Accelerated nonlinear interactions in graded-index multimode fibers.

Multimode optical fibers have recently reemerged as a viable platform for addressing a number of long-standing issues associated with information bandwidth requirements and power-handling capabilities. As shown in recent studies, the complex nature of such heavily multimoded systems can be effectively exploited to observe altogether novel physical effects arising from spatiotemporal and intermodal linear and nonlinear processes. Here, we study for the first time, accelerated nonlinear intermodal interactions in core-diameter decreasing multimode fibers. We demonstrate that in the anomalous dispersion region, this spatiotemporal acceleration can lead to relatively blue-shifted multimode solitons and blue-drifting dispersive wave combs, while in the normal domain, to a notably flat and uniform supercontinuum, extending over 2.5 octaves. Our results pave the way towards a deeper understanding of the physics and complexity of nonlinear, heavily multimoded optical systems, and could lead to highly tunable optical sources with very high spectral densities.

Instant and efficient second-harmonic generation and downconversion in unprepared graded-index multimode fibers.

We show that germanium-doped graded-index multimode silica fibers can exhibit relatively high conversion efficiencies (∼6.5%) for second-harmonic generation when excited at 1064 nm. This frequency-doubling behavior is also found to be accompanied by an effective downconversion. As opposed to previous experiments carried out in single- and few-mode fibers where hours of preparation were required, in our system, these χ(2) related processes occur almost instantaneously. The efficiencies observed in our experiments are, to the best of our knowledge, among the highest ever reported in unprepared fibers.

Versatile supercontinuum generation in parabolic multimode optical fibers.

We demonstrate that the pump's spatial input profile can provide additional degrees of freedom in tailoring at will the nonlinear dynamics and the ensuing spectral content of supercontinuum generation in highly multimoded optical fibers. Experiments and simulations carried out at 1550 nm indicate that the modal composition of the input beam can substantially alter the soliton fission process as well as the resulting Raman and dispersive wave generation that eventually lead to supercontinuum in such a multimode environment. Given the multitude of conceivable initial conditions, our results suggest that it is possible to pre-engineer the supercontinuum spectral content in a versatile manner.

Tailoring frequency generation in uniform and concatenated multimode fibers.

We demonstrate that frequency generation in multimode parabolic-index fibers can be precisely engineered through appropriate fiber design. This is accomplished by exploiting the onset of a geometric parametric instability that arises from resonant spatiotemporal compression. By launching the output of an amplified Q-switched microchip laser delivering 400 ps pulses at 1064 nm, we observe a series of intense frequency sidebands that strongly depend on the fiber core size. The nonlinear frequency generation is analyzed in three fiber samples with 50 µm, 60 µm, and 80 µm core diameters. We further demonstrate that by cascading fibers of different core sizes, a desired frequency band can be generated from the frequency lines parametrically produced in each section. The observed frequency shifts are in good agreement with analytical predictions and numerical simulations. Our results suggest that core scaling and fiber concatenation can provide a viable avenue in designing optical sources with tailored output frequencies.

Decoupled polarization dynamics of incoherent waves and bimodal spectral incoherent solitons.

We consider the propagation of strongly incoherent waves in optical fibers in the framework of the vector nonlinear Schrödinger equation (VNLSE) accounting for the Raman effect. On the basis of the wave turbulence theory, we derive a kinetic equation that greatly simplifies the VNLSE and provides deep physical insight into incoherent wave dynamics. When applied to the study of polarization effects, the theory unexpectedly reveals that the linear polarization components of the incoherent wave evolve independently from each other, even in the presence of weak fiber birefringence. When applied to light propagation in bimodal fibers, the theory reveals that the incoherent modal components can be strongly coupled. After a complex transient, the modal components self-organize into a vector spectral incoherent soliton: The two solitons self-trap and propagate with a common velocity in frequency space.

Visible supercontinuum generation in a graded index multimode fiber pumped at 1064 nm.

We observe efficient supercontinuum generation that extends into the visible spectral range by pumping a low differential mode group delay graded index multimode fiber in the normal dispersion regime. For a 28.5 m long fiber, the generated spectrum spans more than two octaves, starting from below 450 nm and extending beyond 2400 nm. The main nonlinear mechanisms contributing to the visible spectrum generation are attributed to multipath four-wave mixing processes and periodic spatio-temporal breathing dynamics. Moreover, by exploiting the highly multimodal nature of this system, we demonstrate versatile generation of visible spectral peaks in shorter fiber spans by altering the launching conditions. A nonlinearly induced mode cleanup was also observed at the pump wavelength. Our results could pave the way for high brightness, high power, and compact, multi-octave continuum sources.

Rogue waves in a normal-dispersion fiber laser.

Experimental evidence of rogue-wave formation in a normal-dispersion ytterbium fiber laser is reported. Spectral filtering is a primary component of pulse-shaping in normal-dispersion lasers, and we find that the choice of filter dramatically influences the distribution of noise-pulse energies produced by these lasers. With an interference filter in the cavity, non-Gaussian distributions with pulses as large as 6 times the significant wave height are observed. These correspond to pulse energies as high as ∼50 nJ. To our knowledge, the results presented are not accounted for by existing theoretical models of rogue-wave formation.

Generation of 8 nJ pulses from a dissipative-soliton fiber laser with a nonlinear optical loop mirror.

Theoretical and experimental investigations of the behavior of normal-dispersion fiber lasers with nonlinear optical loop mirrors are presented. The use of a loop mirror causes the laser to generate relatively long, flat-topped pulses. The pulse energy can be high, but the pulse duration is limited to greater than 300 fs. Experimentally, 8 nJ pulses that can be dechirped to 340 fs duration are obtained. The laser is a step toward an all-fiber, environmentally stable design.

Optical solitons in graded-index multimode fibres.

Solitons are non-dispersing localized waves that occur in diverse physical settings, including liquids, optical fibres, plasmas and condensed matter. They attract interest owing to their particle-like nature and are useful for applications such as in telecommunications. A variety of optical solitons have been observed, but versions that involve both spatial and temporal degrees of freedom are rare. Optical fibres designed to support multiple transverse modes offer opportunities to study wave propagation in a setting that is intermediate between single-mode fibre and free-space propagation. Here we report the observation of optical solitons and soliton self-frequency shifting in graded-index multimode fibre. These wave packets can be modelled as multicomponent solitons, or as solitons of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Solitons in graded-index fibres should enable increased data rates in low-cost telecommunications systems, are pertinent to space-division multiplexing, and can offer a new route to mode-area scaling for high-power lasers and transmission.

Recent Advances in Fiber Lasers for Nonlinear Microscopy.

Nonlinear microscopy techniques developed over the past two decades have provided dramatic new capabilities for biological imaging. The initial demonstrations of nonlinear microscopies coincided with the development of solid-state femtosecond lasers, which continue to dominate applications of nonlinear microscopy. Fiber lasers offer attractive features for biological and biomedical imaging, and recent advances are leading to high-performance sources with the potential for robust, inexpensive, integrated instruments. This article discusses recent advances, and identifies challenges and opportunities for fiber lasers in nonlinear bioimaging.

Ultrafast and octave-spanning optical nonlinearities from strongly phase-mismatched quadratic interactions.

Cascaded nonlinearities have attracted much interest, but ultrafast applications have been seriously hampered by the simultaneous requirements of being near phase matching and having ultrafast femtosecond response times. Here we show that in strongly phase-mismatched nonlinear frequency conversion crystals the pump pulse can experience a large and extremely broadband self-defocusing cascaded Kerr-like nonlinearity. The large cascaded nonlinearity is ensured through interaction with the largest quadratic tensor element in the crystal, and the strong phase mismatch ensures an ultrafast nonlinear response with an octave-spanning bandwidth. We verify this experimentally by showing few-cycle soliton compression with noncritical cascaded second-harmonic generation: Energetic 47 fs infrared pulses are compressed in a just 1-mm long bulk lithium niobate crystal to 17 fs (under 4 optical cycles) with 80% efficiency, and upon further propagation an octave-spanning supercontinuum is observed. Such ultrafast cascading is expected to occur for a broad range of pump wavelengths spanning the near- and mid-IR using standard nonlinear crystals.

Generation of megawatt peak power picosecond pulses from a divided-pulse fiber amplifier.

Control of nonlinearity is a challenge in fiber amplifiers designed to generate pulses of a few picoseconds duration, and as a result, picosecond fiber amplifiers have failed to reach peak power of 1MW. Divided-pulse amplification, combined with the use of circular polarization, allows the generation of 2.2 ps pulses with energy as high as 2.5 µJ and peak power of 1 MW.

Pulse generation without gain-bandwidth limitation in a laser with self-similar evolution.

With existing techniques for mode-locking, the bandwidth of ultrashort pulses from a laser is determined primarily by the spectrum of the gain medium. Lasers with self-similar evolution of the pulse in the gain medium can tolerate strong spectral breathing, which is stabilized by nonlinear attraction to the parabolic self-similar pulse. Here we show that this property can be exploited in a fiber laser to eliminate the gain-bandwidth limitation to the pulse duration. Broad (∼200 nm) spectra are generated through passive nonlinear propagation in a normal-dispersion laser, and these can be dechirped to ∼20-fs duration.

Optical Cherenkov radiation by cascaded nonlinear interaction: an efficient source of few-cycle energetic near- to mid-IR pulses.

When ultrafast noncritical cascaded second-harmonic generation of energetic femtosecond pulses occur in a bulk lithium niobate crystal optical Cherenkov waves are formed in the near- to mid-IR. Numerical simulations show that the few-cycle solitons radiate Cherenkov (dispersive) waves in the λ = 2.2 - 4.5 µm range when pumping at λ1 = 1.2 - 1.8 µm. The exact phase-matching point depends on the soliton wavelength, and we show that a simple longpass filter can separate the Cherenkov waves from the solitons. The Cherenkov waves are born few-cycle with an excellent Gaussian pulse shape, and the conversion efficiency is up to 25%. Thus, optical Cherenkov waves formed with cascaded nonlinearities could become an efficient source of energetic near- to mid-IR few-cycle pulses.

Control of electron transfer from lead-salt nanocrystals to TiO2.

The roles of solvent reorganization energy and electronic coupling strength on the transfer of photoexcited electrons from PbS nanocrystals to TiO(2) nanoparticles are investigated. We find that the electron transfer depends only weakly on the solvent, in contrast to the strong dependence in the nanocrystal-molecule system. This is ascribed to the larger size of the acceptor in this system, and is accounted for by Marcus theory. The electronic coupling of the PbS and TiO(2) is varied by changing the length, aliphatic and aromatic structure, and anchor groups of the linker molecules. Shorter linker molecules consistently lead to faster electron transfer. Surprisingly, linker molecules of the same length but distinct chemical structures yield similar electron transfer rates. In contrast, the electron transfer rate can vary dramatically with different anchor groups.

Role of solvent dielectric properties on charge transfer from PbS nanocrystals to molecules.

Transfer of photoexcited charge from PbS nanocrystals to ligand molecules is investigated in different solvents. We find that the charge transfer rate increases dramatically with solvent dielectric constant. This trend is accounted for by a modified Marcus theory that incorporates only static dielectric effects. The choice of solvent allows significant control of the charge transfer process. As an important example, we find that PbS nanocrystals dispersed in water exhibit charge transfer rates 1000 times higher than the same nanocrystals in organic solvent. Rapid charge extraction will be important to efficient nanocrystal-based photovoltaic and photodetector devices.

Sub-100 fs pulses at watt-level powers from a dissipative-soliton fiber laser.

We report a mode-locked fiber laser that exploits dissipative-soliton pulse shaping along with cladding pumping for high average power. The laser generates 31 nJ chirped pulses at 70 MHz repetition rate, for an average power of 2.2 W. After dechirping outside the laser, 80 fs pulses, with 200 kW peak power, are obtained.

Soliton Thulium-Doped Fiber Laser With Carbon Nanotube Saturable Absorber.

We report stabilization of a thulium-holmium codoped fiber soliton laser with a saturable absorber based on carbon nanotubes. The laser generates transform-limited 750-fs pulses with 0.5-nJ energy.

All-fiber normal-dispersion femtosecond laser.

Spectral filtering of a chirped pulse can be a strong pulse-shaping mechanism in all-normal-dispersion femtosecond fiber lasers. We report an implementation of such a laser that employs only fiber-format components. The Yb-doped fiber laser includes a fiber filter, and a saturable absorber based on carbon nanotubes. The laser generates 1.5-ps, 3-nJ pulses that can be dechirped to 250 fs duration outside the cavity.

Limits to compression with cascaded quadratic soliton compressors.

We study cascaded quadratic soliton compressors and address the physical mechanisms that limit the compression. A nonlocal model is derived, and the nonlocal response is shown to have an additional oscillatory component in the nonstationary regime when the group-velocity mismatch (GVM) is strong. This inhibits efficient compression. Raman-like perturbations from the cascaded nonlinearity, competing cubic nonlinearities, higher-order dispersion, and soliton energy may also limit compression, and through realistic numerical simulations we point out when each factor becomes important. We find that it is theoretically possible to reach the single-cycle regime by compressing high-energy fs pulses for wavelengths lambda = 1.0-1.3 microm in a beta -barium-borate crystal, and it requires that the system is in the stationary regime, where the phase mismatch is large enough to overcome the detrimental GVM effects. however, the simulations show that reaching single-cycle duration is ultimately inhibited by competing cubic nonlinearities as well as dispersive waves, that only show up when taking higher-order dispersion into account.