Ultrabright femtosecond source of biphotons based on a spatial mode inverter

A method of enhancing the efficiency of entangled biphoton sources based on a type II femtosecond spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC) process is proposed and implemented experimentally. Enhancement is obtained by mode inversion of one of the SPDC output beams, which allows the beams to overlap completely, thus maximizing the number of SPDC photon pairs with optimum spatiotemporal overlap. By use of this method, biphoton count rates as high as 16 kHz from a single 0.5-mm-long beta-barium borate crystal pumped by second-harmonic radiation from a Ti:sapphire laser were obtained.     

Discrete damage traces from filamentation of Gauss-Bessel pulses

Filamentation of Bessel-Gauss pulses propagating in borosilicate glass is found to produce damage lines extending over hundreds of micrometers and consisting of discrete, equidistant damage spots. These discrete damage traces are explained by self-regeneration of Gauss-Bessel beams during propagation and are potentially applicable in laser microfabrication of transparent materials.     

Transverse and longitudinal phase-matching in third harmonic generation induced by the Bessel beams

Influence of transverse and longitudinal phase matching on the spectral and intensity properties of third harmonic generation induced by the Bessel pump beams has been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Transverse phase matching, revealing itself as a ring pattern in the third harmonic intensity angular spectrum was demonstrated in both the normally and anomalously dispersive media. The conditions were found for the optimization of this conical third harmonic signal.     

Noncollinear second-harmonic generation in periodically poled KTiOPO4 excited by the Bessel beam

Frequency doubling in periodically poled KTiOPO(4) excited by the Bessel-like distribution of the fundamental radiation has been investigated. Theoretical analysis and experiments show that the use of noncollinear geometry provides new possibilities for engineering nonlinear interactions in periodically poled crystals. We demonstrate conversion of the ring-shaped fundamental mode to the axial second-harmonic beam with 30% efficiency for 220-muJ Q -switched Nd:YAG pulses.     

Phase relations between focused bichromatic laser pulses in terahertz wave generation from gas plasma

Terahertz emission from air excited by the tightly focused fundamental and second harmonic pulses of femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser has been analyzed. It has been found that the curved phase fronts of the pump waves cancel each other resulting in the flat phase front of the nonlinear polarization at terahertz frequency. Also, in addition to the phase terms obtained using plane-wave approximation, we have found the yet unreported phase term, which in most cases can be as large as π/2.