Photon-Pair Generation with a 100 nm Thick Carbon Nanotube Film.

Nonlinear optics based on bulk materials is the current technique of choice for quantum-state generation and information processing. Scaling of nonlinear optical quantum devices is of significant interest to enable quantum devices with high performance. However, it is challenging to scale the nonlinear optical devices down to the nanoscale dimension due to relatively small nonlinear optical response of traditional bulk materials. Here, correlated photon pairs are generated in the nanometer scale using a nonlinear optical device for the first time. The approach uses spontaneous four-wave mixing in a carbon nanotube film with extremely large Kerr-nonlinearity (≈100 000 times larger than that of the widely used silica), which is achieved through careful control of the tube diameter during the carbon nanotube growth. Photon pairs with a coincidence to accidental ratio of 18 at the telecom wavelength of 1.5 µm are generated at room temperature in a ≈100 nm thick carbon nanotube film device, i.e., 1000 times thinner than the smallest existing devices. These results are promising for future integrated nonlinear quantum devices (e.g., quantum emission and processing devices).

Optimization of output power in a fiber optical parametric oscillator.

Fiber optical parametric oscillators (FOPOs) are coherent sources that can provide ultra-broadband tunability and high output power levels and are been considered for applications such as medical imaging and sensing. While most recent literature has focused on advancing the performance of these devices experimentally, theoretical studies are still scarce. In contrast, ordinary laser theory is very mature, has been thoroughly studied and is now well understood from the point of view of fundamental physics. In this work, we present a theoretical study of OPOs and in particular we theoretically discuss the process of gain saturation in optical parametric amplifiers. In order to emphasize the significant difference between the two coherent sources, we compare the optimized coupling ratios for maximum output powers of the ordinary laser and the optical parametric oscillator and demonstrate that in contrast to ordinary lasers, highest output powers in optical parametric oscillators are achieved with output coupling ratios close to 1. We confirm experimentally our theoretical studies by building a narrowband fiber optical parametric oscillator at 1450nm with multi-watt output power. We show that the device is robust to intracavity losses and achieve peak power as high as 2.4W.

Carbon nanotube/polymer composite coated tapered fiber for four wave mixing based wavelength conversion.

In this paper, we demonstrate a nonlinear optical device based on a fiber taper coated with a carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer composite. Using this device, four wave mixing (FWM) based wavelength conversion of 10 Gb/s Non-return-to-zero signal is achieved. In addition, we investigate wavelength tuning, two photon absorption and estimate the effective nonlinear coefficient of the CNTs embedded in the tapered fiber to be 1816.8 W(-1)km(-1).

Enhanced stability of nitrogen-sealed carbon nanotube saturable absorbers under high-intensity irradiation.

Due to their broadband saturable absorption and fast response, carbon nanotubes have proven to be an excellent material for the modelocking of fiber lasers and have become a promising device for the implementation of novel laser configurations. However, it is imperative to address the issue of their long-term reliability under intense optical pulses before they can be exploited in widespread commercial applications. In this work, we study how carbon nanotubes degrade due to oxidation when exposed to high-intensity continuous-wave light and we demonstrate that by sealing the carbon nanotubes in a nitrogen gas, the damage threshold can be increased by over one order of magnitude. We then monitor over 24 hours the performance of the carbon nanotube saturable absorbers as the passive modelocking device of an erbium-doped fiber laser with intracavity powers ranging from 5 mW to 316 mW. We observe that when the carbon nanotubes are sealed in nitrogen environment, oxidation can be efficiently prevented and the laser can operate without any deterioration at intracavity powers higher than 300 mW. However, in the case where carbon nanotubes are unprotected (i.e. those directly exposed to the air in the environment), the nanotubes start to deteriorate at intracavity powers lower than 50 mW.

Multi-gigahertz repetition rate passively modelocked fiber lasers using carbon nanotubes.

There is an increasing demand for all-fiber passively mode-locked lasers with pulse repetition rates in the order of gigahertz for their potential applications in fields such as telecommunications and metrology. However, conventional mode-locked fiber lasers typically operate at fundamental repetition rates of only a few megahertz. In this paper, we report all-fiber laser operation with fundamental repetition rates of 4.24 GHz, 9.63 GHz and 19.45 GHz. This is, to date and to the best of our knowledge, the highest fundamental repetition rate reported for an all-fiber laser. The laser operation is based on the passive modelocking of a miniature all-fiber Fabry-Pérot laser (FFPL) by a carbon nanotube (CNT) saturable absorber. The key components for such device are a very high-gain Er:Yb phosphosilicate fiber and a fiber compatible saturable absorber with very small foot print and very low losses. The laser output of the three lasers was close to transform-limited with a pulsewidth of approximately 1 ps and low noise. As a demonstration of potential future applications for this laser, we also demonstrated supercontinuum generation with a longitudinal mode-spacing of 0.08 nm by launching the laser operating at 9.63 GHz into 30 m of a highly nonlinear dispersion shifted fiber.

Optical deposition of graphene and carbon nanotubes in a fiber ferrule for passive mode-locked lasing.

Mode-locked fiber lasers are currently undergoing a significant evolution towards higher pulse energies and shorter pulse durations. A key enabler in this progress has been the discovery of novel saturable absorbers (SA) such as carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene. The exceptional properties of CNTs as SA have been extensively studied in recent years. Graphene, a one atom thick planar sheet of carbon atoms arranged into a hexagonal lattice, has been recently proposed as an alternative to CNTs in several photonics applications. Here, we propose a method for the integration of graphene into a fiber ferrule using an optical deposition technique, which has been also employed for the deposition of CNT directly on the core of a fiber edge and in tapered fibers. We investigate and compare the optical properties of CNT-SA and graphene-SA fabricated by this optical deposition technique. Soliton-like, mode-locked lasing is confirmed using an erbium doped optical fiber in an all-fiber ring cavity laser configuration.

Passive mode-locked lasing by injecting a carbon nanotube-solution in the core of an optical fiber.

In this paper, we propose a saturable absorber (SA) device consisting on an in-fiber micro-slot inscribed by femtosecond laser micro fabrication, filled by a dispersion of Carbon Nanotubes (CNT). Due to the flexibility of the fabrication method, efficient and simple integration of the mode-locking device directly into the optical fiber is achieved. Furthermore, the fabrication process offers a high level of control over the dimensions and location of the micro-slots. We apply this fabrication flexibility to extend the interaction length between the CNT and the propagating optical field along the optical fiber, hence enhancing the nonlinearity of the device. Furthermore, the method allows the fabrication of devices that operate by either a direct field interaction (when the central peak of the propagating optical mode passes through the nonlinear media) or an evanescent field interaction (only a fraction of the optical mode interacts with the CNT). In this paper, several devices with different interaction lengths and interaction regimes are investigated. Self-starting passively modelocked laser operation with an enhanced nonlinear interaction is observed using CNT-based SAs in both interaction regimes. This method constitutes a simple and suitable approach to integrate the CNT into the optical system as well as enhancing the optical nonlinearity of CNT-based photonic devices.

Carbon nanotube-doped polymer optical fiber.

We present a method to fabricate graded-index multimode polymer optical fibers doped with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Such fiber structures provide the means to fully utilize the exceptional optical properties of the CNTs. The core region of the fiber is composed of CNTs and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) with the addition of diphenyl sulfide (DPS), which acts as the dispersion stabilizer of CNTs in PMMA as well as the dopant to increase the refractive index of the core. Utilizing 2.5 cm of the fiber as a saturable absorber, passively mode-locked lasing with duration of 3.0 ps and repetition rate of 30.3 MHz was demonstrated.

In-fiber microchannel device filled with a carbon nanotube dispersion for passive mode-lock lasing.

Fueled by their high third-order nonlinearity and nonlinear saturable absorption, carbon nanotubes (CNT) are expected to become an integral part of next-generation photonic devices such as all-optical switches and passive mode-locked lasers. However, in order to fulfill this expectation it is necessary to identify a suitable platform that allows the efficient use of the optical properties of CNT. In this paper, we propose and implement a novel device consisting of an optofluidic device filled with a dispersion of CNT. By fabricating a microchannel through the core of a conventional fiber and filling it with a homogeneous solution of CNTs on Dimethylformamide (DMF), a compact, all-fiber saturable absorber is realized. The fabrication of the micro-fluidic channel is a two-step process that involves femtosecond laser micro-fabrication and chemical etching of the laser-modified regions. All-fiber high-energy, passive mode-locked lasing is demonstrated with an output power of 13.5 dBm. The key characteristics of the device are compactness and robustness against optical, mechanical and thermal damage.

Fabrication of Carbon nanotube poly-methyl-methacrylate composites for nonlinear photonic devices.

Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are an attractive material for photonic applications due to their nonlinear optical properties, such as the nonlinear saturable absorption and high third order nonlinearity. However their utilization has been hindered by the lack of flexibility on the device design which rises from the current methods of Carbon nanotube deposition within the optical system. A suitable approach to solve this problem is to embed the CNTs in an optical material from which complex devices such as optical waveguides or optical fibers can be fabricated. Here, we propose a novel method to fabricate Carbon nanotube-doped poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA) composites in which the Carbon nanotubes are dispersed in the methyl-methacrylate (MMA) monomer solution prior to and during the polarization process. This method allows the bundle separation and dispersion of the CNT in a liquid state without the need for solvents, hence simplifying the method and facilitating the fabrication of volume CNT-PMMA. Volume fabrication makes this technique suitable for the fabrication of CNT-doped polymer fibers. In this paper, we also analyzed the merits of adding dopants such as diphenyl sulfide (DPS) and benzyl benzoate (BEN) to the CNT-PMMA composite and we observed that DPS plays the role of CNT dispersion stabilizer that can improve the device performance. The CNT-PMMA composite was employed to implement passive mode-locked laser.

Direct inscription of Bragg gratings in coated fibers by an infrared femtosecond laser.

Inscription of fiber Bragg gratings through the coating of a nonphotosensitized standard telecommunication fiber is demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time. Highly reflective gratings were produced by direct point-by-point writing with an infrared femtosecond laser. The length of the gratings presented ranged from 5 to 26 mm. The technique does not require a special coating, as standard coatings are transparent to infrared radiation. Inscription through the coating improves the mechanical strength of the processed segment of fiber.

Does legally mandated consent to psychotherapy ensure ethical appropriateness?: the Colorado experience.

We analyzed a sample of 356 forms containing information that Colorado law legally requires both licensed and unlicensed therapists to disclose to clients. The majority of forms contained the legally mandated information; fewer forms contained ethically desirable information. The average readability grade level was 15.74, corresponding to upper-level college, and 63.9% of the forms reached the highest (most difficult) readability grade of 17+. Therapists are obeying the law, but do not appear to be taking advantage of the opportunity to provide their clients useful information in an accessible way.