Coherent Pulse Propagation Research Articles

Coherent pulse generation based on noise-like-pulse pumped Raman amplification

The coherent Raman pulse generation based on the noise-like-pulse (NLP) pumped Raman amplification is numerically investigated in the cases with weak and strong walk-off effects between the pump and Stokes pulses. In the former case, the amplified Stokes pulse suffers from the temporal and spectral distortions because the random time-varying intensity profile of the NLP can be transferred to the Stokes pulse through combined effects of cross-phase modulation (XPM), stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), and spontaneous Raman scattering. In the latter case, the heavily germanium-doped fiber with large normal dispersion is firstly used as the Raman gain medium to improve the walk-off effect and Raman gain. As a result, the Stokes pulse can be amplified undistorted and possess linear frequency chirp and conversion efficiency of up to 82.4 %. Further, it is important to note that the NLP-pumped Raman fiber laser based on the large normal dispersion fiber can generate the Stokes pulse with linear frequency chirp, narrow temporal duration, and dissipative-soliton-like spectrum with steep edges, even though the saturable absorber is not introduced into the Raman fiber cavity.

Study of ultrafast Rabi flopping in colloidal quantum dots at room temperature

The interaction between high-intensity ultrashort optical pulses and materials has led to a number of fascinating optical phenomena, including Rabi flopping and self-induced transparency. Until now, there have been few reports on ultrashort coherent pulse propagation and reshaping in semiconductor materials. Here we investigate Rabi flopping and Rabi splitting in colloidal quantum dots with Fabry-Perot cavity of SU8/Si. The Rabi flopping phenomenon is monitored via the pump-probe differential reflection spectroscopy. A high excitation power reshapes the temporal oscillations so that the fast Fourier transform spectra display several peaks. The photoluminescence spectrum by continuous-wave excitation splits under a proper incident angle, and the splitted photoluminescence spectrum is generally consistent with the amplitude of differential reflectivity as function of wavelength. These results demonstrate that both of the temporal oscillations and the splitting of the continuous-wave excited photoluminescence spectra are due to strong coupling between colloidal quantum dots and the Fabry-Perot cavity.

Coherent propagation and amplification of intense laser pulses in hexagonal multicore fibers.

Propagation and amplification of intense coherent laser pulses in a multicore fiber of 24 weakly coupled cores arranged in the form of seven close-packed hexagons were studied. Exact stable analytical solutions are found for the out-of-phase mode, which describes the coherent propagation of wave beams and temporal soliton solutions in such fibers. Their stability is demonstrated. The analytical results are confirmed by the direct numerical simulation of the wave equation.

Collective effects in Th229 -doped crystals

Vacuum-ultraviolet-transparent crystals have been proposed as host lattice for the coherent driving of the unusually low-lying isomer excitation in $^{229}$Th for metrology and quantum optics applications. Here the possible collective effects occurring for the coherent pulse propagation in the crystal system are investigated theoretically. We consider the effect of possible doping sites, quantization axis orientation and pulse configurations on the scattered light intensity and signatures of nuclear excitation. Our results show that for narrow-pulse driving, the rather complicated quadrupole splitting of the level scheme is significantly simplified. Furthermore, we investigate complex driving schemes with a combination of pulsed fields and investigate the occurring interference process. Our theoretical results support experimental attempts for first direct driving of the nuclear transition with coherent light.

On-resonance material fast light

We theoretically revisit the problem of the propagation of coherent light pulses through a linear medium when the carrier frequency of the pulses coincides with the minimum of a narrow dip in the medium transmission. Considering realistic contrasts between the maximum and minimum transmission of the medium and incident pulses of strictly finite duration, we combine temporal and spectral approaches to obtain analytical expressions of the transmitted pulse that reproduce the main features of the exact numerical solutions derived by fast Fourier transform. A special attention is paid to the advance of the pulse maximum over that of a pulse covering the same distance in vacuum and the ratio of this advance to the pulse duration (fractional advance) is optimized.

Comb spectra and coherent optical pulse propagation in a size-imbalanced coupled ring resonator

Transmission spectra and coherent optical pulse propagation though a size-imbalanced coupled ring resonator are investigated, where the size of the first ring is extremely large and has a narrow free-spectral-range with an extremely high Q-value, and the second ring is small with a moderate Q-value. The system shows characteristic comb spectra due to interference effects between the two resonators. When an arbitrary-shaped coherent pulse propagates through this system, a series of oscillating output pulses appears. It is shown that this pulse train develops into coherent 0π optical pulses.

Graphene based widely-tunable and singly-polarized pulse generation with random fiber lasers.

Pulse generation often requires a stabilized cavity and its corresponding mode structure for initial phase-locking. Contrastingly, modeless cavity-free random lasers provide new possibilities for high quantum efficiency lasing that could potentially be widely tunable spectrally and temporally. Pulse generation in random lasers, however, has remained elusive since the discovery of modeless gain lasing. Here we report coherent pulse generation with modeless random lasers based on the unique polarization selectivity and broadband saturable absorption of monolayer graphene. Simultaneous temporal compression of cavity-free pulses are observed with such a polarization modulation, along with a broadly-tunable pulsewidth across two orders of magnitude down to 900 ps, a broadly-tunable repetition rate across three orders of magnitude up to 3 MHz, and a singly-polarized pulse train at 41 dB extinction ratio, about an order of magnitude larger than conventional pulsed fiber lasers. Moreover, our graphene-based pulse formation also demonstrates robust pulse-to-pulse stability and wide-wavelength operation due to the cavity-less feature. Such a graphene-based architecture not only provides a tunable pulsed random laser for fiber-optic sensing, speckle-free imaging, and laser-material processing, but also a new way for the non-random CW fiber lasers to generate widely tunable and singly-polarized pulses.

Fluctuating pulse propagation in resonant nonlinear media: self-induced transparency random phase soliton formation.

We numerically investigate partially coherent short pulse propagation in nonlinear media near optical resonance. We examine how the pulse state of coherence at the source affects the evolution of the ensemble averaged intensity, mutual coherence function, and temporal degree of coherence of the pulse ensemble. We report evidence of self-induced transparency random phase soliton formation for the relatively coherent incident pulses with sufficiently large average areas. We also show that random pulses lose their coherence on propagation in resonant media and we explain this phenomenon in qualitative terms.

Ultrashort Pulse Interaction with Intersubband Transitions of Semiconductor Quantum Wells

We study coherent ultrashort pulse propagation in a two-subband system in a symmetric semiconductor quantum well structure, performing calculations beyond the rotating wave approximation and the slowly varying envelope approximation and taking into account the effects of electron-electron interactions. The interaction of the quantum well structure with the electromagnetic fields is studied with modified, nonlinear, Bloch equations. These equations are combined with the full-wave Maxwell equations for the study of pulse propagation. We present results for the pulse propagation and the population inversion dynamics in the quantum well structure for different electron sheet densities.

Revealing sub-μm and μm-scale textures in H2O ice at megabar pressures by time-domain Brillouin scattering.

The time-domain Brillouin scattering technique, also known as picosecond ultrasonic interferometry, allows monitoring of the propagation of coherent acoustic pulses, having lengths ranging from nanometres to fractions of a micrometre, in samples with dimension of less than a micrometre to tens of micrometres. In this study, we applied this technique to depth-profiling of a polycrystalline aggregate of ice compressed in a diamond anvil cell to megabar pressures. The method allowed examination of the characteristic dimensions of ice texturing in the direction normal to the diamond anvil surfaces with sub-micrometre spatial resolution via time-resolved measurements of the propagation velocity of the acoustic pulses travelling in the compressed sample. The achieved imaging of ice in depth and in one of the lateral directions indicates the feasibility of three-dimensional imaging and quantitative characterisation of the acoustical, optical and acousto-optical properties of transparent polycrystalline aggregates in a diamond anvil cell with tens of nanometres in-depth resolution and a lateral spatial resolution controlled by pump laser pulses focusing, which could approach hundreds of nanometres.

Energetic pulses in exciton-phonon molecular chains and conservative numerical methods for quasilinear Hamiltonian systems

The phenomenon of coherent energetic pulse propagation in exciton-phonon molecular chains such as α-helix protein is studied using an ODE system model of Davydov-Scott type, both with numerical studies using a new unconditionally stable fourth-order accurate energy-momentum conserving time discretization and with analytical explanation of the main numerical observations. Impulsive initial data associated with initial excitation of a single amide-I vibration by the energy released by ATP hydrolysis are used as well as the best current estimates of physical parameter values. In contrast to previous studies based on a proposed long-wave approximation by the nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation and focusing on initial data resembling the soliton solutions of that equation, the results here instead lead to approximation by the third derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation, giving a far better fit to observed behavior. A good part of the behavior is indeed explained well by the linear part of that equation, the Airy PDE, while other significant features do not fit any PDE approximation but are instead explained well by a linearized analysis of the ODE system. A convenient method is described for construction of the highly stable, accurate conservative time discretizations used, with proof of its desirable properties for a large class of Hamiltonian systems, including a variety of molecular models.

Pulse propagation in a dressed, degenerate system

We study the propagation of coherent light pulses in a medium of three-level atoms with degenerate ground- and excited-state sublevels in an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT)-type configuration. Both the strong control field and the weak probe pulse have elliptical polarization, which gives rise to concurrent multipath couplings between the ground-state sublevels and the auxiliary stable state. We derive the probe field susceptibility and show that in general, the probe field propagates in two separate polarization modes, one of which is attenuated, the other of which displays EIT. This generic result is valid provided the atomic medium is prepared to be in a pure quantum state over the ground-state sublevels initially. We also investigate the case when the initial state of the medium is described by an incoherent mixture of ground-state sublevels and show how EIT-like pulse propagation degrades. The possibility of controlling the probe susceptibility matrix with control field polarization provides a convenient tool for probing the quantum state of the medium on the degenerate ground-state sublevels.

Phase control of coherent pulse propagation and switching based on electromagnetically induced transparency in a four-level atomic system

We investigate the propagation and control of a weak probe laser pulse in a tripod-type four-level atomic system with a quantum loop scheme. The propagation of the probe pulse depends sensitively on the relative phase of the driving fields. By numerically solving the coupled Maxwell–Bloch equations, it is shown that the dynamic control and switching operation of the probe pulse are possible via changing the relative phase of the driving fields. This work may provide a useful reference for designing optical switching and optical storage devices.

Ultrafast Rabi flopping and coherent pulse propagation in a quantum cascade laser

Coherent Rabi flopping and coherent pulse reshaping are directly observed in an operating quantum cascade laser. The findings indicate the potential for coherent effects to be exploited in mode locking, and may stimulate new approaches for generating short pulses in quantum cascade lasers.

Pulse-by-pulse method to characterize partially coherent pulse propagation in instantaneous nonlinear media

We propose a numerical method for analyzing extensively the evolution of the coherence functions of nonstationary optical pulses in dispersive, instantaneous nonlinear Kerr media. Our approach deals with the individual propagation of samples from a properly selected ensemble that reproduces the coherence properties of the input pulsed light. In contrast to the usual strategy assuming Gaussian statistics, our numerical algorithm allows us to model the propagation of arbitrary partially coherent pulses in media with strong and instantaneous nonlinearities.

Long-lived coherent traveling acoustic pulses induced by femtosecond laser pulses

In this paper, we systematically study the generation and propagation of coherent acoustic pulses in a metal–dielectric system using a two-color femtosecond pump–probe technique at different probe angles. A long-lived acoustic oscillation is observed in a borosilicate glass coated with gold and shows different attenuations and amplitude at different probe wavelengths. Our study demonstrates that the two-color optical pump–probe technique can be used as a noninvasive tool to study acoustic properties of dielectric materials.

Sub-nanosecond coherent pulse generation at millimetre-wave frequencies

Described is a simple method to produce sub-nanosecond phase coherent pulses with rise times and fall times of at least 80 ps at power levels in excess of 200 mW at 94 GHz. The duration and timing of these pulses are controlled by fast input logic, and pulses as short as 110 ps have been achieved. The technique is easily extended to both higher and lower frequencies, and produces pulses with an infinite extinction ratio suitable for amplification to higher power levels.

Propagation of high amplitude strain pulses in sapphire

The propagation of acoustic pulses in sapphire has been investigated using bolometric time-of-flight techniques. Excitation of a thin chromium film by an amplified Ti:sapphire laser pulse resulted in the generation of high-amplitude acoustic pulses. The propagation time of these across the 1-cm-thick sapphire crystal was measured using a superconducting aluminum bolometer. By increasing the excitation power, the growth of an intense fast pulse on the leading edge of the longitudinal heat pulse was observed. This was detected as an additional, separate, signal component, with a propagation time shorter than the heat pulse. This pulse is attributed to the formation and propagation of a high-amplitude coherent strain pulse. The bolometric detection technique allows high resolution images of the acoustic flux over macroscopic propagation distances, and measurements show the strain pulse propagates as a strongly collimated beam. These results demonstrate the applicability of bolometric detection techniques, in addition to Brillouin scattering and pump-probe measurements, to study the propagation of ultrashort strain pulses in crystals.

Dynamical model of coherent circularly polarized optical pulse interactions with two-level quantum systems

We propose and develop a method for theoretical description of circularly (elliptically) polarized optical pulse resonant coherent interactions with two-level atoms. The method is based on the time-evolution equations of a two-level quantum system in the presence of a time-dependent dipole perturbation for electric dipole transitions between states with total angular-momentum projection difference $(\ensuremath{\Delta}{J}_{z}=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1)$ excited by a circularly polarized electromagnetic field [Feynman et al., J. Appl. Phys. 28, 49 (1957)]. The adopted real-vector representation approach allows for coupling with the vectorial Maxwell's equations for the optical wave propagation and thus the resulting Maxwell pseudospin equations can be numerically solved in the time domain without any approximations. The model permits a more exact study of the ultrafast coherent pulse propagation effects taking into account the vector nature of the electromagnetic field and hence the polarization state of the optical excitation. We demonstrate self-induced transparency effects and formation of polarized solitons. The model represents a qualitative extension of the well-known optical Maxwell-Bloch equations valid for linearly polarized light and a tool for studying coherent quantum control mechanisms.

Gap soliton dynamics in a nonuniform resonant structure.

A model for the propagation of coherent pulses along a one-dimensional, resonantly absorbing Bragg grating that includes localized inhomogeneous population inversion at its center is presented. The long-range coupling between the optical field and resonant atoms allows for controllable trapping of a gap soliton by the local inversion, thus opening new opportunities for control of signal transmission and localization of light.