Brillouin zone spectroscopy of nonlinear photonic lattices

We present a novel, real-time, experimental technique for linear and nonlinear Brillouin zone spectroscopy of photonic lattices. The method relies on excitation with random-phase waves and far-field visualization of the spatial spectrum of the light exiting the lattice. Our technique facilitates mapping the borders of the extended Brillouin zones and the areas of normal and anomalous dispersion within each zone. For photonic lattices with defects (e.g., photonic crystal fibers), our technique enables far-field visualization of the defect mode overlaid on the extended Brillouin zone structure of the lattice. The technique is general and can be used for photonic crystal fibers as well as for periodic structures in areas beyond optics.     

Cavity enhanced cw stimulated Brillouin scattering in a fused silica plate

We have observed cavity enhanced stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a high finesse optical ring resonator. Brillouin scattering occurs in a fused silica plate placed in the focus of the light beam inside the cavity. The frequency spacing of the Brillouin scattered wave relative to the incident beam at 23.5 GHz has a linewidth of less than 500 Hz. In preliminary experiments we extracted a scattered optical power of 25 mW from the resonator. Possible applications are discussed.     

Hypersonic absorption in amorphous polymers by light scattering

Brillouin lines have been observed in the spectrum of light scattered by poly(methylmethacrylate) and, for the first time, for poly(vinylchloride). The line widths have been measured, by a special technique, as a function of temperature. The attenuation per wavelength of thermal phonons below the glass transition temperature is almost constant over a wide frequency range (5 MHz to 10 GHz). The attentuation is ascribed to the mechanical strain field round static imperfections. Above the glass transition temperature the attenuation is associated with the well-known mechanical ∝ process. The Rayleigh light scattered by these polymers and their transparency is also discussed.     

Comparative study on reduced impacts of Brillouin pump depletion and nonlinear amplification in coded DBA-BOTDA

The impacts of Brillouin pump depletion and nonlinear amplification in coded long-range Brillouin optical time-domain analysis(BOTDA) based on distributed Brillouin amplification(DBA) were studied. The error of Brillouin frequency shift(BFS) due to Brillouin pump depletion was compared for DBA-BOTDA using non-cyclic and cyclic coding. For non-cyclic coding, significant over-and under-shoots of BFS were found in the range with larger BFS variation, such as hot spot. The impact of Brillouin pump depletion can be reduced considerably by cyclic coding. Furthermore, to compensate the BFS error due to nonlinear amplification,a simple and effective log linearization was proposed and demonstrated.     

Brillouin scattering from silica colloids

Brillouin spectra have been observed from colloidal silica. The width of the Brillouin lines increased with size and number density of the colloidal particles. The results are explained qualitativley in terms of the sound waves being scattered by the particles.     

Real time measurement of the attenuation coefficient of water in open ocean based on stimulated Brillouin scattering

A new method for measuring the attenuation coefficient of seawater in real time is suggested based on stimulated Brillouin scattering. The measurement can be achieved through detecting the intensity of back scattered stimulated Brillouin scattering and the intensity of the laser beam. PACS 42.68.Wt; 42.79.Qx; 42.65.Es     

Using slow light to enhance acousto-optical effects: application to squeezed light

We propose a technique for achieving phase matching in Brillouin scattering in a dielectric fiber doped by three-level Lambda-type ions. This can lead to a dramatic increase of efficiency of ponderomotive nonlinear interaction between the electromagnetic waves and holds promise for applications in quantum optics such as squeezing and quantum nondemolition measurements.     

Space- and time-resolved Brillouin light scattering from nonlinear spin-wave packets

We have constructed a new Brillouin light scattering apparatus, based on the Sandercock multipass tandem interferometer design, for space- and time-resolved investigations of nonlinear wave packets in thin films. We have applied the method to studies of nonlinear spin-wave pulse propagation in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films. Spatial resolution is achieved by scanning the laser spot across the YIG film surface, and temporal resolution is obtained by measuring the elapsed time between the launch of spin-wave pulses by an applied microwave pulse and the arrival of the respective inelastically scattered photons at the detector. We report the observation of nonlinear self-focusing of wave beams and pulses in one and two dimensions, the formation of one-dimensional envelope solitons, and of strongly localized, two-dimensional wave packets, 'spin-wave bullets', analogous to 'light bullets' predicted in nonlinear optics. By generating two counter-propagating wave pulses, pulse collision experiments were performed. We show that quasi-one-dimensional envelope solitons formed in narrow film stripes ('waveguides') retain their shapes after collision, while two-dimensional spin-wave packets formed in wide YIG films are destroyed in collision.     

Detecting submerged objects by Brillouin scattering

The principle of detecting submerged objects by Brillouin scattering is analyzed. It is based on testing the frequency shift rather than the intensity of the scattered signal. Experiments based on the principle are carried out. An actual detecting system for practical applications is designed, and the experimental results obtained by using the system are given. The experimental results show that the method of Brillouin scattering possesses several advantages compared to the method of testing the signal intensity. The conclusion is that Brillouin scattering is a good method for detecting submerged objects. PACS 42.68.Wt; 42.79.Qx; 78.35.+c     

Nonlinear absorption and refractive index of Brillouin scattered mode in piezoelectric semiconductor plasmas by an applied magnetic field

With the aid of hydrodynamic model, a detailed analytical investigation is made of the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) of the Stokes component of the scattered wave in piezoelectric-doped semiconductor plasma subjected to a magnetostatic field. The origin of the SBS process lies in the third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility arising due to the induced nonlinear current density and acoustic perturbations internally generated due to crystal properties such as piezoelectricity and electrostriction. Using the coupled mode theory of plasmas the effective refractive index and absorption coefficient are determined via the effective susceptibility. The influence of piezoelectricity, magnetostatic field and doping concentration has been explored. The analysis has been applied to both noncentrosymmetric and centrosymmetric crystals. Numerical estimates are made for n-type InSb crystal duly irradiated by a frequency doubled 10.6 μm CO₂ lasers. Results are found to be well in agreement with available literature. The analysis establishes that a large nonlinear refractive index and small absorption coefficient can easily be obtained under moderate excitation intensity in piezoelectric doped magnetized semiconducting crystal, which proves its potential as candidate material for the fabrication of cubic nonlinear devices.     

Phase-matching condition between acoustic and optical waves in doped fibers

A new technique, recently proposed [1] for achieving phase-matching in Brillouin scattering in a dielectric fiber doped by three-level Λ-type ions, can lead to a dramatic increase of efficiency of ponderomotive nonlinear interaction between electromagnetic waves and holds promise for applications in quantum optics. In this paper, we investigate possibilities to establish phase-matching condition for acoustic modes in confined geometries that exhibit nonzero cutoff frequencies.     

Bursting behaviours in cascaded stimulated Brillouin scattering

Stimulated Brillouin scattering is studied by numerically solving the Vlasov-Maxwell system. A cascade of stimulated Brillouin scattering can occur when a linearly polarized laser pulse propagates in a plasma. It is found that a stimulated Brillouin scattering cascade can reduce the scattering and increase the transmission of light, as well as introduce a bursting behaviour in the evolution of the laser-plasma interaction. The bursting time in the reflectivity is found to be less than half the ion acoustic period. The ion temperature can affect the stimulated Brillouin scattering cascade, which can repeat several ×at low ion temperatures and can be completely eliminated at high ion temperatures. For stimulated Brillouin scattering saturation, higher-harmonic generation and wave-wave interaction of the excited ion acoustic waves can restrict the amplitude of the latter. In addition, stimulated Brillouin scattering cascade can restrict the amplitude of the scattered light.     

利用自发布里渊散射测量液体声速

为了克服共振干涉法在液体的热力学声速和高频声速测量方面精度不高的问题, 本文建立了一种基于自发布里渊散射原理的测定液体声速的实验装置. 利用法布里-珀罗干涉仪对散射光进行扫描滤波, 数据采集卡结合光子计数器对散射光进行探测, 设计了一种散射光信息采集分析方法. 该实验方法有效的解决了传统布里渊散射方法中信号失真的问题, 显著地提升了液体声速测量精度. 对308.6–906.2 MHz内298.15 K饱和液相CCl₄声速进行了测量, 测量结果与文献值具有较好一致性. 利用法布里-珀罗干涉仪周期性扫描的滤波原理, 通过在测量得到的布里渊频移上加减整数倍个自由波谱区, 得到了更大频率的波谱信息, 进而设计一种测定介质高频声速的方法. 对CCl₄在5406.1–5521.0 MHz频段内的声速进行了测量. 实验结果显示, CCl₄的热力学声速随频率无明显变化, 而高频声速随频率的增大呈增大趋势且远大于热力学声速, 证实CCl₄具有色散现象.     

Random‐access distributed fiber sensing

Optical sensing offers an attractive solution to the societal concern for prevention of natural and human‐generated threats and for efficient use of natural resources. The unprecedented properties of optical fibers make them ideal for implementing a ‘nervous system’ in structural health monitoring: they are small, low‐cost and electrically and chemically inert. In particular, the nonlinear interaction of stimulated Brillouin scattering allows for the distributed measurement of strain and temperature with tens of km range. In this work, a novel, radar‐inspired technique for random‐access Brillouin scattering‐based sensors is shown, making a significant step towards a real optical sensing nerve. The method selectively addresses each fiber segment as a distinct sensing element in a synaptic neuronal system. The measurement principle relies on phase‐coding of both the Brillouin pump and signal waves by a high‐rate, pseudo‐random bit sequence. Temperature measurements with 1 cm resolution are reported. The measurement range is scalable to several km.     

Threshold spectra of SBS at a finite frequency mismatch of the interacting waves

A problem of scattered radiation spectrum line width of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in plasma with two species of ions is considered. Threshold conditions, when SBS shifted frequency lines, which characterize the scattered radiation spectrum, are comparatively wide and are comparatively narrow, are defined. A possibility of existence of the scattered radiation spectrum with the frequency line width comparable to the ion-acoustic frequency is revealed.     

Theoretical Analysis of the Critical Phenomena of a Brillouin Laser

The critical phenomena of a Brillouin laser are analyzed theoretically. The results show that the behavior of a Brillouin laser in the threshold region is a second-order phase transition. The critical point of the phase transition is the gain threshold of the Brillouin laser, and the order parameter is the amplitude of the Stokes component in stimulated Brillouin scattering. The critical slow-down phenomenon and the typical characteristics in phase transition are demonstrated. Further work on the combination of nonlinear optics and phase transition in the Brillouin laser may lead to a new view and findings that could be significant for both fields.     

Development of acoustoelectric domains in zinc oxide with small inhomogeneities

The generation and development of acoustoelectric domains in slightly doped ZnO crystals (? ～ 30 Щcm) is studied by Brillouin scattering. The generation of multiple domains is observed which is found to be the reason for the lack of current oscillations in this material. From the distribution of the domains in space and time it is concluded, that a variation in ? is established along the sample. Furthermore it is shown, that for a proper interpretation of Brillouin scattering experiments, the divergence of the sound beam has to be considered. By the method of interpretation which is discussed in paragraph 4, Brillouin scattering experiments can also be used for the investigation of frequencies for which the scattered light is totally reflected if the geometry of Bragg scattering is used.     

Light scattering from a fluid with a stationary temperature gradient

The spectrum of light, scattered from a fluid with a stationary temperature gradient, is calculated on the basis of fluctuating hydrodynamics. Explicit expressions are obtained for the spectrum of the scattered light which is no longer symmetric around the frequency of the incident light. In particular the difference in height and intensity of the Brillouin lines is given. Furthermore the shift in the position of the maximum of the Rayleigh line is calculated.     

An application of the ISTM to asymptotic laser pulse scattering

The inverse scattering transform method is used to analytically determine the asymptotic shape of a rectangular laser pulse stimulated Brillouin scattered by a signal pulse train in an amplifier set-up.     

Light scattering from a fluid with a stationary temperature gradient

The spectrum of light scattered from a system in which a stationary temperature gradient is maintained is calculated on the basis of fluctuating hydrodynamics. Explicit expressions are obtained for the frequency dependence of the intensity of the modified Brillouin lines.