Low-light-level photon switching by quantum interference

We report an experimental demonstration of low-light-level photon switching by quantum interference in laser-cooled 87Rb atoms. A resonant probe pulse with an energy per unit area of one photon per lambda2/2pi propagates through the optically thick atoms. Its energy transmittance is greater than 63%, or a loss of less than e(-1), because of the effect of electromagnetically induced transparency. In the presence of a switching pulse with an energy per unit area of 1.4 photons per lambda2/2pi, the energy transmittance of the same probe pulse becomes less than 37%, or e(-1). This substantial reduction of probe transmittance caused by switching photons may lead to potential applications in single-photon-level nonlinear optics and manipulation of quantum information.     

All-optical switching at ultralow light levels

We report an experimental demonstration of all-optical switching at ultralow light levels in coherently prepared Rb atoms. A signal light pulse is switched on and off by a control light pulse at different frequencies in a four-level atomic system based on multiphoton interferences. We observed a switching efficiency of 55% with the signal and control light pulses containing approximately 20 photons each, corresponding to a control energy density of approximately 10(-5) photons per atomic cross section lambda(2)/(2pi).     

Extreme ultraviolet interferometry of warm dense matter in laser plasmas

We demonstrate that interferometric probing with extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser light enables determination of the degree of ionization of the "warm dense matter" produced between the critical and ablation surfaces of laser plasmas. Interferometry has been utilized to measure both transmission and phase information for an EUV laser beam at the photon energy of 58.5 eV, probing longitudinally through laser-irradiated plastic (parylene-N) targets (thickness 350 nm) irradiated by a 300 ps duration pulse of wavelength 438 nm and peak irradiance 10(12) W cm(-2). The transmission of the EUV probe beam provides a measure of the rate of target ablation, as ablated plasma becomes close to transparent when the photon energy is less than the ionization energy of the predominant ion species. We show that refractive indices η below the solid parylene N (η(solid) = 0.946) and expected plasma values are produced in the warm dense plasma created by laser irradiation due to bound-free absorption in C(+).     

High-temperature all-optical intersubband quantum well Terahertz switch

In this article an asymmetric intersubband quantum well structure as a high temperature terahertz (THz) optical switch is proposed. In our proposed structure the incoming low power energy photon (THz control signal) causes an optical switching. In this structure we introduce an optical terahertz switch based on coherent population trapping (CPT) phenomena. In the presence of electromagnetic THz field, quantum interference between the terahertz control field and short-wavelength probe field under appropriate condition, the medium becomes transparent (zero absorption) for the probe field. So the absorption and refraction characteristic of optical probe field can be modified with THz radiation. Therefore this idea is suitable for all – optical terahertz switching.     

Few-photon all-optical modulation in a photonic band-gap fiber

We demonstrate 25% all-optical modulation with <20 photons, i.e., a few attojoules of energy, using nondegenerate two-photon absorption in rubidium atoms confined to a hollow-core photonic band-gap fiber. An attenuation of up to 3 dB is induced on an optical field with a switching energy density of less than one photon per (λ(2)/2π). We show that the temporal response of the system is determined by the 5-ns transit time of the atoms across the optical mode of the fiber, which results in a modulation bandwidth up to 50 MHz.     

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.     

Transient dispersion and absorption in a V-shaped atomic system

We investigate the dynamical behavior of the dispersion and the absorption in a V-type three level atomic system. It is shown that in the presence of decay-induced interference the probe dispersion and absorption are phase dependent. We find that an incoherent pumping field provides an additional control parameter for switching the group velocity of a light pulse. The required switching times for switching the group velocity of a probe field from subluminal to superluminal pulse propagation is then discussed.     

High-average-power 2-kHz laser for generation of ultrashort x-ray pulses

We describe a Ti:sapphire-based laser-x-ray system specifically designed for generation of ultrafast x-ray pulses in the tenths-of-nanometers spectral range at a 2-kHz repetition rate. To obtain high-contrast laser pulses we divide the laser system into a section for generation of microjoule, high-contrast pulses with pulse cleaning and a subsequent section for chirped-pulse amplification and pulse compression. This laser section operates in conjunction with an x-ray-generation section based on a moving copper wire in a He atmosphere. The high reliability of the entire system permits maintenance-free production of x-ray pulses over tens of hours. Average x-ray fluxes of 10(13) photons/(s 4pi sr 1 keV) at 3 keV and 10(9) photons/(s 4pi sr) above 5 keV of photon energy are produced.     

输入光特性对超快非线性干涉仪开关窗口的影响

就超快非线性干涉仪(UNI)的输入光特性对其开关窗口的影响进行了数值模拟和实验研究,输入光包括控制光脉冲和探测光脉冲。在数值模拟中,调节控制光脉冲和探测光脉冲的功率及脉宽,功率越高和脉宽越窄,窗口的形状越好。在调节过程中发现控制光脉冲和探测光脉冲都存在一个最佳的功率点使窗口的形状达到最优。如果继续增大控制光脉冲功率,会使窗口的顶部倾斜,窗口形状恶化;而继续增大探测光脉冲功率,窗口的消光比开始下降。在数值模拟的基础上进行了10Gb／s的超快非线性干涉仪全光开关实验,在实验中用连续光代替探测光脉冲以观察窗口形状。通过改变控制光脉冲和连续光功率来验证它们对超快非线性干涉仪开关窗口的影响。实验表明,应选用短而强的控制光脉冲和最优功率点的连续光,这与模拟结果吻合。     

Generation of 160-ps terawatt-power CO(2) laser pulses

We have developed a three-stage CO(2) master-oscillator-amplifier system that produces 1.1 TW of peak power. The system generates 170 J of energy in a diffraction-limited 160+/-10ps pulse on the 10P(20) line. We also report the realization of a two-wavelength terawatt-peak-power CO(2) laser that can be tuned to an arbitrary pair of lines. A two-stage semiconductor switching system driven by a picosecond-pulse Nd:YAG laser was used to slice a short, low-power 10.6-mum pulse for amplification. A simple plasma shutter helped to compensate for gain narrowing in a final three-pass amplifier and to shorten the pulse.     

Energy efficiency of femtosecond laser ablation of refractory metals

We present the results of an experimental study of the ablation energy thresholds and ablated mass for a number of refractory metals (Ti, Zr, Nb, Mo) by femtosecond (τ _0.5 = 45–70 fs) exposed to laser pulses in the ultraviolet — near infrared range (λ = 266, 400, 800 nm) under atmospheric conditions and under vacuum (p ~ 10^–2 Pa). We have analyzed the ablation efficiency (mass yield per unit energy of the acting coherent radiation) and ablation energy thresholds vs. the laser pulse duration and photon energy.     

紫外激光消融有机物的理论和实验研究

本文分析了紫外准分子激光对有机材料的消融过程,用理论模型解释了每个激光脉冲对有机材料的消融量与入射激光能量密度之间的关系.对于有机玻璃.当入射激光能量密度较高时,双光子过程将起主要作用.最后讨论了消融率随有机材料吸收系数之间的关系,对吸收系数较小的材料,消融率随吸收系数改变有一个极大值.     

An ultrafast all-optical asymmetric Fabry-Pérot switch based on bulk Be-doped InGaAsP grown by He-plasma-assisted epitaxy

We demonstrated ultrafast all-optical switching, using an asymmetric Fabry-Pérot device, based on bulk Be-doped InGaAsP grown by He-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. We achieved 5 ps switching window (1/e fall time) and a peak contrast ratio of 20 dB at 1.57 μm. High contrast (> 10 dB) was maintained over ～24 nm of bandwidth under switching energy density of 0.5 pJ/μm², and over ～40 nm of bandwidth when switching energy density was increased to 1.4 pJ/μm². The switching operation was independent of data pulse polarization, and could be potentially performed at high repetition rates.     

Manipulation of tunneling induced transparency windows and optical switching features in fivefold quantum dot molecules

Transient and steady-state behavior of the probe absorption in a multiple quantum dot (QD) molecule composed of five quantum dots molecules (with a center dot and four satellite dots) is explored with application in all-optical switching. We find that the absorption spectra of the light pulse can be efficiently modified via the effect of inter-dot tunnel couplings of QDs and incoherent pumping field. Results show that depending on the values of system parameters, at least one and at most four tunneling induced transparency (TIT) windows can be established in the multiple QD medium. We then investigate the dynamical behavior of the probe absorption-amplification as well as the optical switching in pulsed regime. By adjusting the incoherent pumping rate, the required switching time for changing the gain to the absorption or vice versa is then estimated approximately to be 20.7 nanosecond (ns), that is an appropriate time for such a QDM-based switch.     

Multipoint barrier discharge process for removal of NOxfrom diesel engine exhaust

We investigated the application of the dielectric barrier discharge process to the removal of NO_x from exhaust gas of a 20-kVA diesel engine generator. A multipoint-to-plane geometry was used as an electrode for low-voltage operation. A pyrex glass plate with a 2-mm thickness was put on the plane electrode as the dielectric barrier. The reactor consists of six discharge cells, with each cell consisting of five stacked multipoint-to-plane electrodes where the exhaust gas flows with a high flow rate. The exhaust gas was successfully treated at a flow rate of 1.2 m³/min, In order to produce repetitive high-voltage pulse, we made two switching electronic devices, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), and a pulse transformer. This pulse modulator supplied the voltage with peak value of 10 kV and repetition rate of 2.5 kp/s (pulses per second) to the reactor. The energy transfer efficiency of the pulse modulator is 65% at 300 W of the power consumed in the reactor, The NO_x (NO+NO₂) in the exhaust gas was reduced by 35 ppm with an electrical efficiency of 32 g/kWh     

Analysis of optodynamic sources generated during laser-induced breakdown in water

We propose a method for evaluating the size of the laser-induced breakdown region in water based on the detection and analysis of optodynamic waves. The breakdown region is an optodynamic source of pressure waves that propagate into the surrounding liquid as an ultrasonic pulse. In the experiment the optical breakdown was generated by a standard ophthalmic Nd:YAG laser with a pulse duration of 10 ns and a maximum energy per pulse of 10 mJ. The pulses were detected inside the liquid with a laser-beam deflection probe. The waveforms were captured in the far-field and analyzed. The analysis provides information about the apparent size of the optodynamic source, which is directly related to the size of the breakdown region. The proposed method can be adapted for online monitoring.     

Plasma-based accelerator diagnostics based upon longitudinalinterferometry with ultrashort optical pulses

All-optical ultrafast time-resolved plasma diagnostics of plasma-based accelerators (PBA's) are described, with emphasis on the laser wakefield accelerator (LWFA). Specifically, the diagnostic techniques involve replacing the trailing particle bunch in the LWFA with a trailing photon bunch: a weak ultrashort laser pulse. Since this photon pulse is derived directly from the intense pump pulse, practical difficulties such as synchronization and dephasing are eliminated. The interaction of the photon bunch with the plasma wake is essentially a simple time-domain shift in optical phase, which can produce both “DC” phase shifts and frequency blue/red-shifting of the probe pulse spectrum. These phase/frequency shifts are recorded in frequency domain interferograms, which are formally equivalent to time-domain holograms. Experimental results of longitudinal plasma density profiling are presented in which plasma density oscillations (Langmuir waves) in the wake of an intense (I_peak~3×10 ¹⁷ W/cm²) laser pulse (~100 fs) were measured with ultrafast time resolution. Phase shifts consistent with large amplitude (~80%) density oscillations at the electron plasma frequency were observed in a fully tunnel-ionized He plasma, corresponding to longitudinal electric fields of ~10 GV/m. Strong radial ponderomotive forces enhance the density oscillations. Finally, proposed single-shot schemes for simultaneous transverse and longitudinal profiling are discussed     

Non-Thermal Laser Ablation Model for Micro-Surgical Applications

We have developed a non-thermal laser ablation model which may reduce thermal damage to neighboring structures. Based on this model, the three critical parameters for a well controlled non-thermal microsurgery are (1) the laser wavelength with its photon energy matching closely the bond dissociation energy, (2) the energy fluence must be above threshold to avoid thermal process due to non-radiative relaxation from the excited electronic states to vibrational, (3) ultra short laser pulses (few fs) to completely eliminate thermal and direct biomolecular reactions. In this model the UV laser photon dissociates the molecular bonds which leads to the splitting of longer polymer chains into small fragments. The excess energy if any may appear as kinetic energy in the polymer-fragments. The extreme rapidity of the bond breaking process reduces heat conduction. The model establishes a relationship between ablation depth per pulse, the absorption coefficient, the incident laser energy fluence, and the threshold energy fluence. The ablation depths per pulse were calculated for the polymers Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polyimide for various commercially available UV lasers. It has been found that the minimum ablations depth occurs at 193 nm for both PMMA and polyimide. This assures a well defined incision with minimal thermal damage to the surrounding structures at this wavelength. There exists a definite threshold energy fluence for non-thermal ablation for any given biomolecule and below the threshold the non-radiative relaxation process may cause thermal ablation. New ultra fast lasers (few femtoseconds) (fs) will completely eliminate thermal diffusion as well as direct biomolecular reactions.     

X射线探测器的脉冲标定技术

利用强流电子束技术产生通量密度为10¹⁸—10¹⁹X-ray photon/sr·s的脉冲CuKX射线源,标定PIN型硅二极管半导体探测器对X光子的脉冲灵敏度。用绝对X射线监测器——P10气体脉冲电离室作为脉冲X射线通量密度的标准。脉冲电荷自动测量仪由微处理机进行程序控制,并予以实时校准。该电离室测量通量密度的精度为±5％,适用的能通量率范围可达4×10^-9—2×10²W/cm²,适用的光子能量范围为1.5—10keV,标定探测器的精度为±7.0％,并发现PIN型硅二极管的脉冲灵敏度比稳态X射线束标定的灵敏度高30％左右。 关键词：     

All-optical pulse regeneration in an ultrafast nonlinear interferometer with Faraday mirror polarization stabilization

We demonstrate the folded ultrafast nonlinear interferometer (FUNI) as a 3R all-optical regenerator. Faraday rotation provides inherent polarization stabilization, and the optical fiber nonlinear medium provides ultrafast operation and switching window tunability. We demonstrate 3R regeneration of 10-Gbit/s data with 5-pJ pulse switching energy and 4-ps timing-jitter tolerance.