Nonlinear photonic crystal

About: Nonlinear photonic crystal is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 872 publications have been published within this topic receiving 13866 citations.

Nonlinear Photonic Crystals

Abstract: Nonlinear frequency conversion in 2D ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(2)}$ photonic crystals is theoretically studied. Such a crystal has a 2D periodic nonlinear susceptibility, and a linear susceptibility which is a function of the frequency, but constant in space. It is an in-plane generalization of 1D quasi-phase-matching structures and can be realized in periodic poled lithium niobate or in GaAs. An interesting property of these structures is that new phase-matching processes appear in the 2D plane as compared to the 1D case. It is shown that these in-plane phase-matching resonances are given by a nonlinear Bragg law, and a related nonlinear Ewald construction. Applications as multiple-beam second-harmonic generation (SHG), ring cavity SHG, or multiple wavelength frequency conversion are envisaged.

Hexagonally poled lithium niobate: A two-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystal

Abstract: We report on the fabrication of what we believe is the first example of a two-dimensional (2D) nonlinear photonic crystal [Berger, Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 4136 (1998)], where the refractive index is constant but where the 2nd order nonlinear susceptibility is spatially periodic. Such crystals allow for efficient quasi-phase-matched 2nd harmonic generation using multiple reciprocal lattice vectors. External 2nd harmonic conversion efficiencies >60% were measured with picosecond pulses. The fabrication technique is extremely versatile and should allow for the fabrication of a broad range of 2D crystals including quasicrystals.

Supercontinuum generation by stimulated Raman scattering and parametric four-wave mixing in photonic crystal fibers

Abstract: Supercontinuum generation is investigated experimentally and numerically in a highly nonlinear index-guiding photonic crystal optical fiber in a regime in which self-phase modulation of the pump wave makes a negligible contribution to spectral broadening. An ultrabroadband octave-spanning white-light continuum is generated with 60-ps pump pulses of subkilowatt peak power. The primary mechanism of spectral broadening is identified as the combined action of stimulated Raman scattering and parametric four-wave mixing. The observation of a strong anti-Stokes Raman component reveals the importance of the coupling between stimulated Raman scattering and parametric four-wave mixing in highly nonlinear photonic crystal fibers and also indicates that non-phase-matched processes contribute to the continuum. Additionally, the pump input polarization affects the generated continuum through the influence of polarization modulational instability. The experimental results are in good agreement with detailed numerical simulations. These findings demonstrate the importance of index-guiding photonic crystal fibers for the design of picosecond and nanosecond supercontinuum light sources.

All-optical transistor action with bistable switching in a photonic crystal cross-waveguide geometry

Abstract: We demonstrate all-optical switching action in a nonlinear photonic crystal cross-waveguide geometry with instantaneous Kerr nonlinearity, in which the transmission of a signal can be reversibly switched on and off by a control input. Our geometry accomplishes both spatial and spectral separation between the signal and the control in the nonlinear regime. The device occupies a small footprint of a few micrometers squared and requires only a few milliwatts of power at a 10-Gbit/s switching rate by use of Kerr nonlinearity in AlGaAs below half the electronic bandgap. We also show that the switching dynamics, as revealed by both coupled-mode theory and finite-difference time domain simulations, exhibits collective behavior that can be exploited to generate high-contrast logic levels and all-optical memory.

Supercontinuum generation in a photonic crystal fiber with two zero dispersion wavelengths

Abstract: We demonstrate supercontinuum generation in a highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber with two closely lying zero dispersion wavelengths. The special dispersion of the fiber has a profound influence on the supercontinuum which is generated through self-phase modulation and phasematched four-wave mixing and not soliton fission as in the initial photonic crystal fibers. The supercontinuum has high spectral density and is extremely independent of the input pulse over a wide range of input pulse parameters. Simulations show that the supercontinuum can be compressed to ultrashort pulses.