Low-cross-talk polarization-insensitive 10-GHz-spaced 128-channel arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexer-demultiplexer achieved with photosensitive phase adjustment

We successfully fabricated a polarization-insensitive 10-GHz-spaced 128-channel arrayed-waveguide grating whose cross talk ranged from -39 to -36 dB . The optical phases of all arrayed waveguides were adjusted simultaneously by means of a photoinduced refractive-index change under ArF excimer laser irradiation through metal masks.     

Photosensitivity of lead germanate glass waveguides grown by pulsed laser deposition

We report very large photoinduced refractive-index changes Dn, of the order of ~10(2), in lead germanate glass waveguides grown by pulsed-laser deposition. The magnitude of Dn was derived from measurements of diffraction efficiency for gratings written by exposure to 244-nm light through a phase mask, whereas the sign of Dn was determined from ellipsometric data. Results are shown for films grown under oxygen pressures ranging from 1 chi 10(-2) to 6 chi 10(-2)mbars (1.33mbars=1 Torr).     

Multiple-output logic element based on an optical interference system

A multiple-output logic element using an optical interference system is proposed. The system acts as a logic gate array operating in parallel at certain positions divided over one period of the output fringe. A photoinduced refractive-index change material is incorporated in the system to perform the optical transformation of optical inputs into the phase change of a readout beam. It is shown that the logic gates obtained can be controlled arbitrarily in number and sorts by adjusting either the shift or the division of the output fringe. As an example, logic gates of AND, OR, NAND, NOR are implemented in parallel in the preliminary experiments.     

Trans-4-stilbenemethanol-doped photosensitive polymer fibers and gratings

We report the development of photosensitive polymeric optical fibers for gratings. The fiber is made of a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and butyl methacrylate, and its core is made of a copolymer of methyl methacrylate, ethyl methacrylate, and benzyl methacrylate (90/4/6 molar ratio) doped with trans-4-stilbenemethanol. Ultraviolet absorption and photoinduced refractive-index change of the doped core system are presented, and its photosensitivity is demonstrated by fabrication of Bragg gratings in the core of the fiber by use of a pulse laser at 325 nm.     

Fabrication of single-mode waveguide structure in optical multimode fluoride fibers using self-channeled plasma filaments excited by a femtosecond laser

A permanent structure of a single-mode waveguide in optical multimode fluoride fibers was first fabricated using a self-channeled plasma filament excited by a femtosecond (110-fs) Ti:sapphire laser (_p=800 nm). The photoinduced refractive-index modification in a multimode step-index fluoride glass (ZBLAN) fiber with a 100/110-m core/cladding diameter reached a length of approximately 12–15 mm from the input surface of the optical fiber, with the diameters ranging from 5 to 8 m at input intensities more than 1.0×10¹² W/cm². The graded refractive-index profiles were fabricated to have a symmetric form from the center of a multimode fluoride fiber and a maximum value of the refractive-index change (n) was measured to be 1.3×10^-2. The beam profile of the output beam transmitted through the modified multimode fibers showed that the photoinduced refractive-index modification produced a permanent structure of a single-mode waveguide. PACS 42.55.-f; 42.65.Jx; 42.81.Wg     

Direct femtosecond laser writing of waveguides in As2S3 thin films

Single-channel waveguides and Y couplers were fabricated in chalcogenide thin films by use of femtosecond laser pulses from a 25-MHz repetition rate Ti:sapphire laser. Refractive-index differentials (delta n > 10(-2)) were measured through interferometric microscopy and are higher than the typical values reported for oxide glasses. The dependence of the index differential on the peak intensity reveals the nonlinear nature of the photosensitivity in arsenic trisulfide below its bandgap energy, and the refractive-index change is correlated to the photoinduced structural changes inferred by Raman spectroscopy data. A free-electron model to predict the parametric dependence of delta n is proposed.     

In situ observation of photoinduced refractive-index changes in filaments formed in glasses by femtosecond laser pulses

We investigated the relationship between the formation of filaments and local refractive-index changes induced by femtosecond laser pulses in silica glass. In situ observation revealed that the location of a filament coincided with that of the refractive-index change. Observation also showed that the region of refractive-index change was elongated toward the upstream direction of the laser pulses with increasing exposure time. The region of refractive-index change was several hundred micrometers long, and its diameter was smaller than 2 mum. The refractive-index change was confirmed by two of three different methods to be as large as 0.8 x 10(-2).     

Refractive indices and thermo-optical properties of dye laser solvents

By measuring the wavelength tuning of a distributed feedback dye laser, solvent refractive-index changes as small as 0.0002 may be determined. This technique hence allows precise measurement of refractive-index dependence on temperature (dn/dT) and therefore enables the thermo-optical properties of solvents used in dye lasers to be assessed. In addition to single component solvents, the thermo-optical properties of solvent mixtures and additives are reported here. The refractive-index change with temperature (dn/dT) is related to solvent density change with temperature (dq/dT) through molecular polarizability.     

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.     

Strong Bragg gratings photoinduced by 633-nm illumination in evaporated As2Se3 thin films

Bragg gratings are used in several photonic devices to reflect, and thus to isolate, specific wavelengths of light. Gratings can be photoinduced in chalcogenide glasses by illumination of bandgap light in an interference pattern. We used holographic interferometry to create Bragg gratings in amorphous As2Se3 thin films with a period of 0.56 microm by illumination with 633-nm light. The quality of the gratings was tested in real time, and refractive-index modulations as high as 0.037 were measured. These gratings were found to be stable over a period of several months if they were kept in the dark.     

Photofabrication of periodic microstructures in azodye-doped polymers by interference of laser beams

Volume holographic gratings and two-dimensional periodic microstructures in azodye-doped polymethylmethacrylate were fabricated, respectively, by interference of two coherent beams of a femtosecond laser and by interference of three coherent beams of a nanosecond laser. The dependence of the first-order Bragg diffraction efficiency and the photoinduced refractive-index modulation of the gratings on the intensity of the writing light was investigated. The measurements of the absorption spectra before and after irradiation with the writing light suggest that the photoinduced gratings were refractive-index-modulated gratings, which arose from a photoinduced decomposition reaction of the azodye molecules through multiphoton absorption. In the experiments involving the interference of three beams, the period of the two-dimensional periodic microstructures was changed by adjusting the angle between the three writing beams. Received: 10 July 2002 / Revised version: 5 September 2002 / Published online: 20 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-774/955206, E-mail: jhsi@photon.jst.go.jp     

Refractive index change mechanisms in femtosecond laser written ceramic Nd:YAG waveguides: micro-spectroscopy experiments and beam propagation calculations

The effect that femtosecond laser filamentation has on the refractive index of Nd:YAG ceramics, and which leads to the formation of waveguide lasers, has been studied by micro-spectroscopy imaging, beam propagation experiments and calculations. From the analysis of the Nd³⁺ luminescence and Raman images, two main types of laser induced modifications have been found to contribute to the refractive-index change: (i) a lattice defect contribution localized along the self-focusing volume of the laser pulses, in which lattice damage causes a refractive-index decrease, and (ii) a lattice strain-field contribution around and inside the filaments, in which the pressure-driven variation of the inter-atomic distances causes refractive-index variations. Scanning near-field optical-transmission and end-coupling experiments, in combination with beam propagation calculations, have been used to quantitatively determine the corresponding contribution of each effect to the refractive-index field of double-filament waveguides. Results indicate that the strain-field induced refractive-index increment is the main mechanism leading to waveguiding, whereas the damage-induced refractive-index reduction at filaments leads to a stronger mode confinement.     

Dynamics of plasma formation and permanent structural transformation in ZBLAN excited by tightly focused femtosecond laser pulses

Time-resolved dynamics of plasma formation and bulk refractive-index modification in fluoride glass (ZBLAN) excited by a tightly focused femtosecond (130 fs) Ti:sapphire laser (λ_p=790 nm) was observed in situ. The femtosecond time-resolved pump–probe measurement with perpendicularly linear polarized beams was used to study the dynamics of both plasma formation and induced permanent structural transformation with refractive-index change. In the refractive-index domain, the lifetime of induced plasma formation is ～35 ps and structural transition time for forming the refractive-index change is ～80 ps. In the optical damage domain, however, the lifetime of induced plasma formation is ～40 ps and structural transition time for forming the optical damage is ～140 ps. We found that the process of refractive-index bulk modification is significantly different from that of optical cracks. From the diffraction efficiency of Kogelnik's coupled mode theory, the maximum value of refractive-index change (Δn) was estimated to be 1.3×10^?2. By the scanning of fluoride glass on the optical X–Y–Z stages, the fabrication of internal grating with refractive-index modification was demonstrated in fluoride glass using tightly focused femtosecond laser.     

折射率色散效应对晶体硅太阳电池反射率的影响

为了分析色散效应对晶体硅太阳电池反射率的影响,在考虑材料折射率色散效应的情况下,运用光学干涉矩阵计算了具有SiO2单层减反射膜和MgF2/ZnS双层减反射膜晶体硅太阳电池的反射率与波长的函数关系,并与实验结果和未考虑色散效应的计算结果进行了对比分析.结果表明：考虑折射率色散效应的计算结果与实验测量数据完全相符,而未考虑折射率色散效应的计算结果与实验测量数据相差较大,最大差值分别为21.5％和16.9％.     

Photoionization cross section and refractive-index change of hydrogenic impurities in a CdS-SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> spherical quantum dot

In this study, we calculate the photoionization cross section and refractive-index change of an on-center hydrogenic impurity in a CdS-SiO₂ spherical quantum dot. In numerical calculations, both the finite- and infinite-confinement cases are considered and a variational scheme is adopted to determine the energy eigenvalues for the impurity. The variations of the photoionization cross section with the dot radius, the refractive-index change, and the normalized photon energy are investigated, and the effect of the potential-barrier height on the cross section is discussed. The results obtained show that the photoionization cross section and the refractive-index change in CdS-SiO₂ spherical quantum dots are sensitively dependent on the incident optical intensity and on the dot sizes.     

Oscillation of the refractive index at the focal region of a femtosecond laser pulse inside a glass

The temporal evolution of refractive-index change produced by a tightly focused femtosecond (fs) laser pulse inside a soda-lime glass plate was investigated by use of a transient lens method with subpicosecond time resolution. An oscillating behavior of the light intensity in the central region of the probe beam was observed 0-1500 ps after irradiation of the plate. The oscillation was interpreted in terms of a rapid temperature increase and the ensuing propagation of the pressure wave. This study is to our knowledge the first real-time observation of refractive-index change inside a glass induced by a fs laser pulse.     

Fiber-optic refractive-index sensors based on transmissive and reflective thin-core fiber modal interferometers

We present a new fiber-optic refractive-index sensor based on a fiber modal interferometer constituted by a thin-core optical fiber, whose cut-off wavelength is around three times shorter than normal single-mode fiber. In such a core diameter mismatching structure, the high-order cladding modes are efficiently excited and interfere with the core mode to form a high extinction-ratio filter (>30 dB). Both transmissive and reflective thin-core fiber modal interferometers are experimentally demonstrated, and show a high sensitivity to a small change of external refractive-index (>100 nm/R.I.U.), but a low sensitivity to the change of temperature (<0.015 nm/°C). Such a fiber device possesses an extremely simple structure, but excellent refractive-index sensing properties, and thus is an ideal candidate for fiber-optic biochemical sensing applications.