Enhanced photoinduced chi((2)) in gamma-ray-irradiated bulk glass

Gamma-ray-irradiated light-flint silicate bulk glass (Schott Glass LF5), which contains a large amount of lead oxide, displays enhanced photoinduced quasi-phase-matched second-harmonic generation (PSHG), whereas nonirradiated glass under the same experimental conditions does not generate this nonlinear effect. The dependence of the efficiency of PSHG on the amount of gamma radiation (up to 530 krad) is experimentally studied, as is the role of thermal recovery (bleaching) of the color centers as a result of seeding with the second harmonic. The effect of long-term fading is studied with a sample that was irradiated 8 years ago. Gamma irradiation of boron-crown silicate glass (BK7) does not show this enhancement.     

Phase matching in nonlinear chi((2)) photonic crystals

We analyze harmonic generation in a two-dimensional (2D) chi((2)) photonic crystal and demonstrate the possibility of multiple phase matching and multicolor parametric frequency conversion. We suggest a new type of photonic structure to achieve simultaneous generation of several harmonics; we also present both general analytical results and design parameters for 2D periodically poled LiNbO(3) structures.     

High-energy pulse compression by use of negative phase shifts produced by the cascade chi((2)):chi((2)) nonlinearity

We report a simple optical pulse-compression technique based on quadratic nonlinear media. Negative nonlinear phase shifts are generated by phase-mismatched second-harmonic generation, and the phase-modulated pulses are then compressed by propagation through materials with normal dispersion. Millijoule-energy pulses from a Ti:sapphire amplifier are compressed from 120 to 30 fs, and calculations indicate that compression ratios of >10 are realistically achievable by use of this approach with optimal materials. The insertion loss of the compressor can be less than 10% of the pulse energy, and scaling to higher pulse energies will be straightforward.     

Retiming of picosecond pulses by a cascaded second-order nonlinear process in quasi-phase-matched LiNbO3 waveguides

A new technique for reducing timing jitter by using a cascaded second-order nonlinear process in quasi-phase-matched (QPM) LiNbO3 waveguides is proposed. It was found that the timing jitter of a signal at QPM wavelength is not transferred to the converted pulses during cascading in a 30-mm-long LiNbO3 QPM waveguide. Timing-jitter transfer characteristics in QPM LiNbO3 waveguides are evaluated by calculation of pulse evolution, and retiming of 1.5-ps pulses in 10- and 30-mm-long waveguides is demonstrated experimentally.     

Efficient nonlinear phase shifts due to cascaded second-order processes in a counterpropagating quasi-phase-matched configuration

A counterpropagating quasi-phase-matched configuration is examined that is capable of efficiently producing second-order cascaded nonlinear phase shifts with minimal power lost to the second harmonic. For all-optical switching in a nonlinear Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the calculated minimum input power needed for switching (i.e., to yield a +/-pi/2 phase shift) is 40 times smaller than the power needed in the standard typeI copropagating configuration. The throughput of this counterpropagating device is 96% at the optimum switching point.     

Enhancement of chi((2)) cascading processes in one-dimensional photonic bandgap structures

We theoretically analyze the nonlinear phase shifts induced by cascaded chi((2)):chi((2)) processes in one-dimensional photonic bandgap structures. We find that the enhancement of the density of modes near the band edge, coupled with a suitable choice of relative phase mismatch, leads to a remarkable new effect: The relative phase shift of the fundamental field on transmission can be of the order of pi over a distance of 7mum , with input intensities of the order of only 10 MW/cm(2).     

Third-harmonic generation in quasi-phase-matched chi(2) media with missing second harmonic

What we believe to be a conceptually novel scheme for third-harmonic generation in engineered quasi-phase-matched chi((2)) optical structures is proposed in which the fundamental-frequency field is directly converted into the third-harmonic field without the intermediate generation of the second-harmonic field. This counterintuitive scheme, which exploits the concept of adiabatic passage and the existence of a nonlinear dark state, bears a close connection to the "stimulated Raman adiabatic passage" technique of population transfer in atomic physics.     

Soliton multistability as a result of double-resonance wave mixing in chi((2)) media

We investigate analytically and numerically the existence and stability properties of three-wave solitons resulting from double-resonance (type I plus type II) parametric interaction in a purely quadratic nonlinear medium. The existence of a family of stable solitons for the double-resonance model is demonstrated in a broad parameter range. Moreover, these solitons are shown to exhibit multistability, a feature that is potentially useful for optical switching applications. Finally, we find and present a novel family of quasi solitons.     

Backward second-harmonic generation in periodically poled bulk LiNbO(3)

We experimentally demonstrate backward second-harmonic generation in periodically poled LiNbO(3) with a 3.3- microm domain period. We observed higher-order phase matching near 1490, 1600, and 1700 nm (fundamental) for the 19th, 18th, and 17th orders, respectively, with a maximum conversion efficiency of 0.02%.     

级联χ(2)过程产生高量值高阶非线性相移

基于位相失配三倍频(Δk≠0)转换,构建了产生高阶非线性相移的χ(2)级联非线性过程.此过程不涉及三阶等其他非线性效应,仅表现为纯的五阶非线性,所感应的非线性相移正比于I2.进一步的数值计算研究表明χ(2)级联五阶非线性相移不仅符号可控,而且具有丰富的饱和特性,其量值远高于χ(2)级联三阶非线性相移.     

Generation of large fifth-order nonlinear phase shifts by use of lossless χ(2) cascaded nonlinear processes

It is shown that the cascaded fifth-order nonlinear phase shifts will increase with energy loss in the cascaded processes. Essentially different from the multi-photon absorption accompanied with inherent material nonlinearities, the loss of fundamental wave in a cascaded process is controllable and suppressible. By introducing difference frequencies generated from the reaction between the fundamental and its second harmonic after the cascaded processes, the fundamental wave can be free of energy loss, while the large cascaded fifth-order nonlinear phase shift is maintained.     

Fiber-laser-based femtosecond parametric generator in bulk periodically poled LiNbO(3)

A diode-pumped system for optical parametric generation of wavelength-tunable femtosecond pulses is demonstrated. It comprises an Er-doped fiber mode-locked laser, a fiber chirped-pulse amplifier, and a bulk periodically poled LiNbO(3) (PPLN) optical parametric generator. The parametric generator is pumped at 777 nm with frequency-doubled microjoule pulses from the fiber amplifier and produces 300-fs pulses tunable from 1 to 3microm with output energies up to ~200 nJ. Use of a PPLN nonlinear crystal substantially reduces the pump energies required for efficient parametric generation. Saturated single-pass parametric energy conversion of 38% (internal) has been achieved with only 220 nJ of pump inside the crystal. A parametric generation threshold of 54 nJ is observed, and efficient parametric conversion is obtained with repetition rates up to 200 kHz.     

Reflecting phase volume holographic grating (PVHG) in LiNbO3

The spectral-angular selectivity of reflecting PVHG in LiNbO 3 and electric control of light diffraction are investigated. It is shown that a PVHG with approximate 7000 lines/mmand thickness spatial frequency 3.7mmhas a spectral selectivity 0.023 nm and angular selectivity that varies in the range from 2 to 50 ang. min, depending on the angle between the beams that record the grating. Application of an 850 V electric field decreases the diffraction effectiveness by one-half for an extraordinary wave and a transverse scheme (the transverse dimension of the PVHG is 5 mm). It is established that the spectral-angular characteristics of reflecting PVHG and electric control of light diffraction can be described within the framework of the theory of coupled wave and the electrooptical effect.Translated from Lazernye Sistemy, pp. 112–120, 1982.     

Efficient, multiwatt, continuous-wave laser operation on the (4)F((3/2))-(4)I((9/2)) transitions of Nd:YVO(4) and Nd:YAG

We report multiwatt, diode-pumped cw operation on the (4)F(3/2)-(4)I(9/2) laser transition at 914.5 nm in Nd:YVO(4), for which an output power of 3.0 W and a slope of efficiency of 22.8% were achieved. For the corresponding laser transition of Nd:YAG at 946 nm an output power of 5.35 W and a slope efficiency of 40.2% were measured. By intracavity frequency doubling, an output power of 1.5 W at 473 nm was generated.     

Properties of two interlinked chi(2) interactions in noncollinear phase matching

We present a compact experimental realization of the interaction among five field modes in a chi(2) nonlinear crystal. The classical evolution of the fields can be analytically described assuming that two of the fields play the role of nondepleted pumps. If one of the fields has a nonzero input amplitude, then the other two fields at the output are holographic replicas of the input signal.     

How to measure chi(3) of a nanoparticle

Most of the known methods to measure the nonlinear optical properties of materials deal with the bulk properties, but there are many demanding applications that require those measurements to be done on a single particle or a single molecule. We report a novel application of nonlinear optics to measure the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of nanoparticles in solutions. By measuring the power of the third harmonic generated in a diluted solution of nanoparticles, both the size and chi(3) can be extracted from a simple set of measurements.     

Stoichiometric Mg:LiNbO(3) as an effective material for nonlinear optics

Photorefractive damage, optical absorption, photoconductivities, and photogalvanic currents of stoichiometric LiNbO(3) single crystals with different Mg doping levels have been investigated. Nominally pure stoichiometric LiNbO(3) shows lower photorefractive damage resistance than congruent crystal; however, stoichiometric crystals doped with MgO of more than 1.8 mol. % exhibit no measurable photorefractive damage at 532 nm to intensities of as much as 8 MW/cm(2) . This remarkable damage resistance can be attributed not only to increased photoconductivity but also to decreased photogalvanic current. Stoichiometric Mg:LiNbO(3) also demonstrates the shortest absorption edge, 302 nm, and a single-domain nature with low scattering losses.     

Optical anisotropy of the SiC((001))- (3x2) surface: evidence for the two-adlayer asymmetric-dimer model

The structure of the ( 3x2) reconstruction of beta-SiC(001) surface has been identified by comparing reflectance anisotropy spectra calculated from first principles with recent measurements. Only the calculations for the two-adlayer asymmetric-dimer model agree with experiment. The two prominent peaks at 3.6 and 5.0 eV found experimentally are assigned to electronic transitions between surface and bulklike electronic states. A further pronounced anisotropy at 2.0 eV, due to transitions between surface states, is predicted.