an opportunity to estimate the imaginary part of the χ³ by the open aperture Z-scan technique.     

All optical switching in azo-polymer planar waveguide

In this paper all optical switching in planar methyl red doped poly (methyl methacrylate) (MR/PMMA) waveguide and the effects of different parameters on this process are presented. Switching was achieved by a 488 nm Ar ion laser (pump beam) on a 633 nm He-Ne laser (probe beam) when passed through the waveguide. The effect of temperature and pump intensity, polarization and chopping frequency on switching is investigated. The switching process is attributed to trans-cis-trans photoisomerization of azo dyes in the polymer host. By studying the absorption spectrum of the sample, it is shown that both pump and probe laser beams are effective on the switching process.     

Mechanism of phase conjugation via stimulated Brillouin scattering in narrow band gap semiconductors

We develop a theoretical model to study optical phase conjugation via stimulated Brillouin scattering (OPC-SBS) in narrow band gap transversely magnetized semiconductors. Threshold value of pump electric field and reflectivity of the image radiation for the onset of OPC-SBS are estimated. The analysis is applied to both cases viz. centrosymmetric (CS) and non-centrosymmetric (NCS) crystals. Numerical estimates made for n-type InSb crystal at liquid nitrogen temperature duly irradiated by nanosecond pulsed 10.6 μm CO₂ laser shows that high OPC-SBS reflectivity (90%) can be achieved in NCS crystals at moderate pump electric fields if the crystal is used as an optical waveguide with relatively large interaction length (L = 5 mm) which proves its potential in practical applications such as fabrication of phase conjugate mirrors.     

Measurement of nonlinear absorption coefficients in GaAs, InP and Si by an optical pump THz probe technique

An optical pump terahertz (THz) probe method for measuring carrier mobility and multiphoton absorption coefficients in semiconductors is demonstrated. A THz probe pulse is used to detect the transient photoconductivity generated by an optical pump pulse. The change in transmission coefficient at THz frequencies due to a pump pulse with photon energy greater than the band gap energy is used to determine the sum of electron and hole mobilities. The weak nonlinear absorption of a pump pulse with photon energy less than the band gap energy produces an approximately uniform free carrier distribution. The THz transmission coefficient vs. pump fluence, and the mobility, are used in a bulk photoconductivity model to determine the multiphoton absorption coefficients. For GaAs, InP and Si we find two photon absorption coefficients at 1305 nm of 42.5 ± 11, 70 ± 18 and 3.3 ± 0.9 cm/GW, respectively. For GaAs and InP we determine three photon absorption coefficients at 2144 nm of 0.19 ± 0.07 and 0.22 ± 0.08 cm³/GW².     

Measurement of two-photon absorption using the photo-thermal lens effect

We report on new schemes for pump-probe photo-thermal lens methods aimed for measuring the two-photon absorption coefficient of a given material. We show that by focusing a probe beam in the presence of a nearly collimated pump beam, we create a thermal lens which yields measurement of the two-photon absorption coefficient of nitrobenzene of (3.9 ± 0.3) 10⁻¹⁰ cm/W at 532 nm. We also show that when the pump field is focused in the presence of a nearly collimated probe beam the width of the z-scan signature of a two-photon absorption process is nearly one order of magnitude smaller than that of a one-photon process. We show experimental evidence of the effect obtained for nitrobenzene.     

Proposal for nonlinear refractive index measurement using spectral ratio in modulated OFRR dynamics

A novel method for measuring the nonlinear refractive index of an optical fiber using a spectral ratio between the modulation frequency and a harmonic component in a modulated optical fiber ring resonator (OFRR) is proposed. The spectral ratio between the modulation frequency and the 2nd-harmonics generated by phase-modulation through the OFRR is increased with increasing the input light power and has peaks above 5 W input power, however, the peaks was shifted to the lower input power below 1 W by averaging taken into account of the phase distribution. A experimental setup consisted of an OFRR system and an Ar-laser as a pump light source was used to determine the nonlinear refractive index of an optical fiber. In the experimental results, the peaks of the spectral ratio as a function of the input power was found out at 0.8 W and 0.45 W of the input power corresponding to the input source line at 488.0 nm and 514.5 nm, respectively. The profile was similar to that obtained by the simulation and the nonlinear refractive index of a optical fiber was determined as 1.0 × 10⁻²² m²/V² by a relationship between the input power giving the peak and the nonlinear refractive index.     

High-resolution spectroscopy using interleaved 100 GHz optical frequency comb scanned by phase modulator

A high-resolution spectroscopy technique is proposed with an optical phase modulator combined with an interleaved optical frequency comb. The optical phase modulator and a frequency-locked laser light guarantee a spectral resolution less than 1 MHz on an absolute frequency axis. A wide measurement frequency range was realized using a 25 GHz optical frequency comb lying over a 4 THz frequency region. An extraction of single tooth intensity from the comb was realized by a heterodyne technique with a frequency-tunable laser used as a local oscillator. Also, the 25 GHz optical frequency comb was interleaved to generate four 100-GHz combs for removing the crosstalk from the 25 GHz neighboring sidebands in the teeth. This proposed spectroscopy technique was experimentally demonstrated with a resonator of less than 1 MHz linewidth and a H¹³C¹⁴N gas cell. Thus, a measurement frequency range higher than 4 THz (1530 nm-1560 nm) was confirmed with an effective spectral resolution 100 kHz order. In addition, the characteristics of the proposed system were compared with those of the previous system with a single-sideband (SSB) optical modulator.     

用双光源相位共轭型非相干光时间延迟简并四波混频测量超快速过程

本文提出用双光源相位共轭型非相干光时间延迟简并四波混频测量失相时间和布居弛豫时间的理论,并对其应用进行了讨论.     

Time resolved magnetic ordering and photo-induced gyrotropy at room temperature in CdMgTe-CdMnTe semiconductor micro-cavities

Using a picosecond pump and probe time-resolved technique we evidence a single pump pulse photo-induced magnetic ordering in a Mn-doped semiconductor magneto-photonic microcavity operating in the strong coupling regime at room temperature. This nanosecond duration magnetization is attributed to a magnetic ordering of the Mn-impurities mediated through photo-generated holes and enhanced through the confinement. It is distinct from the preceding short lived photo-induced spin orientation of carriers also evidenced by our technique for circularly polarized pump beams. The photo-generated magnetic flux density amounts to a 1 kG for beam fluences of few tens μJ cm⁻² and effective Mn concentrations of 5 nm⁻³; large photo-induced magneto-optic Kerr rotations are also evidenced.     

向列型液晶中简并四波混频相位共轭的理论研究

研究向列型液晶中由光致分子重取向引起的简并四波混频光学相位共轭现象,着重讨论液晶薄膜厚度d、探测光与一泵浦光之间的夹角θ_ω以及光的入射面和液晶指向矢之间的夹角β对相位共轭光产生效率的影响.     

Photoinduced second-order optical susceptibilities of Er2O3 doped TeO2-GeO2-PbO glasses

Second-order optical susceptibilities were established in the optically poled erbium doped tellurite glasses near the melting temperature. The non-linear optical susceptibility was formed by bicolor coherent optical treatment performed by two coherent laser beams originated from 50 ps Nd-YAG laser (λ = 1.32 μm) exciting the high pressure hydrogen laser cell emitting at 1907 nm. The non-centrosymmetric grating of the medium was created by coherent superposition of the fundamental laser illumination at 1907 nm and the doubled frequency one at 953.5 nm. The maximally all-optically poled SHG occurs for 2% doped Er₂O₃ (in weighting units) TeO₂-GeO₂-PbO glass. It was found that the photoinduced SHG demonstrates a saturation during the photo-treatment of 9-10 min using the two beams polarized at angle about 45° between them. During the coherent bicolor optical treatment it was achieved the value of second-order susceptibility up to 3.6 pm/V at 1907 nm. The optimal ratio between the fundamental beam with power density about 1.1 GW/cm² and writing doubled frequency seeding beam about 0.015 GW/cm² corresponds to the maximal of photoinduced SHG. For glasses with lower concentration of Er₂O₃, the relaxation of the second-order optical susceptibility is substantially longer and achieves SHG value that corresponds to 80% of the maximal ones. It is necessary to emphasize that efficient optically-poled grating exists only within the narrow temperature range near the glassing temperature. Possible physical mechanisms of the phenomenon observed are discussed. Generally the used glasses possess better parameters than early investigated germinate glasses.     

Experimental constraints of using slow-light in sodium vapor for light-drag enhanced relative rotation sensing

We report on experimental observation of electromagnetically induced transparency and slow-light (v_g ≈ c/607) in atomic sodium vapor, as a potential medium for a recently proposed experiment on slow-light enhanced relative rotation sensing [Shahriar et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. (submitted for publication), http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0505192.]. We have performed an interferometric measurement of the index variation associated with a two-photon resonance to estimate the dispersion characteristics of the medium that are relevant to the slow-light based rotation sensing scheme. We also show that the presence of counter-propagating pump beams in an optical Sagnac loop produces a backward optical phase conjugation beam that can generate spurious signals, which may complicate the measurement of small rotations in the slow-light enhanced gyroscope. We identify techniques for overcoming this constraint. Conclusions reached from the results presented here will pave the way for designing and carrying out an experiment that will demonstrate the slow-light induced enhancement of rotation sensing.     

Atomic and molecular spectroscopy with a continuous-wave, doubly resonant, monolithic optical parametric oscillator

Doppler-broadened atomic and molecular spectra were observed with a one octave tunable, continuous-wave, doubly resonant, monolithic optical parametric oscillator (OPO) using 5% MgO-doped LiNbO₃ as a non-linear crystal with a birefringent phase-matching configuration. By tuning the frequency of a pump laser, longitudinal mode selection over 20 successive modes, corresponding to a 60 GHz span, was possible, owing to the simple structure of the monolithic OPO. Continuous frequency tuning was achieved using an external waveguide-type electrooptic phase modulator (EOM). By changing the modulation frequency of the EOM, frequency tuning of the optical sidebands over 12 GHz was possible, which is larger than the one free spectral range of the monolithic cavity of 3 GHz. We could observe the Cs-D₁ (894 nm), Cs-D₂ (852 nm), Rb-D₁ (795 nm), acetylene R9 (1520 nm) and P9 (1530 nm) transitions with the single monolithic OPO.     

Generation of high average power 1 kHz shaped THz pulses via optical rectification

Generation of near single-cycle THz pulses from lithium niobate with 3.3 μJ energy, 3.3 mW average power, 1.2 THz central frequency and 4 MW peak power was demonstrated by tilting the intensity front of the pump pulses from a 1 kHz Ti:sapphire laser. THz pulse intensity as high as 200 MW/cm² was achieved. The energy conversion efficiency was 7 × 10⁻⁴. The capability of the present scheme to generate high energy shaped THz pulses was also demonstrated by using a sequence of optical pump pulses.     

Laser induced effects in PbO-Bi2O3-Ga2O3-BaO: Eu glasses

We have observed a several times enhancement of the optical second harmonic generation in newly synthesized Europium doped PbO-Bi₂O₃-Ga₂O₃-BaO glasses for the fundamental wavelength 1320 nm during optical treatment by coherent fundamental and doubled frequency beams with a pulse duration about 15 ns. We have found that the maximal optical second harmonic generation was achieved for the Eu content of about 1.4% at fundamental beam average power equal to about 3 GW/cm² , temperature of about 300 K and intensity ratio between the fundamental and doubled frequency beams of about 9. Frequency repetition of the optical pulses was equal to about 10 Hz. It was shown that doping by other rare earth ions, particularly by Dysprosium does not give a sufficient contribution to the effect.     

Observation of nonstationary effects in saturation spectroscopy

We have studied the nonstationary effects in saturated absorption spectroscopy of the ⁸⁷Rb D₂ line. Varying the size of the σ⁺ polarized pump laser beam, we observed saturated absorption spectra for the σ^± polarized probe beam. For equal polarizations of the pump and probe beams, we found that the resonance signal for the F_g = 1 → F_e = 2 line, and the crossover lines between F_g = 1 → F_e = 2 and F_g = 1 → F_e = 1 (and 0) lines increased to a greater extent than the others. This observation can be understood from the calculated time evolution of the populations of the ground-state sublevels by means of a rate equation model. We also compared experimental data for other conditions with the calculated results. We found good agreement between the calculated results and the data.     

Two-temperature relaxation and melting after absorption of femtosecond laser pulse

The theory and experiments concerned with the electron-ion thermal relaxation and melting of overheated crystal lattice constitute the subject of this paper. The physical model includes two-temperature (2T) equation of state, many-body interatomic potential, the electron-ion energy exchange, electron thermal conductivity, and optical properties of solid, liquid, and two phase solid-liquid mixture. Two-temperature hydrodynamics and molecular dynamics codes are used. An experimental setup with pump-probe technique is used to follow evolution of an irradiated target with a short time step 100 fs between the probe femtosecond laser pulses. Accuracy of measurements of reflection coefficient and phase of reflected probe light are 1% and ∼1 nm, respectively. It is found that, firstly, the electron-electron collisions make a minor contribution to a light absorption in solid Al at moderate intensities; secondly, the phase shift of a reflected probe results from heating of ion subsystem and kinetics of melting of Al crystal during  ps, where t is time delay between the pump and probe pulses measured from the maximum of the pump; thirdly, the optical response of Au to a pump shows a marked contrast to that of Al on account of excitation of d-electrons.