Enhanced quadratic photocurrent in commercial light emitting diodes for autocorrelation measurement of ultrashort laser pulses

The quadratic photocurrent in commercial light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been studied in reverse bias mode for autocorrelation measurement of ultrashort laser pulses. It is found that the photocurrent can be greatly enhanced by operating the LED biased just below the reverse bias breakdown threshold. The effect of aging of LEDs on laser exposure in this mode of operation is found to be similar to that for the photovoltaic mode. The large internal gain in LED junction has enabled the recording of the second order autocorrelation signal of ∼200 fs laser pulses from 100 MHz laser oscillator with two orders of magnitude smaller average and peak power product compared to the case of the photovoltaic mode. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.50.Hz; 85.60.Jb     

Characterization of an ytterbium-doped double-clad fiber laser passively mode-locked by nonlinear polarization rotation

The properties of an ytterbium-doped double-clad fiber laser, passively mode-locked by nonlinear polarization rotation are investigated in this work. Cartographies of mode-locking regime versus halfwave plates orientations are presented for several values of the total cavity dispersion and for different pump powers. Bistability between the continuous and the mode-locking regimes is pointed out. The effect of the total group velocity dispersion is described with a master mode-locking equation. PACS 42.55.Wd; 42.65.Re     

Generation of attosecond pulses with ellipticity-modulated fundamental

We have studied experimentally and theoretically high-order harmonic generation using a laser field with a time-dependent ellipticity. We show that the harmonic emission can be confined into a narrow temporal window, in which the fundamental polarization is quasi-linear. This allows a single attosecond pulse (200 as) with a fundamental field obtained from 10 fs pulse to be generated. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Re; 32.80.Wr     

Self-induced nonlinear polarization change of femtosecond laser pulse propagation in an optically isotropic glass

The self-induced polarization change of femtosecond laser pulses passing through an isotropic optical glass is investigated. It is shown that supercontinuum generations from femtosecond lasers tend to be identical for the incident beam with different polarizations ranging from a large-ellipticity to a linear state when the incident laser power increases. Theoretical analysis reveals that a transient intensity-dependent birefringence is induced in the glass sample by the laser pulse itself, and the accumulated nonlinear phase shift leads to a change in polarization ellipticity. Simulation results are consistent with the experimental observations. PACS 42.50.Md; 42.65.Jx; 42.81.Gs; 77.22.Ej     

Compression of harmonic pulses by using material dispersion

We utilize the dispersion property of an X-ray filter material for the generation of a single sub-50-as pulse from high-order harmonics. The attosecond pulse, formed by selecting the spectral range of high-order harmonic radiation, contains an intrinsic chirp corresponding to the quadratic phase variation during a half cycle of a laser pulse. We show that this chirp can be compensated by using the negative group-delay dispersion of a thin X-ray filter, compressing the attosecond pulse down to sub-50-as. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.50.Hz; 42.65.Ky     

Control of supercontinuum generation with polarization of incident laser pulses

Supercontinuum generation is dependent on the polarization state of the incident laser. The polarization of the generated supercontinuum is the same as that of the incident laser. The magnitude of the generated supercontinuum depends on the polarization of the incident laser and increases as the polarization changes from circular to linear, irrespective of the nature of the sample, be it isotropic, anisotropic, or chiral. In all samples, the polarization dependence indicates a preference for the linear component of the incident laser beam. The anisotropic sample shows an additional difference in the generated supercontinuum for the two perpendicular directions of the incident laser polarization. PACS 42.25.Ja; 42.65.Ky     

A study on wavelength dependence and dynamic range of the quadratic response of commercial grade light emitting diodes

Experimental results of a study on the wavelength dependence and the dynamic range of the quadratic response of commercial grade light emitting diodes (LEDs) are reported over a broad spectral range of 680 nm to 1080 nm using ~ 100 fs duration laser pulses from cw mode locked laser oscillator. A large dynamic range of the quadratic response has been demonstrated in a reverse biased LED. The observed dynamic range compares well with that obtained using a biased photomultiplier tube with large internal gain.     

Systematic study of highly efficient white light generation in transparent materials using intense femtosecond laser pulses

We report the results of a systematic study of white light generation in different high band-gap optical media (BaF₂, acrylic, water and BK-7 glass) using ultrashort (45 fs) laser pulses. We have investigated the influence of different parameters, such as focal position of the incident laser light within the medium, the polarization state of the incident laser radiation and the pulse duration of the incident laser beam on the white light generation. Our results indicate that for intense, ultrashort pulses, the position of physical focus inside the media is crucial in the generation, with high efficiency, of white light spectra over the wavelength range 400–1100 nm. Linearly polarized incident laser light generates white light with higher intensity in the blue region than circularly polarized light. Ultrashort (45 fs) pulses generate a flatter spectrum with higher white light conversion efficiency than longer (300 fs) pulses of the same laser power. We believe that a flat response over a wide range of wavelengths in the continuum may be efficiently compressed for generation of sub-10 fs pulses. PACS 52.38.Hb; 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg; 33.80.Wz; 52.35.Mw     

Circular photocurrent in Ag/Pd resistive films upon excitation by femtosecond laser pulses

This paper presents the results of the experimental investigation of the generation of nanosecond photocurrent pulses in silver–palladium (Ag/Pd) resistive films under excitation by laser pulses with a duration of 120 fs at a wavelength of 795 nm. The photocurrent was detected in the direction perpendicular to the plane of incidence of the laser beam on the film. The 20-μm-thick films under investigation were a porous polycrystalline material consisting predominantly of nanocrystallites of the palladium oxide PdO and the Ag–Pd solid solution. The direction of the photocurrent observed in the films depends on the sign of the circular polarization of the incident radiation. It was found that the observed photocurrent depends on the angle of incidence in accordance with the odd law and consists of the circular and linear contributions, which are dependent on and independent of the sign of the circular polarization, respectively. It was shown that the circular photocurrent is significantly higher than the linear photocurrent. It was established that, for both the circular and linear polarizations, the photocurrent is directly proportional to the power of the excitation radiation. For the linearly polarized laser radiation, the photocurrent depends on the polarization angle in accordance with the odd law. The regularities revealed are consistent with the mechanism of the generation of transverse photocurrent with the photon drag effect.     

Carrier-envelope phase measurement using a non phase stable laser

We demonstrate that the phase between the carrier and the pulse envelope of a few-cycle laser pulse can be retrieved from non phase stable laser systems, provided that such laser pulses are about 5 fs long and the repetition rate is in the order of 1 kHz. Our approach is based on online determination of the phase using f-2f interferometry. By a comparison of the self referencing interferometric signal with the photoelectron current emitted into a 7 degree solid angle parallel to the laser polarization, we obtain the absolute value of the carrier envelope phase. This is provided that a Coulomb correction for electron energies below 10 eV can be correctly taken into account. PACS 42.50.Hz; 42.65.Re; 32.80.Rm     

Independent control over the amplitude,phase, and polarization of femtosecond pulses

We introduce a shaper setup which takes advantage of laser pulses passing through a spatial light modulator twice, thereby effectively utilizing a four-liquid crystal mask configuration. This approach grants control not only over the phase and polarization but also the amplitude. The Jones vector of the light wave after passing through the setup is considered in detail including polarization sensitive grating efficiency. A new method of counteracting the polarization dependent grating transmission is described and a comparison between the desired and recorded pulses is presented. PACS 42.25.Ja; 42.15.Eq; 42.65.Re     

Discrete and dipole-mode gap solitons in higher-order nonlinear photonic lattices

We investigate the formation of fundamental discrete solitons and dipole-mode gap solitons in triangular photonic lattices imprinted in photorefractive nonlinear media. These lattices are strongly affected by the photorefractive anisotropy, resulting in orientation-dependent refractive index structures with reduced symmetry. It is demonstrated that two different orientations of the lattice wave enable the formation of fundamental discrete solitons in the total internal reflection gap. Furthermore, it is shown that one lattice orientation additionally supports dipole-mode solitons in the Bragg reflection gap. The experimental results are corroborated by numerical simulations using the full anisotropic model. PACS 42.65.Tg; 42.65.Wi; 42.70.Qs     

Field control in the tight focus of polarization-shaped laser pulses

We show through simulations how to control the spatial field distribution of a tightly focused Gaussian beam of polarization-shaped femtosecond laser pulses. The field in the focus is calculated employing a decomposition into plane-wave components with appropriate incidence angles. Both polarization directions of the shaped pulse are treated separately and then superposed coherently. The incident polarization shape can be used to control the spatial and temporal evolution of the longitudinal field component. PACS 42.25.Ja; 42.30.-d; 42.65.Re     

Structural,optical, and nonlinear optical properties of indium nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation

A study of indium nanoparticles prepared by two laser ablation techniques is reported. The suspensions of indium nanoparticles were prepared using the laser ablation of bulk indium in liquids. The prepared suspensions of indium nanoparticles were analyzed by the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and absorption spectroscopy. The position of the surface plasmon resonance of In-containing suspensions (350 nm) was consistent with the estimations taking into account the average size of In nanoparticles (43 nm) measured using the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The nonlinear optical parameters of indium nanoparticles-containing liquids were studied by the z-scan technique using a picosecond Nd:YAG laser. We compare the laser ablation in liquids with the laser ablation of indium in vacuum at the tight and weak focusing conditions of a Ti:sapphire laser and analyze the 60 nm indium nanoparticles synthesized in the latter case. PACS 42.65.An; 42.65.Hw; 42.65.Jx; 61.46.Df; 78.67.Bf     

Calorimetric detection of THz radiation from femtosecond filaments in air

Calorimetric measurements of the THz radiation from plasma filaments created in air by intense IR fs laser pulses were performed. The decay kinetics of the THz radiation from this extended plasma source is shown to be different from that of a localized air plasma source produced by the same laser. PACS 42.65.Wi; 42.65.Re; 52.40.Db     

Ultra-fast saturable absorber through spatial self-trapping and filtering in Ti:PPLN film waveguides

Numerical and experimental investigations on ultra-fast all-optical saturable absorber on picosecond optical pulses at 1547 nm using spatial self-trapped propagation in a quadratic nonlinear film waveguide combined with spatial filtering are reported. The influences of phase-mismatch, pulse intensity and spatial filtering on the temporal reshaping mechanism are discussed to derive the optimum parameters. PACS 42.65.Ky, 42.65.Re, 42.65.Wi     

Generation of a variable linear array of phase-coherent supercontinuum sources

We investigate the coherence properties of a linear array of white-light sources produced in bulk media by ultrashort laser pulses. The array is generated out of the spatial interference pattern between two laser pump pulses, so that the number of supercontinuum sources and their separations can be easily manipulated by varying the geometry of the laser beam interaction. We find that all the secondary white-light sources which arise from the generation of filaments in the optical medium are well phase-locked and are thus able to generate stable and high-visibility multiple-beam interference patterns in the far-field. Observations are compared to the results of a simple model which takes into account a clamping of the peak laser intensity inside the filaments and includes intensity-dependent phase shifts among the different sources. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Re     

Surface and flexoelectric polarization in a nematic liquid crystal 5CB

The temperature dependence of the surface polarization has been measured for both the planar and homeotropic orientation of a nematic liquid crystal at a solid substrate. A conventional liquid crystal 5CB, pure and doped with an azo-dye, was used in cells with controlled asymmetry for light absorption. The measurements have been made by a pyroelectric technique using short pulses of a YAG laser to create a temperature increment. The latter, in turn, was measured independently by a novel time-resolved “optical thermometer” technique monitoring temperature-dependent birefringence by a He- Ne laser beam. In accordance with the symmetry of the order parameter, the surface polarization has different sign for the two orientations, its magnitude ranges from -4 to +2pC/m. The same technique has been used for the measurement of the flexoelectric polarization in hybrid cells. The sum of the flexoelectric coefficients is e ₁ + e ₃ = - 13pC/m at 25°C. Received 28 February 2000 and Received in final form 5 September 2000     

Sub-half-cycle polarization gates in ultra-short laser pulses induced by non-linear propagation effects

We demonstrate the possibility of imprinting a controlled ultra-fast time-varying ellipticity on few-cycle laser pulses through the non-linear propagation in a thin anisotropic crystal. The method is based on the self- and cross-phase modulation induced by the third-order (Kerr) non-linearity when the pulse propagates through the crystal. The feasibility of this technique is demonstrated through the numerical integration of the Maxwell equations, showing the possibility of producing a sub-half-cycle temporal gate of linear polarization. In comparison with alternative approaches, our method results in a polarization gate with higher efficiency, and also it can be controlled by changing the polarization axis of the laser pulse at the entrance of the crystal. We finally demonstrate the efficiency of this scheme in the generation of single attosecond pulses. PACS 42.81.Gs; 42.65.Re; 32.80.Wr     

Single-shot dynamics of pulses from a gas-filled hollow fiber

We present measurements of the performance characteristics of few-cycle laser pulses generated by propagation through a gas-filled hollow fiber. The pulses going into the fiber and the compressed pulses after the fiber were simultaneously fully characterized shot-by-shot by using two kHz SPIDER setups and kHz pulse energy measurements. Output-pulse properties were found to be exceptionally stable and pulse characteristics relevant for non-linear applications like high-harmonic generation are discussed. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Sf; 42.65.Jx