Pulse shaping by the electro-optic effect in chirped periodically poled lithium niobate

We propose an ultrafast pulse shaping method by modulating the pulse phase and amplitude by the electro-optic effect and Bragg diffraction in the aperiodically optical superlattice. Linear-chirped periodically poled lithium niobate is used. The input pulse can be shaped, for example, by compressing it through the extraordinary refractive index change of the crystal by applying and changing the external electric field.     

Femtosecond optical parametric oscillators based on periodically poled lithium niobate

Abstract

We describe two configurations of collinearly pumped femtosecond optical parametric oscillator based on periodically poled lithium niobate and tunable in the infrared from 975 nm to 4.98 μm. Maximum output powers of 240 mW for the signal and 106 mW for the idler were recorded with 25 mW of average power measured at 4.88 μm. An overall conversion efficiency of 35% and slope efficiencies for the signal of 46% at a wavelength of 1.04 μm and 70% at 1.1 μm were measured. Interferometric autocorrelations of the signal and idler pulses at various wavelengths within the tuning range have been obtained and imply nearly transform-limited pulse durations of about 140fs for the signal and about 190fs for the idler.     

The asymmetry between the domain walls of periodically poled lithium niobate crystals

The domain walls of periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals were investigated using Raman spectrum mapping. The periodical changes of Raman shift in several Raman lines along the period of PPLN have been found. The experimental results show that the domain reversal has different degree of affection on its two neighbor regions, which is related to the asymmetry of crystal lattice. This phenomenon can be used to examine the periodical domain reversal of LN non-contacted, non-destructive and easily operated.     

Enhanced signal coupling into periodically poled lithium niobate with microlens arrays

The return signal frequency of an eye-safe ladar system is upconverted from the infrared to the visible through sum-frequency generation by incorporation of periodically poled LiNbO3 into the receiver. A quantitative analysis of the angular acceptance and the quantum efficiency is then presented for a single macroscopic receiver optic and a multiaperture microlens array. Comparing both results, a 6x increase in the receiver field of regard and an 18% increase in beam coupling were realized for the microlens design over the macroscopic system.     

Characterization of a periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Bessel beam

Abstract

A Bessel beam pumped periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator has been characterized. A slope efficiency of 5.4 ± 0.1% was obtained and a threshold pulse energy of 472 ± 12 μJ was measured, which corresponds to a threshold fluence of 0.207 ± 0.005 J cm^?2. The signal output was tuned over ～20 nm by changing the crystal temperature by 50°C. The FWHM bandwidth at each temperature was observed to be 0.3 ± 0.1 nm at each wavelength. The beam profiles of the Bessel pump and Gaussian signal beams were studied in both the near and far field. A beam divergence of 1.14 ± 0.02 mrad was measured.     

Single-mode, singly resonant, pulsed periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator

We report single longitudinal mode operation of a pulsed Nd:YAG pumped periodically poled lithium niobate optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The combination of a prism and an etalon provides both coarse and fine spectral resolution, thereby eliminating parasitic resonant oscillation of cascaded signal wavelengths, idler wavelengths, and adjacent longitudinal modes of the signal field. Optical bandwidths of less than 300 MHz have been obtained at signal wavelengths between 1.47 and 1.59 mum. In comparison with broadband operation, the single-mode OPO shows only a 9% reduction in pump depletion with a negligible reduction in extraction efficiency.     

Influence of magnetic field on terahertz wave generation in photorefractive periodically poled lithium niobate crystal

By employing femtosecond pump-probe configuration, we successfully realized narrowband terahertz wave generation and detection in both photorefractive periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) and periodically poled Mg:LiNb(3) (PP-Mg:LN) crystal. Using an applied magnetic field, we achieved modulation of the terahertz wave in a photorefractive PPLN crystal. The terahertz wave depends strongly on the magnitude of the applied magnetic field in the photorefractive PPLN crystal. Terahertz wave independence of the magnetic field in PP-Mg:LN crystal was also identified. The interaction of the magnetic field and photorefractive PPLN crystal is believed to occur due to the Lorentz force, which results in the buildup of a space-charge field in a photorefractive PPLN crystal.     

Synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillation in periodically poled lithium niobate with 1-w average output power

We report on a rugged all-solid-state laser source of near-IR radiation in the range of 1461-1601 nm based on a high-power Nd:YVO(4) laser that is mode locked by a semiconductor saturable Bragg reflector as the pump source of a synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator with a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal. The system produces 34-ps pulses with a high repetition rate of 235 MHz and an average output power of 1 W. The relatively long pulses lead to wide cavity detuning tolerances. The comparatively narrow spectral bandwidth of <15 GHz is suitable for applications such as pollutant detection.     

Effect of MgO doping of periodically poled lithium niobate on second-harmonic generation of femtosecond laser pulses

We theoretically analyze type-I broadband second-harmonic generation (SHG) of femtosecond laser pulses based on a quasi-phase-matching configuration in periodically poled congruent LiNbO3 (LN) andperiodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 (PPMgLN) (5% and 7%). Group-velocity matching (GVM) can be achieved at the fundamental waves of 1.59, 1.56, and 1.55 microm for SHG when the three types of crystals have grating periods of 22.31, 20.07, and 23.45 microm, respectively. It is found that the central wavelength of the fundamental wave for GVM will increase with the decrease of MgO doping in LN. It is concluded that the shift of the GVM central wavelength is due to the difference of MgO doping, which changes the dispersion of the crystal. Therefore, tunable and high efficiency broadband SHG of femtosecond laser pulses in a long crystal can be realized by selecting different doping rates of PPMgLN.     

Picosecond-pulse wavelength conversion based on cascaded second-harmonic generation-difference frequency generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide

The wavelength conversion of picosecond optical pulses based on the cascaded second-harmonic generation-difference-frequency generation process in a MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide is studied both experimentally and theoretically. In the experiments, the picosecond pulses are generated from a 40 GHz mode-locked fiber laser and two tunable filters, with which the lasing wavelength can be tuned from 1530 to 1570 nm, and the pulse width can be tuned from 2 to 7 ps. New-frequency pulses, i.e., converted pulses, are generated when the picosecond pulse train and a cw wave interact in the waveguide. The conversion characteristics are systematically investigated when the pulsed and cw waves are alternatively taken as the pump at the quasi-phase-matching wavelength of the device. In particular, the conversion dependences on input pulse width, average power, and pump wavelength are examined quantitatively. Based on the temporal and spectral characteristics of wavelength conversion, a comprehensive analysis on conversion efficiency is presented. The simulation results are in good agreement with the measured data.     

Tunable optical frequency comb generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide based on stimulated Brillouin scattering

We propose and demonstrate a technique for the generation of an optical frequency comb (OFC) in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide based on stimulated Brillouin scattering. A single continuous wave laser is sent to a multi-wavelength Brillouin erbium fibre laser for generating a set of coherent and phase-locked multi-wavelength spectral lines. They are injected into a PPLN waveguide to obtain an OFC. We investigate the influence of the cavity structure on the OFC property in our two different schemes. The number of comb lines is affected by the 980 pump current and Brillouin pump power. The OFCs are tunable in a large range by changing their central wavelength.     

Enhanced second-harmonic generation in an electro-optic controlled periodically poled ferroelectric crystal

We present a novel design of enhanced second-harmonic generation in a periodically poled ferroelectric crystal. It profits from enhanced light intensity and slowed group velocity, which occur near photonic band edges through electro-optic modulation. The designed structure, with 108 periods and a length of 322 microm, can generate a second-harmonic beam whose conversion efficiency is 2 orders of magnitude larger than the one produced by an equivalent length of quasi-phase-matching bulk medium. This result might be beneficial to the development of optics integration and compact devices.     

Duty cycle dependence of a periodically poled LiNbO3-based electro-optic Solc filter

We demonstrate that the performance of a periodically poled LiNbO3- (PPLN-) based electro-optic Solc filter is dependent on the duty cycle of the crystal. This may limit the performance of the device for applications such as add-drop filtering and switching, owing to the deterioration of the extinction ratio. It is shown that by adding a retarder to the Solc filter it is possible to improve the extinction ratio; thus the dependence of the filter on the duty cycle can be reduced. Using Jones calculus, we analyzed the effect of a variable retarder that can also be rotated on the extinction ratio. We experimentally observed a 6 dB increase in the extinction ratio when we used a half-wavelength retarder.     

Acoustic vibrations in integrated electro-optic modulators on substrates of lithium niobate

The processes of the excitation of acoustic vibrations and their influence on the optical signals in integrated electro-optic modulators on substrates of lithium niobate have been investigated. The resonant frequencies of the excitation of substrate vibrational modes have been determined. It has been shown that acoustic vibrations can make a significant contribution to the modulator transfer characteristic at frequencies up to several hundred megahertz, which should be taken into account when using the modulators at low frequencies, for example, as a part of fiber-optic sensors.     

Polarization separation in titanium-diffused waveguides on lithium niobate substrates

The influence of technological parameters of the process of thermal diffusion of titanium in lithium niobate substrates on the polarization-dependent losses of obtained optical waveguide has been theoretically studied. It is established that the anisotropy of refractive index variation leads to different conditions of polarization eigenmode cutoff that can be used for separating extraordinary and quenching ordinary polarization modes. Experiments with titanium-diffused waveguides showed the possibility of extraordinary polarization mode separation above 40 dB in the C-range (1530–1565 nm) of telecommunication wavelengths.     

Polarization behaviour of femtosecond laser written waveguides in lithium niobate

In this work, we analysed the polarization of guided light in femtosecond laser written waveguides. The studied waveguides were performed with different laser pulse energies in an x-cut lithium niobate crystal. The guided intensities were experimentally measured and compared with numerical simulations reaching a qualitatively good accordance. This comparison allowed a verification of the “mechanical expansion theory” which is useful to compute the refractive index field. Also, information related to the modelling of waveguides generated with different laser pulse energies was obtained. Both of these facts are keys to design and manufacture optical circuits by using this technological approach.     

Experimentally determined r13 electro-optic coefficient for a lithium niobate crystal

Experimental determination of the electro-optic coefficient r13 of a lithium niobate crystal is described. The crystal in this experiment is z cut, used as a substrate for a Fabry-Perot etalon. I computed the r13 coefficient from the measured voltage tuning curve of the Fabry-Perot etalon. It is find that the measured value of r13 is lower than most of the reported values in literature.     

Stable high-power green light generation with a periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate

Periodically poled stoichiometric lithium tantalate was used for an efficient high-power coherent green light generation based on second-harmonic generation (SHG) using a Q-switched Nd:YVO₄ laser. Achieved conversion efficiency was 69% that corresponds to SHG power density of 21.6 MW/cm² at the maximum input fundamental peak power density of 31.5 MW/cm². The SHG power fluctuation was less than 3.4% for 35 h, which was mainly caused by input power fluctuation of 2.6%. Obtained SHG powers of 4.4 and 3.4 W were sufficiently stable without spatial beam distortion at room temperature and a phase matching temperature adjustment was required precisely at high input power.     

Two-color photorefractive effect in Mg-doped lithium niobate

The two-color photorefractive response of near stoichiometric lithium niobate (SLN) doped with Mg above a critical threshold has been investigated. Striking differences as compared with non Mg-doped material were observed: The intermediate level in the two-color writing process has approximately a two orders of magnitude longer lifetime in SLN:Mg than in nominally undoped SLN, the grating is written in a shallower level but can be fixed via a simple thermal process and complementary electron-hole gratings are formed. It is proposed that the Fe impurity level moves from below the small-polaron level in nonMgO-doped material to above it, resulting in the increased lifetime of the small polaron. These changes are associated with a shift of the Fe from a Li site to a Nb site. The two-color sensitivity is higher than in the absence of MgO but the dynamic range is much lower.