Time-resolved chirp measurement for 100GBaud test systems using an ideal frequency discriminator

In this paper we present multi-channel chirp measurements of wide-band sources, using a programmable Fourier-domain optical processor (FDOP) as a near-perfect linear frequency discriminator element followed by a fast photodiode and electrical sampling oscilloscope. The electric field of a 10.7 Gbit/s phase-encoded data source and a directly modulated laser diode are simultaneously interrogated with this measurement system. The constellation diagram of the phase-encoded data source is demonstrated, and a comparison with another phase-sensitive measurement technique is performed. Additionally, an extension to this technique is demonstrated in which the time-resolved chirp of a picosecond-duration mode-locked laser diode with a 260 GHz spectral bandwidth is characterised using the FDOP and a high-bandwidth optical sampling oscilloscope. This measurement ensemble has sufficient temporal resolution to characterise random or repetitive data signals up to 100GBaud.     

Chirp heterodyne laser Doppler velocimeter using a powerful fibre-coupled green laser

The chirp heterodyne technique allows a directional discrimination of laser Doppler velocity measurements without the use of additional frequency shift elements. This paper presents, for the first time, the use of a chirp frequency-modulated solid-state laser, emitting in the green spectral range. Experimental results of a fluid flow measurement verify the function of the realised chirp heterodyne laser Doppler velocimeter.     

Compression of attosecond harmonic pulses by extreme-ultraviolet chirped mirrors

In the race toward attosecond pulses, for which high-order harmonics generated in rare gases are the best candidates, both the harmonic spectral range and the spectral phase have to be controlled. We demonstrate that multilayer extreme-ultraviolet chirped mirrors can be numerically optimized and designed to compensate for the intrinsic harmonic chirp that was recently discovered and that is responsible for temporal broadening of pulses. A simulation shows that an optimized mirror is capable of compressing the duration from approximately 260 to 90 as. This new technique is an interesting solution because of its ability to cover a wider spectral range than other technical devices that have already been proposed to overcome the chirp of high harmonics.     

Time-to-frequency Fourier transformation with photon echoes

We propose to use photon echoes in rare-earth-doped crystals to implement the Fourier-transform chirp algorithm. The process is considered for application to spectral analysis of fast radio-frequency signals. Compared with surface acoustic wave devices, the proposed scheme gives access to the larger bandwidths of rare-earth-doped crystals and greater flexibility. An experimental demonstration of the proposed process is reported.     

Supercontinuum manipulation based on the influence of chirp on soliton spectral tunneling

The soliton spectral tunneling(SST) effect, as a soliton spectral switching phenomenon, enables a soliton to tunnel through a spectrally limited regime of normal dispersion in the fiber with multiple zero dispersion wavelengths(ZDWs).Since initial chirp can affect the behavior of pulse evolution, we numerically study the influence of chirp on the SST in the process of supercontinuum(SC) occurring in a photonic crystal fiber(PCF) with three ZDWs. The linear chirp is imposed by a phase modulation of input pulse while maintaining a constant pulse duration. Interestingly, it is found that the spectral range and flatness can be flexibly tuned by adjusting the initial chirp value. More specifically, positive chirp facilitates soliton self-frequency shifting(SSFS), making the soliton quickly transfer from one anomalous dispersion regime to another accompanied by the generation of dispersive waves(DWs). In this case, the SST effect further expands the spectral range by enhancing both the red-shift of the fundamental soliton and the blue-shift of DWs, thus generating a broader SC. However, negative chirp suppresses the SST effect, resulting in a smoother SC at the expense of bandwidth.Therefore, the findings in this work provide interesting results relating to the influence of initial chirp on the SST to generate a considerably smoother and broader SC, which is extremely useful in many applications, such as wavelength conversion and SC generation.     

光学频率梳基于光谱干涉实现绝对距离测量

详细分析了光学频率梳光谱干涉的原理, 建立了较全面的光谱干涉的数学模型, 为实现绝对距离测量提供理论分析基础. 基于光谱干涉, 指出通过光谱干涉条纹的振荡频率, 即一次傅里叶变换, 可以实现绝对距离测量, 数值模拟结果表明, 最大测量误差为1.5 nm; 提出了一种等效的多波长并行零差干涉的方法, 分析了多波长并行零差干涉法的测距原理. 数值模拟结果表明, 多波长并行零差干涉法的最大误差为8.7 nm; 通过脉冲啁啾实现绝对测距, 分析了基于脉冲啁啾实现绝对测距的原理, 数值模拟结果表明, 最大测距误差为5.3 nm.     

Chirped-pulse stimulated Raman scattering in barium nitrate with subsequent recompression

We report a 30% internal conversion efficiency for the first Stokes pulse in stimulated Raman scattering of femtosecond pulses that are dispersively stretched to 250 ps, obtained by use of an all-solid-state laser system. A transfer of the linear chirp is observed, leading to a Raman pulse duration of 190 fs after recompression. Compressed pulse energies of 80 muJ at a repetition rate of 1 kHz are obtained, with a potential for an easy increase to more than 150 muJ. The temporal and spectral characteristics of the Raman and pump pulses are calculated, and the results explain the observed transient features in the presence of chirp.     

Open-path ozone detection by quantum-cascade laser

Open-path ozone measurements performed by mid-IR differential absorption spectroscopy are reported. Ozone spectrum was taken by fast repetitive sweeping of a quantum-cascade laser wavelength over a spectral feature from the ν₃ absorption band of ozone, centered at 1031.2 cm^-1. Short (100 ns) sweeping times were essential to prevent line-distortions caused by atmospheric turbulence. For fast wavelength sweeping, a technique that employed the thermal chirp during 140 ns excitation pulses was used. The lowest detection limit of 0.3 ppm.m was estimated from the minimum detectable differential absorption. We present the results from cell and open-path measurements over 440 and 5800 m, together with experimental data regarding the tuning range, the tuning rate and the tuning linearity of the QCL while operated with 140 ns excitation pulses. PACS 42.62.Fi; 82.80.Gk; 92.60.Sz     

High frequency wavelength modulation spectroscopy with diode lasers

High frequency wavelength modulation spectroscopy with diode lasers is accomplished by dithering the drive current at RF frequencies as high as 250 MHz. This technique is useful for fast and sensitive detection of absorption lines in the near-and mid-infrared spectral regions. Detection of 300 MHz wide spectral features corresponding to 1% changes in transmission is accomplished in time intervals as short as 500 ns. A potential application is for fast reading of information contained in frequency domain optical memories based upon photochemical hole burning.     

啁啾脉冲堆积及其放大特性

 根据啁啾脉冲堆积的原理以及模型介绍了两路脉冲堆积时脉冲的时间与频谱特性,分析了堆积脉冲产生时间与频谱调制,以及交叠区产生非线性频率啁啾的原因。通过非线性薛定谔方程,分析了堆积脉冲的放大特性,介绍了啁啾参量对放大结果的影响以及放大后堆积脉冲的频率啁啾的变化。研究表明,在堆积脉冲的放大过程中自相位调制效应非常明显,严重影响了脉冲的频谱与频率啁啾。     

Limiting temporal and spectral resolution in spectroscopy and microscopy of coherent Raman scattering with chirped ultrashort laser pulses

Chirped ultrashort light pulses offer new options for coherent nonlinear spectroscopy and microscopy. We show here that the temporal resolution of spectroscopy and microscopy based on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) can be smoothly tuned within a broad range, with upper and lower bounds of this range controlled by the pump and probe pulse durations. The spectral resolution of CARS spectroscopy and microscopy is analyzed as a function of the duration and chirp of the pump pulses. Pulses with a periodic phase modulation can provide the limiting spectral resolution of the CARS technique, corresponding to the lower bound of uncertainty in spectral measurements, dictated by the uncertainty principle.     

啁啾引入时刻对H_2~+谐波光谱的影响

理论研究了长脉宽激光驱动下啁啾引入时刻对H_2~+高次谐波光谱的影响.结果表明,在长脉宽激光驱动下,H_2~+在激光前半程区域具有较高的谐波辐射效率.因此,在激光前半程引入啁啾调控可获得高强度光谱连续区.此外,在啁啾调控区域引入单极激光场可以进一步获得高能谐波连续区.最后,叠加谐波连续区的谐波,可获得39 as的孤立脉冲.     

Coherent measurement of short laser pulses based on spectral interferometry resolved in time

We propose a new method for measuring the phase and the amplitude of a short laser pulse that is based on shearing interferometry in the spectral domain combined with time gating. The method has several features in common with spectral interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction, in particular, fast and direct reconstruction of the phase. Accurate measurement of the phase added to an 80-fs pulse by a block of F4 glass demonstrates the technique.     

Propagation properties of ultrashort chirped pulsed Gaussian beams in the free space

Based on the Rayleigh diffraction integral and complex analytical signal representation, the free-space analytical propagation equation and its Fourier spectrum for ultrashort chirped pulsed Gaussian beams with constant diffraction length are derived. The effect of chirp parameter on the spatiotemporal and spectral properties is illustrated with analytical formulas and numerical calculation results. It is shown that the axial spectra of ultrashort chirped pulsed Gaussian beams become broadened with increasing chirp parameter. For single optical cycle, the transversal intensity distribution is affected by increasing chirp parameter, but almost not affected for several optical cycles. Moreover, the positive or negative sign of the chirp parameter has no effect on the spectral distribution and intensity distribution.     

三五阶非线性下啁啾超高斯脉冲的啁啾和频谱

利用三五阶非线性效应下的扩展非线性薛定谔方程,在忽略光纤色散的情况下,计算模拟了以二阶情形为例的啁啾超高斯光脉冲的啁啾和频谱。结果表明,脉冲无预啁啾时,正五阶非线性增大啁啾量,负五阶非线性在减小啁啾量的同时还改变啁啾曲线的形状。当预啁啾与五阶非线性系数同(异)号时,总啁啾增加(减小)。随着超高斯脉冲阶次的增大,总啁啾量增大,脉冲中心附近无啁啾的范围变宽,整个有啁啾的范围变小,总啁啾中预啁啾所占比重增大。脉冲无预啁啾时,正负五阶非线性分别可以增大和减小频谱展宽。预啁啾若增强非线性所致啁啾,则可能使频谱峰值结构加强,谱峰数目增多。当超高斯光脉冲的阶次或最大非线性相移增大时,在某些宽大的频谱峰上还可能出现许多精细谱峰。     

Elimination of the chirp of optical pulses through cascaded nonlinearities in periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides

We propose and demonstrate a novel method for the elimination of arbitrary frequency chirp from short optical pulses. The technique is based on the combination of two cascaded second-order nonlinearities in two individual periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides. The proposed scheme operates independently of the spectral phase characteristics of the input pulse, producing a near-transform-limited output.     

Determination of spectral width and chirp of ultrashort light pulses by analysis of second harmonic beam divergence

It is shown that in the noncollinear second harmonic generation scheme used for ultrashort light pulse duration measurements the divergence of the second harmonic beam is determined by the spectral width and chirp of the pulse. This enables one to measure simultaneously the spectral width, pulse duration, spectral-time product, chirp and its sign for a single pulse in the same device.     

Stimulated Raman spectroscopy using chirped pulses

We present a detailed theoretical and experimental characterization of a new methodology for stimulated Raman spectroscopy using two duplicates of a chirped, broadband laser pulse. Because of the linear variation of laser frequency with time (‘chirp’), when the pulses are delayed relative to one another, there exists a narrow bandwidth, instantaneous frequency difference between them, which, when resonant with a Raman‐active vibration in the sample, generates stimulated Raman gain in one pulse and inverse Raman loss in the other. This method has previously been used for coherent Raman imaging and termed ‘spectral focusing’. Here, gain and loss signals are spectrally resolved, and the spectrally integrated signals are used to determine the spectral resolution of the measured Raman spectrum. Material dispersion is used to generate a range of pulse durations, and it is shown that there is only a small change in the magnitude of the signal and the spectral resolution as the pulse is stretched from 800 to 1800 fs in duration. A quantitative theory of the technique is developed, which reproduces both the magnitude and linewidth of the experimental signals when third‐order dispersion and phase‐matching efficiency are included. The theoretical calculations show that both spectral resolution and signal magnitude are severely hampered by the third‐order dispersion in the laser pulse, and hence, a minimal amount of chirp produces the most signal with only a slight loss of spectral resolution. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectral development of short pulses in KrF gain modules

Spectral evolution of short pulses in off-axis KrF amplifiers is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. It is pointed out that the spectral features of the amplified pulses are mainly determined by the initial chirp of the pulse and the SPM in the laser windows. Received: 1 November 1999 / Revised version: 9 May 2000 / Published online: 16 August 2000