宽频带光束非线性热像效应的实验研究

实验研究宽频带脉冲光束通过非线性介质时的非线性热像的形成过程,揭示了光束入射功率和脉冲宽度、介质厚度等因素对热像光强和位置的影响. 结果表明,与单纵模激光束一样,在宽频带脉冲光束情形下,非线性介质上游元件的模糊斑调制也可导致在下游共轭位置形成热像. 热像光强随入射光束功率的增加而增加;若脉冲能量一定,则热像光强随脉冲宽度的增加而减弱;若脉冲峰值功率一定,则热像光强随脉冲宽度的增加而增强. 关键词： 高功率激光 热像 宽带光束 小尺度自聚焦     

Kerr非线性介质中聚焦像散高斯光束的传输特性

当高功率激光通过Kerr非线性介质传输时,Kerr效应会严重影响激光的传输特性.实际应用中常遇到像散光束.迄今为止,像散光束传输特性的研究大都局限于在线性介质中的传输,而在非线性介质中传输的研究较少,且还未涉及像散激光束通过含光学系统的Kerr非线性介质传输变换的研究.本文主要研究Kerr效应对聚焦光束像散特性和焦移特性的影响,以及聚焦像散高斯光束的自聚焦焦距和光束焦点调控.在光束扩展情况下,推导出了聚焦像散高斯光束在Kerr非线性介质中传输的束宽、束腰位置和焦移的解析公式,研究表明:在自聚焦介质中,随着自聚焦作用增强(如光束功率增强),光束像散越强,但焦移越小;在自散焦介质中,随着自散焦作用增强(如光束功率增强),光束像散越弱,但焦移越大.另一方面,在光束自聚焦情况下,推导出了自聚焦焦距的解析公式,研究表明利用光束像散可以调控光束焦点个数.     

Propagation of Gaussian beams in negative-index metamaterials with cubic nonlinearity

Propagation of Gaussian beams in the negative-index metamaterials (NIMs) with cubic nonlinearities is investigated, both theoretically and numerically. The role of the status of the incident Gaussian beam, which is scaled by a converging parameter in this paper, in beam self-focusing and self-defocusing in NIMs is specially identified. The expressions for beam self-focusing and self-defocusing for different converging parameter cases, and the dependence of the critical power and the focus location of self-focusing in NIMs on the converging parameter are obtained. It is found that it is the divergent rather than convergent incident beams which are self-focused more quickly in NIMs with defocusing nonlinearities, in sharp contrast with the propagation property of Gaussian beams in conventional Kerr media, in which beam self-focusing only occurs in the media with focusing nonlinearities and a convergent incident beam self-focuses more quickly than a divergent one. By adjusting the converging parameter of incident Gaussian beam or the controllable magnetic permeability of NIM, or both, one can manipulate the beam self-focusing in NIMs at will.     

Hybrid nonlinearity supported by nonconventionally biased photorefractive crystals

We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that a nonconventionally biased photorefractive crystal can support hybrid nonlinearity, i.e., coexistence of self-focusing and self-defocusing nonlinearities under an identical bias condition. It is revealed that the nonlinearity experienced by a one-dimensional (stripe) beam can be switched between self-focusing and self-defocusing solely by changing the beam orientation. For a two-dimensional beam, the hybrid nonlinearity leads to unusual nonlinear beam dynamics with enhanced anisotropy and nonlocality.     

Wavefront study in a Gaussian beam passed through a nonlinear optical medium

We present a numerical model to study the wavefront of a Gaussian laser beam propagated through a nonlinear Kerr media. The model is based on the Gaussian decomposition method. The interaction between a laser beam and a self-focusing or self-defocusing media is discussed from the viewpoint of wavefront distortion. The method is useful for simulation of the wavefront of the beam next to the sample. We also compare our results with those obtained from z-scan method. There is a quite good agreement between data from z-scan method and our results.     

Wideband modulation instability at combination frequencies in wave beams

We study theoretically wideband modulation instability at combination frequencies in media having cubic nonlinearity of self-focusing type along with the higher-order defocusing nonlinearity. It is assumed that in a medium with a purely cubic nonlinearity, the medium dispersion does not permit modulation instability. In this case, a collapse of the wave field exists if the beam power is higher than the critical power of self-focusing. The higher-order nonlinearity limits the field at the nonlinear focus, and the instability at combination frequencies becomes possible. It turns out that the field at the nonlinear focus increases with increasing excess of the beam power over the critical power of self-focusing. The obtained values of the nonlinear dielectric permittivity are used for determination of the growth rates of instability at combination frequencies. These growth rates ensure an increase in the combination fields from noise levels up to values comparable with the field of the high-power beam. Such an increase takes place if the beam power is severalfold higher than the critical one. The developed theory can be used for explanation of spectrum superbroadening during self-focusing of sufficiently short laser pulses and high-harmonic generation. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 50, No. 6, pp. 522–532, June 2007.     

溶胶Cds毫微晶的自聚焦和自位相调制

本文首次报道了氩离子激光在溶胶CdS半导体毫微晶中产生的自聚焦、热自散焦及自位相调制,实验测得此种材料具有很大的克尔(Kerr)非线性系数n_2,比CS_2大10~5倍。并且,文中还分析了这种具有弱吸收的半导体溶胶毫微晶的非线性自位相调制机理及其与热自位相调制的差别。     

Induced focusing due to counter-propagation of a pair of bright and dark optical beams in self-defocusing Kerr media

We present two-dimensional numerical simulations of a nonlinear optical system made of a bright probe and a dark pump beam that counter propagate in a thin slice of self-defocusing Kerr media, simultaneously. The numerical results show that although the medium is self-defocusing to both pump and probe beam, a profile compression occurs under some conditions, and the weak bright probe beam is focused due to cross-phase modulation. The influence of the characteristics of beams and medium length on the probe beam compression is also investigated.     

Light self-trapping in a large cloud of cold atoms

We show that, for a near-resonant propagating beam, a large cloud of cold Rb87 atoms acts as a saturable Kerr medium and produces self-trapping of light. By side fluorescence imaging, we monitor the transverse size of the beam and, depending on the sign of the laser detuning with respect to the atomic transition, we observe self-focusing or self-defocusing, with the waist remaining stationary for an appropriate choice of parameters. We analyze our observations by using numerical simulations based on a simple two-level atom model.     

Photoinduced multiple microchannels inside silicon produced by a femtosecond laser

Photoinduced multiple microchannels in the interior of silicon produced by an 800-nm femtosecond laser were observed. The multiple microchannels were aligned spontaneously with a period along the propagation direction of the laser beam, which could be attributed to the interface spherical aberration induced due to refractive-index mismatch. We also observed that the depth of the photoinduced microchannels increased with the increase of the laser power. The power dependence of the depth of photoinduced microchannels in silicon was different from that in transparent materials, which probably arose from the competition between self-focusing due to the nonlinear Kerr effect and self-defocusing related to the thermal accumulation in the process of laser irradiation.     

高斯光束通过非线性折射和吸收介质的光强分布

以衍射理论为基础,推导并模拟了高斯光束通过非线性折射和吸收效应介质后的远场光强分布。结果表明:入射高斯光束引起的介质折射率变化和光束波前曲率影响介质出射面光束的径向调制相位,安装在焦点前的有自聚焦效应的介质和安装在焦点后的有自散焦效应的介质具有闪耀光栅的能力,使远场出现中心为暗斑外侧为亮环的衍射图样。非线性折射效应为主的介质,其非线性吸收效应的变化同时改变远场衍射图样的数目和光强值,但对于非线性吸收效应为主的介质,衍射图样的数目随吸收效应的变化不明显,吸收效应只影响光强值。     

非线性增益介质中强激光热像的演化规律

高功率激光系统中的热像效应可能导致光束的峰值功率剧烈增加,增益非线性介质会使这种光强增幅更为强烈。基于菲涅尔-基尔霍夫衍射理论和非线性近轴波动方程,对强激光在增益克尔介质工作在饱和区时的热像产生过程进行理论分析,将光束传输方程中增益饱和部分进行麦克劳林展开,取其近似,经过推导得出了介质薄近似时热像强度解析式和热像位置。通过数值模拟对解析结论预测的热像强度和位置进行验证。仿真结果表明,热像的位置在衍射物相对于介质对称处,热像强度解析结果与模拟结果相符,在薄介质时,解析解与模拟结果拟合较好。热像强度随非线性介质内非线性效应增强而停止增加,此外,讨论了热像强度随调制类型的变化。     

热自聚焦诱导光折变非对称自散焦

用波长为５３２ｎｍ的高斯光束入射到掺杂的ＫＮＳＢＮ晶体中，对足够大的光强，观察到由热自聚焦效应诱导产生的光折变非对称自散焦．非对称自散焦的空间分布与性质都有别于噪声受激放大．它对自泵浦相位共轭无甚贡献．对开始产生非对称自散焦时晶体中光束的直径作出估计 关键词：     

Relativistic channel-coupling focusing enhanced nonlinear guiding of an intense laser beam in a plasma channel

We employ the variational method to study the optical guiding of an intense laser beam in a preformed plasma channel without using the weakly relativistic approximation. Apart from the dependence on the laser power and the nonlinear channel strength parameter, the beam focusing properties is shown also to be governed by the laser intensity. Relativistic channel-coupling focusing, arising from the coupling between relativistic self-focusing and linear channel focusing, can enhance relativistic self-focusing but its strength is weaker than that of linear channel focusing.     

Optical vortices in self-focusing Kerr nonlinear media

In this work we numerically compare the interaction of optical vortices (OVs) in self-defocusing and self-focusing Kerr nonlinear media. We find that the basic scenarios (attraction/repulsion, translation/rotation vs. background) in the interaction of two and three vortices with equal and alternative topological charges (TCs) are the same in both media. However, the vortex dynamics under self-focusing conditions is influenced by the reshaping of the surrounding part of the background. Square structure of OVs with alternating TCs is found to be stable with respect to the vortex positions in self-focusing media. This elementary cell is successfully generalized in a large square array of OVs with alternative TCs which brings ordering in the multiple filamentation of the background beam in self-focusing conditions.     

Self-Assembled Quasi-Periodic Voids in Glass Induced by a Tightly Focused Femtosecond Laser

Multiple refocusing of a tightly focused femtosecond laser due to the dynamic transformation between self-focusing and self-defocusing is employed to provide a novel method to produce quasi-periodic voids in glass. It is found that the diameter or the interval of the periodic voids increases with the increasing pulse energy of the laser. The detailed course for producing periodic voids is discussed by analysing the damaged track induced by the tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses. It is suggested that this periodic structure has potential applications in fabrication of three-dimensional optical devices.     

Lie-optics, geometrical phase and nonlinear dynamics of self-focusing and soliton evolution in a plasma

It is useful to state propagation laws for a self-focusing laser beam or a soliton in group-theoretical form to be called Lie-optical form for being able to predict self-focusing dynamics conveniently and amongst other things, the geometrical phase. It is shown that the propagation of the gaussian laser beam is governed by a rotation group in a non-absorbing medium and by the Lorentz group in an absorbing medium if the additional symmetry of paraxial propagation is imposed on the laser beam. This latter symmetry, however, needs care in its implementation because the electromagnetic wave of the laser sees a different refractive index profile than the laboratory observer in this approximation. It is explained how to estimate this non-Taylor paraxial power series approximation. The group theoretical laws so-stated are used to predict the geometrical or Berry phase of the laser beam by a technique developed by one of us elsewhere. The group-theoretical Lie-optic (or ABCD) laws are also useful in predicting the laser behavior in a more complex optical arrangement like in a laser cavity etc. The nonlinear dynamical consequences of these laws for long distance (or time) predictions are also dealt with. Ergodic dynamics of an ensemble of laser beams on the torus during absorptionless self-focusing is discussed in this context. From the point of view of new physics concepts, we introduce a stroboscopic invariant torus and a stroboscopic generating function in classical mechanics that is useful for long-distance predictions of absorptionless self-focusing.     

An experimental study of self-focusing and self-defocusing of a TEA CO2 laser pulse in CDF3

We observed self-focusing and self-defocusing of a TEA CO₂ laser pulse in CDF₃ vapor under different conditions. The experimental parameters we varied are the pressure inside the interaction cell, the frequency of the laser, the energy and the temporal length of the pulse. We have shown that it is possible to pass from self-focusing to self-defocusing by only increasing the intensity of the laser pulse. We propose a physical model that can explain these experimental results. This model is different from that used to explain the selffocusing of a CO₂ laser in SF₆.     

Relativistic nonlinearity and wave-guide propagation of rippled laser beam in plasma

In the present paper we have investigated the self-focusing behaviour of radially symmetrical rippled Gaussian laser beam propagating in a plasma. Considering the nonlinearity to arise from relativistic phenomena and following the approach of Akhmanov et al, which is based on the WKB and paraxial-ray approximation, the self-focusing behaviour has been investigated in some detail. The effect of the position and width of the ripple on the self-focusing of laser beam has been studied for arbitrary large magnitude of nonlinearity. Results indicate that the medium behaves as an oscillatory wave-guide. The self-focusing is found to depend on the position parameter of ripple as well as on the beam width. Values of critical power has been calculated for different values of the position parameter of ripple. Effects of axially and radially inhomogeneous plasma on self-focusing behaviour have been investigated and presented here.     

Formation of soliton-like light beams in an aqueous suspension of polystyrene particles

A Kerr nonlinear medium consisting of an aqueous suspension of dielectric nanoparticles is used for the observation of continuous self-focusing of laser light. The minimum width of the soliton-like beam is measured in relation to the radiation power and the particle concentration. The possibilities of maximum narrowing of the beam in such a medium are discussed.