Optical Communication Applications Research Articles

Longitudinal evolution of phase vortices generated by rotationally interleaved multi-spiral

Phase vortices exhibit significant applications and hold promising prospects across various scientific fields. However, while extensive attention has been devoted to the two-dimensional transverse plane of these vortices, their longitudinal properties have received comparatively limited exploration. Our study focuses on the longitudinal evolution of phase vortices, encompassing an investigation of variational topological charges and phase distributions. The investigation employs the rotationally interleaved multi-spiral, characterized by multiple identical spirals arranged in an azimuthally symmetric rotation, to modulate phase distributions by the variable spiral radius versus the azimuthal angle. Initially, we analyze the modulation effect theoretically, delving into propagation properties and vortex formations. Subsequently, through numerical simulations of vortices generated by both single and multi-spiral setups, we examine the longitudinal evolution of topological charges and phase distributions. The analyses reveal a step-wise reductant topological charges and a tortuous increasing spatial variations of phase singularities in transmission direction, with the dependency on both propagation distance and number of multi-spiral. The outcomes hold significant potential applications in optical communications and optical tweezers.

P-i-n photodetector with active GePb layer grown by sputtering epitaxy

Abstract In this paper, single-crystal GePb films were obtained by magnetron sputtering with high substrate temperature and rapid deposition rate. The GePb films have high crystalline qualities and smooth surfaces. The Pb content reached 1.29% and no segregation was observed. Based on this, a GePb-based p-i-n photodetector was successfully prepared. The device showed a room-temperature dark current density of 5.83 mA/cm2 at -1.0 V and a cutoff wavelength of 1990 nm, which covers all communication windows. At the wavelength of 1625 nm, responsivity of the photodetector reached 0.132 A/W at -1.0 V. The device demonstrates potential application in optical communications.

Topological charges measurement of circular Bessel Gaussian beam with multiple vortex singularities via cross phase

In this paper, we firstly propose a method to measure the topological charges (TCs) of a circular Bessel Gaussian beam with multiple vortex singularities (CBGBMVS) by utilizing cross phase. Based on theory and experiment, the cross phase is utilized to realize the TCs measurement of the CBGBMVS in free space with different situations, such as different singularity number, TCs and singularity location. Especially, the TCs measurement method is also investigated and verified in atmosphere turbulence. Our work provides an effective and convenient way to realize the TCs measurement of multiple singularities embedded in abruptly autofocusing host beams which has plenty of potential application in optical communication.

Boosted Second Harmonic Generation and Cascaded Sum Frequency Generation from a Surface Crystallized Glass Ceramic Microcavity.

The development of novel materials and structures for efficient second-order nonlinear micro/nano devices remains a significant challenge. In this study, we demonstrate the remarkable enhancement of second-harmonic generation (SHG) and even cascaded sum frequency generation (CSFG) in whispering gallery mode microspheres made of surface-crystallized glass with a 6-μm Ba2TiSi2O8 crystal layer. Attributed to the core-shell design, the Ba2TiSi2O8 located on the surface can be efficiently coupled with whispering gallery modes, resulting in a highly efficient micron-scale cavity-enhanced second-order optical nonlinearity. Greatly enhanced SHG of the microcavity was observed, which is up to 80 times stronger than that of non-resonant bulk sample. Furthermore, owing to the wavelength non-selectivity of random quasi-phase matching, we demonstrated ultra-wideband SHG with a strong response ranging from 860nm to 1600nm and high-contrast polarization characteristics. The glass-ceramic based microsphere cavity also boosts the cascading optical nonlinearity, manifested by a two-magnitude enhancement of CSFG. This work delineates an efficient strategy for boosting nonlinear optical response in glass-ceramics, which will open up new opportunities for applications in photonics and optical communications. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Thermal stress simulation analysis of aerospace optical fibers and connectors and the related extensions on high-speed railway area

Aerospace optical cables and fiber-optic connectors have numerous advantages (e.g., low loss, wide transmission frequency band, large capacity, light weight, and excellent resistance to electromagnetic interference). They can achieve optical communication interconnection and high-speed bidirectional data transmission between optical terminals and photodetectors in space, ensuring the stability and reliability of data transmission during spacecraft operations in orbit. They have become the essential components in high-speed networking and optical interconnected communication for spacecraft. Thermal stress simulation analysis is significant research to evaluate the temperature stress concentration phenomenon resulting by temperature fluctuations, temperature gradients, and other factors in aerospace optical cables and connectors under the combined effects brought by extreme temperature and vacuum environment. Considering that advanced optical communication technology has been widely used in high-speed railway communication networks to transmit safe, stable and reliable signals, high-speed railway optical communication in special areas with an extreme climate, such as high cold and high-temperature regions, still requires high-reliability optical cables and connectors. Therefore, based on the finite element method, comprehensive comparisons were made between the thermal distribution of aerospace optical cables and J599III fiber optic connectors under different conditions, providing a theoretical basis for evaluating the performance of aerospace optical cables and connectors in space environments and meanwhile building technical foundation for potential optical communication applications in the field of high-speed railways.

Highly Polarization-Deep-Ultraviolet-Sensitive β-Ga2O3 Epitaxial Films by Disrupting Rotational Symmetry and Encrypted Solar-Blind Optical Communication Application.

Ultrawide bandgap semiconductor β-Ga2O3 (4.9 eV), with its monoclinic crystal structure, exhibits distinct anisotropic characteristics both optically and electrically, making it an ideal material for solar-blind polarization photodetectors. In this work, β-Ga2O3 epitaxial films were deposited on sapphire substrates with different orientations, and the mechanisms underlying the anisotropy of these epitaxial films were investigated. Compared to c-plane sapphire, the lattice mismatch between m- or r-plane sapphire and β-Ga2O3 is more pronounced, disrupting the rotational symmetry of the films and rendering them anisotropic. Thanks to the improved anisotropy, the polarization ratio of the photodetector based on β-Ga2O3 films grown on r-plane substrates is 0.24, nearly ten times higher than that on c-plane substrates. Finally, by utilizing these polarization-sensitive photodetectors, we developed an encrypted solar-blind ultraviolet optical communication system. Our work provides a new approach to facilitate the fabrication and application of high-performance polarization-sensitive solar-blind photodetectors.

Improved optical performance in circular-grating distributed feedback nanoplasmonic lasers

Optical modes control has been driven from vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) applications with multi-mode operation such as optical fiber communication or optical sensing. Optical gain materials coupling with optical resonators provides an effective way to tuning the optical mode of VCSELs. In this paper, a kind of novel circular-grating distributed feedback (CGDFB) nanoplasmonic laser is designed by using a special semiconductor nanorods array VCSEL coupled optically with a second-order distributed feedback (DFB) circular grating. In the device, the mode field is cooperatively controlled by the confinement of surface plasmon around the nanorod cavity and the spatial tuning with the DFB circular grating. By optimizing the design on the device comprehensively, the CGDFB nanoplasmonic laser exhibits the optimum lasing performance with a single-longitudinal mode peak at 511.2 nm with a side-mode suppression ratio of 45 dB. The 3 dB line-width is compressed to 1.98 p.m. at a driven current of four times of the threshold current of 124 mA. A six-fold rotational symmetric far-field mode corresponding to the third-order Laguerre Gaussian azimuth mode is produced by the DFB circular grating. This work paves a fundamental way for the mode engineering design of novel nanolaser in the technical applications of optical communication, sensing and integrated photonics.

Wavelength-polarization-multiplexed multichannel perfect vortex array generator based on dielectric metasurface

The multi-channel perfect vortex (PV) array based on metasurface has important applications in optical communication, particle manipulation, quantum optics, and other fields due to its ultra-thin structure and excellent wavefront control ability. However, it is very challenging to utilize a single metasurface to simultaneously achieve independent channel PV arrays at different wavelengths with low crosstalk and low structural complexity. Here, we propose and design a single rectangular structured metasurface based on TiO2, achieving a multi-channel PV beam array with dual-wavelength and dual-polarization multiplexing. Simulation and experimental results show that when two orthogonal linearly polarized beams with wavelengths of 532 nm and 633 nm are incident on the metasurface, clear PV arrays with corresponding topological charge arrangements can be obtained in different diffraction regions of the same observation plane. The metasurface proposed in this article can enhance the channel capacity of a PV beam array through wavelength-polarization-multiplexing, thus having important application potential in spatial information transmission, high-dimensional information storage, and secure information encryption.

Virtual-State Model for Analyzing Electro-Optical Modulation in Ring Resonators.

Ring resonators play a crucial role in optical communication and quantum technology applications. However, these devices lack a simple and intuitive theoretical model to describe their electro-optical modulation. When the resonance frequency is rapidly modulated, the filtering and modulation within a ring resonator become physically intertwined, making it difficult to analyze the complex physical processes involved. We address this by proposing an analytical solution for electro-optic ring modulators based on the concept of a "virtual state." This approach equates a lightwave passing through a dynamic ring modulator to one excited to a virtual state by a cumulative phase and then returning to the real state after exiting the static ring. Our model simplifies the independent analysis of the intertwined physical processes, enhancing its versatility in analyzing various incident signals and modulation formats. Experimental results, including resonant and detuning modulation, align with the numerical simulation of our model. Notably, our findings indicate that the dynamic modulation of the ring resonator under detuning driving approximates phase modulation.

Solution-processed CsPbBr3 perovskite films via CsBr intercalated PbBr2 intermediate for high-performance photodetectors towards underwater wireless optical communication

All inorganic CsPbBr3 perovskite is regarded as a promising candidate of halide perovskites and has attracted great attention due to its superior optoelectronic properties and stability. However, the low and unbalanced solubility of precursors and uncontrollable crystallization result in poor coverage and impurity phases in CsPbBr3 polycrystalline films, hindering the application in optoelectronic devices. In this work, a facile CsBr intercalated nanostructured intermediate based two-step method is reported for simultaneously achieving good morphology and pure phase of CsPbBr3 films. With the CsBr intercalation, the intermediate films deposited in the first step exhibit porous nanostructure and CsxPb2Br4+x crystal phase. This unique porous morphology and crystal structure favor CsBr solution penetration and Cs+ ion diffusion. First-principles calculations are conducted to investigate the phase diagram of intermediates and the diffusion kinetics of Cs+ ions in the various polymorphs. The key role of CsBr intercalation is confirmed for achieving high-quality CsPbBr3 perovskite films with features of pinhole free, pure phase, large grains, and high crystallinity. Photodetectors based on optimized CsPbBr3 films exhibit excellent performance with a peak EQE of 83%, responsivity of 0.35 A/W, and specific detectivity of 1.25×1013 Jones. Fast response speed is also achieved with rise/fall time of 1.41 μs and 2.06 μs and −3 dB bandwidth up to 800 kHz. Moreover, CsPbBr3 PD shows great potential in the application of underwater wireless optical communication due to its low background noise current under ambient light illumination. Overall, this work paves the way for further research on optoelectronic devices and their applications based on CsPbBr3 films.

Creating spatial doughnut-spot arrays and double-helix focal fields with prescribed characteristics

Spatially controllable focal fields play a pivotal role in light manipulation and provide significant opportunities for precisely manipulating light–matter interactions in a wide range of applications. In particular, the double-helix focal field—characterized by a distinctive helical structure—exhibits exceptional optical properties, thus differentiating it apart from conventional focal fields. However, the rapid construction of a double-helix focal field with controllable characteristics and a uniform intensity remains a challenging task. Based on the theory of pattern synthesis of an antenna array, we propose and realize the generation of three-dimensional doughnut-spot arrays and double-helix focal fields with specified characteristics in a 4π system by reverse-solving the radiation field of the virtual antenna. Numerical examples indicate that the desired novel focal fields, including features such as shape, orientation, length, and period, could be rapidly, conveniently, and flexibly customized by selecting appropriate parameters for the magnetic dipole array antennas. This method could reveal an avenue for enhanced light manipulation for applications in materials processing, optical lithography, and optical communications.

High-resolution ptychographic imaging at a seeded free-electron laser source using OAM beams

Electromagnetic waves possessing orbital angular momentum (OAM) are powerful tools for applications in optical communications, quantum technologies, and optical tweezers. Recently, they have attracted growing interest since they can be harnessed to detect peculiar helical dichroic effects in chiral molecular media and in magnetic nanostructures. In this work, we perform single-shot per position ptychography on a nanostructured object at a seeded free-electron laser, using extreme ultraviolet OAM beams of different topological charge orders ℓ generated with spiral zone plates. By controlling ℓ, we demonstrate how the structural features of OAM beam profiles determine an improvement of about 30% in image resolution with respect to conventional Gaussian beam illumination. This result extends the capabilities of coherent diffraction imaging techniques, and paves the way for achieving time-resolved high-resolution (below 100 nm) microscopy on large area samples.

Direct space–time manipulation mechanism for spatio-temporal coupling of ultrafast light field

Traditionally, manipulation of spatiotemporal coupling (STC) of the ultrafast light fields can be actualized in the space-spectrum domain with some 4-f pulse shapers, which suffers usually from some limitations, such as spectral/pixel resolution and information crosstalk associated with the 4-f pulse shapers. This work introduces a novel mechanism for direct space-time manipulation of ultrafast light fields to overcome the limitations. This mechanism combines a space-dependent time delay with some spatial geometrical transformations, which has been experimentally proved by generating a high-quality STC light field, called light spring (LS). The LS, owing a broad topological charge bandwidth of 11.5 and a tunable central topological charge from 2 to −11, can propagate with a stable spatiotemporal intensity structure from near to far fields. This achievement implies the mechanism provides an efficient way to generate complex STC light fields, such as LS with potential applications in information encryption, optical communication, and laser-plasma acceleration.

VO2 /MoO3 Heterojunctions Artificial Optoelectronic Synapse Devices for Near-Infrared Optical Communication.

Artificial optoelectronic synapses (OES) have attracted extensive attention in brain-inspired information processing and neuromorphic computing. However, OES at near-infrared wavelengths have rarely been reported, seriously limiting the application in modern optical communication. Herein, high-performance near-infrared OES devices based on VO2 /MoO3 heterojunctions are presented. The textured MoO3 films are deposited on the sputtered VO2 film by using the glancing-angle deposition technique to form a heterojunction device. Through tuning the oxygen defects in the VO2 film, the fabricated VO2 /MoO3 heterojunction exhibits versatile electrical synaptic functions. Benefiting from the highly efficient light harvesting and the unique interface effect, the photonic synaptic characteristics, mainly including the short/long-term plasticity and learning experience behavior are successfully realized at the O (1342nm) and C (1550nm) optical communication wavebands. Moreover, a single OES device can output messages accurately by converting light signals of the Morse code to distinct synaptic currents. More importantly, a 3×3 artificial OES array is constructed to demonstrate the impressive image perceiving and learning capabilities. This work not only indicates the feasibility of defect and interface engineering in modulating the synaptic plasticity of OES devices, but also provides effective strategies to develop advanced artificial neuromorphic visual systems for next-generation optical communication systems.

Ultra-broadband magneto-optical isolators and circulators on a silicon nitride photonics platform

Broadband optical isolators and circulators are highly desirable for wavelength-division multiplexing, light detection, and ranging systems. However, the silicon-integrated optical isolators and circulators reported so far have a limited isolation bandwidth of only several nanometers, due to waveguide and material dispersion. In this paper, we report the development of broadband magneto-optical isolators on silicon nitride waveguides. We proposed a general method of dispersion compensation to achieve a constant phase difference between reciprocal and nonreciprocal phase shifts in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer over a wide frequency range. This method enabled a theoretical 30 dB isolation/circulation bandwidth of more than 240 nm, which covers the S, C, L, and U bands. The fabricated devices showed a maximum isolation ratio of 28 dB, crosstalk of −28dB, high 20-dB isolation bandwidth of 29 nm (3.48 THz), and a relatively low loss of 2.7 dB in the wavelength range of 1520–1610 nm. By further heating the reciprocal phase shifter based on the thermo-optic effect, the experimental 20 dB isolation bandwidth of the device increased to 90 nm (11.03 THz). This method has also been applied to the design of broadband, low-loss isolators, and O/C dual-band isolators/circulators. Our work experimentally demonstrated broadband-integrated optical isolators and circulators on silicon, paving the way for their use in optical communication, data communication, and LiDAR applications.

Quantum dot laser dynamics and external filtered modes under the influence of double-filtered optical feedback

We study the dynamics and solution structure of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) laser system that gets delayed FOF from two filter loops: the double-filtered optical feedback (DFOF) laser. Two filters are utilized in optical communication applications to regulate and stabilize the laser output, which served as the inspiration for this study. The entire mathematical model of the DFOF laser consists of delay differential equations for the inversion of the QD laser with the two filters. We focus on continuous-wave DFOF QD laser systems because reliable laser source operation is essential for optical communication applications. These basic responses are called external filtered modes (EFMs), and they significantly affect the stability and structure of the EFMs as well as the laser’s performance in comparison to the single FOF QD laser. The parameter C eff is a measure of the interference between the two filter fields, and it is identified as a key to the EFM structure. To analyse how the structure and stability of the EFMs depend on all the filter and feedback loop parameters, we make extensive use of the EFM surface in the (Ω(ω s), C eff , Y s )-space of frequency s, filter phase difference C eff , and population inversion Y s of the QD laser. In general, the EFM surface is the natural object that should be taken into account to comprehend the dynamical characteristics of the DFOF laser. In general, our study involved searching for regions in the QD laser output with stable amplitude and frequency. The time delay suppression is dependent on the spectral width Λ of the filter and how far it is from the solitary laser frequency, according to numerical calculations. In addition to studying the dynamic behavior using a bifurcation diagram at the filter working areas, the results showed two stages of operation due to the occurrence of phase entanglement stochastic.

Highly Sensitive Broadband Polarized Photodetector Based on the As0.6P0.4/WSe2 Heterostructure toward Imaging and Optical Communication Application.

Polarization-sensitive photodetectors based on two-dimensional anisotropic materials still encounter the issues of narrow spectral coverage and low polarization sensitivity. To address these obstacles, anisotropic As0.6P0.4 with a narrow band gap has been integrated with WSe2 to construct a type-II heterostructure, realizing a high-performance polarization-sensitive photodetector with broad spectral range from 405 to 2200 nm. By operating in photovoltaic mode at zero bias, the device shows a very low dark current of ∼0.02 picoampere, high responsivity of 492 m A/W, and high photoswitching ratio of 6 × 104, yielding a high specific detectivity of 1.4 × 1012 Jones. The strong in-plane anisotropy of As0.6P0.4 endows the device with a capability of polarization-sensitive detection with a high polarization ratio of 6.85 under a bias voltage. As an image sensor and signal receiver, the device shows great potential in imaging and optical communication applications. This work develops an anisotropic vdW heterojunction to realize polarization-sensitive photodetectors with wide spectral coverage, fast response, and high sensitivity, providing a new candidate for potential applications of polarization-resolved electronics and photonics.

Vortex harmonic generation in indium tin oxide thin film irradiated by a two-color field.

When a two-color Laguerre-Gaussian laser beam propagates through an indium tin oxide (ITO) material, the spatial distributions of odd- and even-order vortex harmonics carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are studied. The origin of vortex harmonics can be directly clarified by investigating their dependence on the incident laser field amplitude and frequency. In addition, it is shown that the spectral intensities of vortex harmonics are sensitive to the epsilon-near-zero nonlinear enhancing effects and the thickness of ITO materials. Thus the vortex harmonics can be conveniently tunable, which provides a wider potential application in optical communications based on high-order OAM coherent vortex beams.

Transformation of topological states in three-dimensional photonic crystal under magnetic field modulation

The realization and modulation of high-order topological states in three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals (PCs) hold great significance for practical applications in optical communication, optical information processing, and optical computing. However, they have encountered technological challenges due to the difficulty in achieving a complete bandgap in 3D PCs. To address this issue, we introduce a design for a 3D PC based on the Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model that exhibits distinctive topological surface states, topological hinge states, and topological corner states. Furthermore, these three types of topological states can be interconverted through the modulation of magnetic field because the topological states are closed and extremely sensitive to the structure, which are modulated by the magnetic field. This intriguing capability holds potential applications in the manipulation of optical flow, optical signal storage, and magnetic field sensors.

Coherence-tailorable vector fiber source

Apart from the polarization and spatial mode, the degree of coherence (DoC), as a new degree of freedom (DoF), has actuated the control of structured optical fields beyond into a higher dimension. However, the control of DoC mainly focuses on the spatial coherence, and so far, there are no reports on the modulation of temporal coherence of the structured light. Here, a temporal coherence-tailorable vector fiber source is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. With a two-mode long-period fiber grating and polarization control, switchable transverse-mode outputs including azimuthally polarized mode TE01 and radially polarized mode TM01 are performed in an all-fiber compact regime. Benefitting from a tunable superfluorescent fiber source as the illumination of spatial mode control, the temporal coherence and the operating wavelength of vector beams can be simultaneously modulated. This work may not only advance a considerable protocol for creating and manipulating high-dimensional vectorial optical field, but also open up a promising avenue for potential applications in optical communication, high-resolution imaging, and particle trapping.