We show, by means of simple model calculations, how a weak laser beam sent through an optical fiber exerts a transverse radiation force if there is an azimuthal asymmetry present in the fiber such that one side has a slightly different refractive index than the other. The refractive index difference $Δn$ needs only to be very small, of order $10^{-3}$, in order to produce an appreciable transverse displacement of order 10 microns. We argue that the effect has probably already been seen in a recent experiment of She et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 243601 (2008)], and we discuss correspondence between these observations and the theory presented. The effect could be used to bend optical fibers in a predictable and controlled manner and we propose that it could be useful for micron-scale devices.
We report on the experimental characterization of a novel nonlinear liquid-filled hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber for the generation of photon pairs at telecommunication wavelength through spontaneous four-wave-mixing. We show that the optimization procedure in view of this application links the choice of the nonlinear liquid to the design parameters of the fiber, and we give an example of such an optimization at telecom wavelengths. Combining the modeling of the fiber and classical characterization techniques at these wavelengths, we identify, for the chosen fiber and liquid combination, s…
As shown in the experiment of She {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 101}, 243601 (2008)], a weak laser beam sent through a vertically hanging fiber exerts a transverse force and produces a lateral displacement of the fiber's lower end. The experiment is of obvious theoretical interest in connection with the electromagnetic theory of media. Suggested explanations given for this effect in the past include the famous Abraham-Minkowski issue concerning the "correct" photon momentum in matter. In our opinion such an explanation can hardly be right. Instead, we propose instead a very simple descri…
We study the transverse spin angular momentum of fiber eigenmodes. As an intrinsic property of fiber eigenmodes, it becomes considerable in optical nanofibers and, especially, increases sharply in the evanescent field. We derive analytical expressions of this angular momentum, and present its density distribution inside andoutside nanofibers. Significantly, we find the optimal ratio of the fiber core radius to the wavelength to obtain the maximum surface transverse spin. For instance, the optimal fiber radius is one fourth of the wavelength for the fundamental mode. Furthermore, we investigate…
Disordered transverse Anderson localizing optical fibers have shown great promise in various applications from image transport to random lasing. Their success is due to their novel waveguiding behavior, which is enabled by the transverse Anderson localization of light. The strong transverse scattering from the transversely disordered refractive index structure results in transversely confined modes that can freely propagate in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, these fibers behave like large-core highly multimode optical fibers, with the peculiar property that most modes are highly localiz…
We study theoretically the generation of photon pairs with controlled spectral correlations via the four-wave mixing (FWM) process in graded-index multimode optical fibers (GIMFs). We show that the quantum correlations of the generated photons in GIMFs can be preserved over a wide spectral range for a tunable pump source. Therefore, GIMFs can be utilized as quantum-state-preserving tunable sources of photons. In particular, we have shown that it is possible to generate factorable two-photon states, which allow for heralding of single-photon pure-state photons without the need for spectral post…
Disordered optical fibers show novel waveguiding properties, enabled by the transverse Anderson localization of light, and are used for image transport. The strong transverse scattering from the transversely disordered refractive index structure results in transversely confined modes that can freely propagate in the longitudinal direction. In some sense, an Anderson localization disordered fiber behave like a large-core multimode optical fiber, with the advantage, that most modes are highly localized in the transverse plane, so any point in the cross section of the fiber can be used for locali…
This work reports the performances of straight and bent active normal dispersion decreasing fibers (NDDF), with spatial nonlinear variation, to form parabolic self-similar pulses. The core radius changes along the NDDF length, thereby altering the transverse field distribution lengthwise. Hence bend loss is no longer a constant quantity. Including this loss variation, we investigate the performances of NDDFs as generators of parabolic self-similar pulses. In view of the small changes of relative refractive index differences during production, we obtain several NDDFs with variations of core rad…
Transverse Anderson localization of light allows localized optical-beam-transport through a transversely-disordered and longitudinally-invariant medium. Its successful implementation in disordered optical fibers recently resulted in the propagation of localized beams of radii comparable with that of conventional optical fibers. We present what is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of optical image transport using transverse Anderson localization of light. The image transport quality obtained in the polymer disordered optical fiber is comparable with or better than some of t…
We numerically demonstrate self-similar propagation of parabolic optical pulses through a highly nonlinear and passive specialty photonic bandgap fiber at 2.8 micron. In this context, we have proposed a scheme endowed with a rapidly varying, but of nearly-mean-zero longitudinal dispersion and modulated nonlinear profile in order to achieve self-similarity of the formed parabolic pulse propagating over longer distances. To implement the proposed scheme, we have designed a segmented bandgap fiber with suitably tapered counterparts to realize such customized dispersion with chalchogenide glass ma…
We adapt the resonant state expansion to optical fibers such as capillary and photonic crystal fibers. As a key requirement of the resonant state expansion and any related perturbative approach, we derive the correct analytical normalization for all modes of these fiber structures, including leaky modes that radiate energy perpendicular to the direction of propagation and have fields that grow with distance from the fiber core. Based on the normalized fiber modes, an eigenvalue equation is derived that allows for calculating the influence of small and large perturbations such as structural dis…
We introduce the mode area probability density function (MA-PDF) as a powerful tool to study transverse Anderson localization (TAL), especially for highly disordered optical fibers. The MA-PDF encompasses all the relevant statistical information on TAL; it relies solely on the physics of the disordered system and is independent of the shape of the external excitation. We explore the scaling of MA-PDF with the transverse dimensions of the system and show that it converges to a terminal form for structures considerably smaller than those used in experiments, hence substantially reducing the comp…
We demonstrated an all polarization-maintaining fiber (PMF) laser which could offer selective transverse mode emission. Offset and cross splicing between PMF sections was used to generate higher order mode and to yield a birefringence induced mode filter. Polarization rotation technique (PRT) was used to select the output beam profile. Both linear cavity and ring cavity were explored. Experimentally, 360° rotating LP11 mode and OAM vortex beam with plus and minus 1 topological charges have been realized from an all PMF linear cavity laser and a ring cavity laser respectively.
Broadband-tunable sources of circularly-polarized light are crucial in fields such as laser science, biomedicine and spectroscopy. Conventional sources rely on nonlinear wavelength conversion and polarization control using standard optical components, and are limited by the availability of suitably transparent crystals and glasses. Although gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber provides pressure-tunable dispersion, long well-controlled optical path-lengths, and high Raman conversion efficiency, it is unable to preserve circular polarization state, typically exhibiting weak linear biref…
Laboratory of Measurement and Sensor System Technique, TU Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学测量与传感器系统技术实验室）；Competence Center for Biomedical Computational Laser Systems (BIOLAS), TU Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学生物医学计算激光系统能力中心）；State Key Laboratory of Precision Measurement Technology and Instruments, Department of Precision Instruments, Tsinghua University（清华大学精密仪器系精密测量技术与仪器国家重点实验室）；Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学生命物理学卓越集群）；Institute of Applied Physics, TU Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学应用物理研究所）
The generation of tailored light with multi-core fiber (MCF) lensless microendoscopes is widely used in biomedicine. However, the computer-generated holograms (CGHs) used for such applications are typically generated by iterative algorithms, which demand high computation effort, limiting advanced applications like in vivo optogenetic stimulation and fiber-optic cell manipulation. The random and discrete distribution of the fiber cores induces strong spatial aliasing to the CGHs, hence, an approach that can rapidly generate tailored CGHs for MCFs is highly demanded. We demonstrate a novel phase…
We experimentally analyze the average-power-scaling capabilities of ultrafast, thulium-doped fiber amplifiers. It has been theoretically predicted that thulium-doped fiber laser systems, with an emission wavelength around 2 um, should be able to withstand much higher heat-loads than their Yb-doped counterparts before the onset of transverse mode instability (TMI) is observed. In this work we experimentally verify this theoretical prediction by operating thulium doped fibers at very high heat-load. In separate experiments we analyze the performance of two different large-core, thulium-doped fib…
We introduce a model for spatiotemporal modelocking in multimode fiber lasers, which is based on the (3+1)-dimensional cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation (cGLE) with conservative and dissipative nonlinearities and a 2-dimensional transverse trapping potential. Systematic numerical analysis reveals a variety of stable nonlinear modes, including stable fundamental solitons and breathers, as well as solitary vortices with winding number $n=1$, while vortices with $n=2$ are unstable, splitting into persistently rotating bound states of two unitary vortices. A characteristic feature of …
A directional random laser mediated by transverse Anderson localization in a disordered glass optical fiber is reported. Previous demonstrations of random lasers have found limited applications because of their multi-directionality and chaotic fluctuations in the laser emission. The random laser presented in this paper operates in the Anderson localization regime. The disorder induced localized states form isolated local channels that make the output laser beam highly directional and stabilize its spectrum. The strong transverse disorder and longitudinal invariance result in isolated lasing mo…
Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides, pumped at 1550 nm, can provide spectrally smooth, broadband light for gas spectroscopy in the important 2 ${\mathrmμ}$m to 2.5 ${\mathrmμ}$m atmospheric water window, which is only partially accessible with silica-fiber based systems. By combining Er+:fiber frequency combs and supercontinuum generation in tailored Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides, high signal-to-noise dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) spanning 2 ${\mathrmμ}$m to 2.5 ${\mathrmμ}$m is demonstrated. Acquired broadband dual-comb spectra of CO and CO$_2$ agree well with database line shape models and have a spectral-signal…
We present a theoretical and experimental study of the generation of photon pairs through the process of spontaneous four wave mixing (SFWM) in a few-mode, birefringent fiber. Under these conditions, multiple SFWM processes are in fact possible, each associated with a different combination of transverse modes for the four waves involved. We show that in the weakly guiding regime, for which the propagation modes may be well approximated by linearly polarized modes, the departure from circular symmetry due to the fiber birefringence translates into conservation rules which retain elements from a…
We demonstrate experimentally that the spectral broadening of CW supercontinuum can be controlled by using photonic crystal fibers with two zero-dispersion wavelengths pumped by an Yb fiber laser at 1064 nm. The spectrum is bounded by two dispersive waves whose spectral location depends on the two zero-dispersion wavelengths of the fiber. The bandwidth of the generated spectrum and the spectral power density may thus be tailored for particular applications, such as high-resolution optical coherence tomography or optical spectroscopy.
The need to increase data transfer rates constitutes a key challenge in modern information-driven societies. Taking advantage of the transverse spatial modes of light to encode more information is a promising avenue for both classical and quantum photonics. However, to ease access to the encoded information, it is essential to be able to sort spatial modes into different output channels. Here, we introduce a novel way to customize the sorting of arbitrary spatial light modes. Our method relies on the high degree of control over random scattering processes by preshaping of the phase structure o…
We develop the scheme of dispersion management (DM) for three-dimensional (3D) solitons in a multimode optical fiber. It is modeled by the parabolic confining potential acting in the transverse plane in combination with the cubic self-focusing. The DM map is adopted in the form of alternating segments with anomalous and normal group-velocity dispersion. Previously, temporal DM solitons were studied in detail in single-mode fibers, and some solutions for 2D spatiotemporal "light bullets", stabilized by DM, were found in the model of a planar waveguide. By means of numerical methods, we demonstr…
Tapered optical fibers with a nanofiber waist are widely used tools for efficient coupling of light to photonic devices or quantum emitters via the nanofiber's evanescent field. In order to ensure well-controlled coupling, the phase and polarization of the nanofiber guided light field have to be stable. Here, we show that in typical tapered optical fibers these quantities exhibit high-frequency thermal fluctuations. They originate from high-Q torsional oscillations that opto-mechanically couple to the nanofiber-guided light. We present a simple ab-initio theoretical model that quantitatively e…
We present a novel method of machining optical fiber surfaces with a CO${}_2$ laser for use in Fiber-based Fabry-Perot Cavities (FFPCs). Previously FFPCs were prone to large birefringence and limited to relatively short cavity lengths ($\le$ 200 $μ$m). These characteristics hinder their use in some applications such as cavity quantum electrodynamics with trapped ions. We optimized the laser machining process to produce large, uniform surface structures. This enables the cavities to achieve high finesse even for long cavity lengths. By rotating the fibers around their axis during the laser mach…
A transverse mode-switching method was proposed and demonstrated in a high-power ytterbium-doped fiber oscillator. 17.8 W LP11 mode laser was obtained, and it could be switched to 16.5 W LP01 mode laser through temperature control.
Infrared (IR) light is considered important for short-range wireless communication, thermal sensing, spectroscopy, material processing, medical surgery, astronomy etc. However, IR light is in general much harder to transport than optical light or microwave radiation. Existing hollow-core IR waveguides usually use a layer of metallic coating on the inner wall of the waveguide. Such a metallic layer, though reflective, still absorbs guided light significantly due to its finite Ohmic loss, especially for transverse-magnetic (TM) light. In this paper, we show that metal-wire based metamaterials ma…
A laser is based on the electromagnetic modes of its resonator, which provides the feedback required for oscillation. Enormous progress has been made in controlling the interactions of longitudinal modes in lasers with a single transverse mode. For example, the field of ultrafast science has been built on lasers that lock many longitudinal modes together to form ultrashort light pulses. However, coherent superposition of many longitudinal and transverse modes in a laser has received little attention. The multitude of disparate frequency spacings, strong dispersions, and complex nonlinear inter…
Numerical simulations are used to study how fiber supercontinuum generation seeded by picosecond pulses can be actively controlled through the use of input pulse modulation. By carrying out multiple simulations in the presence of noise, we show how tailored supercontinuum Spectra with increased bandwidth and improved stability can be generated using an input envelope modulation of appropriate frequency and depth. The results are discussed in terms of the non-linear propagation dynamics and pump depletion.
We derive coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation (CNLSE) for arbitrary polarized light propagation in a single-mode fiber. We introduce a basis of transverse eigen modes with the appropriate projecting hence solutions depend on the waveguide geometry. Considering a weak nonlinearity which is connected with Kerr effect, we give explicit expressions for nonlinear constants via integrals of Bessel functions. We compare numerical results for the nonlinear constant extracted from experimental observations of a soliton for the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) (single-mode one). The method of pr…
Efficient fiber-to-waveguide light coupling has been a key issue in integrated photonics for many years. The main challenge lies in the huge mode mismatch between an optical fiber and a single mode waveguide. Herein, we present a novel fiber-to-waveguide coupler, named "L-coupler", through which the light fed from the top of a chip can bend 90° with low reflection and is then efficiently coupled into an on-chip Si waveguide within a short propagation distance (<20μm). The key element is a bent metal-clad waveguide with a big matched input port. According to our finite-difference time-domain (F…
Optical resonators enable the generation, manipulation, and storage of electromagnetic waves. They are widely used in technology and fundamental research, in telecommunications, lasers and nonlinear optics, ultra-sensitive measurements in cavity optomechanics, and the study of light-matter interactions in the context of cavity QED. The physics underlying their operation is determined by the constructive interference of electromagnetic waves at specific frequencies, giving rise to the resonance spectrum. This mechanism causes the limitations and trade-offs of resonator design, such as the diffi…
We report on a mode-locked laser design using Yb-doped fiber lasers for low-noise frequency-comb generation. The frequency comb covers the spectral range from $700$ to $1400$ nm. Although this range is more practical for many measurements than that produced by the more commonly used Er-fiber lasers, it has been addressed in only a handful of reports, mainly due to the difficulty of generating a fully coherent supercontinuum at $1\;μ$m. We overcome this difficulty by a tailored design of the mode-locking dynamics that succeeds in generating energetic 33 fs-long pulses without even using higher-…
A multimode optical fiber with a truncated transverse cross section acts as a powerful versatile support to investigate the wave features of complex ray dynamics. In this paper, we concentrate on the case of a geometry inducing a mixed dynamics. We highlight the properties of regular modes associated to stable periodic orbits such as an enhanced intensity localization and report unexpected attributes such as the statistics of the Inverse Participation Ratio that present features analogous to those of Anderson localized modes. Our study is supported by both numerical and experimental results.
To manipulate cold atoms in spatially constrained quantum engineering platforms, we developed a lensless optical system with a $\sim$1 $μ$m resolution and a transverse size of only 225 $μ$m. We use a multimode optical fiber with a high numerical aperture, which directly guides light inside the ultra-high-vacuum system. Spatial light modulators allow us to generate control beams at the in-vacuum fiber end by digital optical phase conjugation. As a demonstration, we use this system to optically transport cold atoms towards the in-vacuum fiber end, to load them in optical microtraps and to re-coo…
Zirconium fluoride (ZBLAN) glass, the standard material used in fiber-based mid-infrared photonics, has been re-designed to enable the fabrication of high index-contrast low-loss waveguides via femtosecond laser direct writing. We demonstrate that in contrast to pure ZBLAN, a positive index change of close to 10$^{-2}$ can be induced in hybrid zirconium/hafnium (Z/HBLAN) glasses during ultrafast laser inscription and show that this can be explained by an electron cloud distortion effect that is driven by the existence of two glass formers with contrasting polarizability. High numerical apertur…
Solitons are non-dispersing localized waves that occur in diverse physical settings. A variety of optical solitons have been observed, but versions that involve both spatial and temporal degrees of freedom are rare. Optical fibers designed to support multiple transverse modes offer opportunities to study wave propagation in a setting that is intermediate between single-mode fiber and free-space propagation. Here we report the observation of optical solitons and soliton self-frequency shifting in graded-index multimode fiber. These wave packets can be modeled as multi-component solitons, or as …
The optical transmission and reflection in between two metalized optical fiber tips is studied in the optical near-field and far-field domains. Besides aluminum-coated tips for near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM), specifically developed gold-coated fiber tips cut by focused ion beam (FIB) are investigated. Transverse transmission maps of sub-wavelength width clearly evidence optical near-field coupling between the tips for short tip distances and becomes essentially Gaussian-shaped for larger distances in the far-field regime. Moreover concentric reflection fringes observed for NSOM-…
A method is proposed to experimentally determine principal modes for mode division multiplexing in a multimode optical fiber, i.e., increasing optical fiber information capacity via higher-order transverse eigenmodes. Principal modes are a special linear combination of eigenmodes that do not exhibit mode dispersion up to first order in frequency. This method is based on an SU(N) representation of mode dispersion whereby the generators of the corresponding SU(N) Lie algebra, i.e., generalized Gell-Mann matrices, predict higher-order Stokes parameters which can be used to measure principal modes…
Generation of High-order Laguerre-Gaussian modes in Coated and Uncoated Graded-Index and Step-Index Multimode Fibers
Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Università di Brescia（布雷西亚大学信息工程系）；Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione, Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, Sapienza Università di Roma（罗马智慧大学信息与电子通信工程系）；Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università degli Studi Niccolò Cusano（尼古拉·库萨诺大学工程系）
We investigate and report the optical and laser characteristics of a ytterbium-doped transverse Anderson localizing optical fiber to develop a fundamental understanding of the light propagation, generation, and amplification processes in this novel fiber. Ultimately, the goal based on the measurements and calculations conducted herein is to design and build a random fiber laser with a highly directional beam. The measurements are based on certain observations of the laser pump propagation and amplified spontaneous emission generation in this fiber. Judicious approximations are used in the prop…
We report experimental results, showing that the Kerr beam self-cleaning of many low-order modes in a graded-index multimode fiber can be controlled thanks to optimized wavefront shaping of the coherent excitation beam. Adaptive profiling of the transverse input phase was utilized for channeling the launched power towards a specific low-order fiber mode, by exploiting nonlinear coupling among all guided modes. Experiments were carried out with 7 ps pulses at 1064 nm injected in a five meters long multimode fiber operating in the normal dispersion regime. Optimized Kerr beam self-cleaning of fi…
We report the experimental observation of the interaction and attraction of many localized modes in a two dimensional (2D) system realized by a disordered optical fiber supporting transverse Anderson localization. We show that a nonlocal optically nonlinear response of thermal origin alters the localization length by an amount determined by the optical power and also induces an action at a distance between the localized modes and their spatial migration. Evidence of a collective and strongly interacting regime is given.
We report on a monolithic thulium fiber laser with 567 W output power at 1970 nm, which is the highest power reported so far directly from a thulium oscillator. This is achieved by optimization of the splice parameters for the active fiber (minimizing signal light in the fiber cladding) and direct water cooling. Dual transverse mode operation is visible from the optical spectrum and can also be deduced from the measured beam quality of M^2 = 2.6. \c{opyright} 2016 Optical Society of America under Open Access Publishing Agreement. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the art…
The effect of boundary deformation on the non-separable entanglement which appears in the classical elec- tromagnetic field is considered. A quantum chaotic billiard geometry is used to explore the influence of a mechanical modification of the optical fiber cross-sectional geometry on the production of non-separable entan- glement within classical fields. For the experimental realization of our idea, we propose an optical fiber with a cross section that belongs to the family of Robnik chaotic billiards. Our results show that a modification of the fiber geometry from a regular to a chaotic regi…
We propose the use of a silicon-core optical fiber for terahertz (THz) waveguide applications. Finite-difference time-domain simulations have been performed based on a cylindrical waveguide with a silicon core and silica cladding. High-resistivity silicon has a flat dispersion over a 0.1 - 3 THz range, making it viable for propagation of tunable narrowband CW THz and possibly broadband picosecond pules of THz radiation. Simulations show the propagation dynamics and the integrated intensity, from which transverse mode profiles and absorption lengths are extraced. It is found that for 140 - 250 …
