Rainbow Cherenkov Second-Harmonic Radiation

Abstract

Nonlinear Cherenkov radiation, an intriguing noncollinear optical parametric process with versatile longitudinal phase matching, is commonly realized in engineered nonlinear photonic structures. Here, we report on the observation of ultrabroadband rainbow Cherenkov second-harmonic generation (UBR CSHG) in a single periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) nonlinear crystal driven by a near-infrared high-peak-power ultrashort femtosecond pump laser. Multiple colored nonlinear radiation bands along the direction of Cherenkov conical angles are simultaneously exhibited, leading to a beautifully colorful rainbow picture never reported before. We systematically analyze the multicolor spectral characteristics of the UBR CSHG in the whole conical direction and explicitly clarify their phase-matching conditions. We show that this UBR CSHG interaction is subject to remarkable spectral broadening owing to both the third-order nonlinearity effect induced by the high-peak-power ultrashort pump laser and the reciprocal lattice vector of the PPLN crystal, which eventually enables the generation of three bright dominating colors---red, orange-yellow, and green bands---and their automatic dispersion in space. The experimental results suggest rich physics of nonlinear optical interactions and indicate the possibility to engineer broadband nonlinear frequency conversion for applications in compact colored laser sources and others.