24 research outputs found
Experimental observation of second-harmonic generation and diffusion inside random media
We have experimentally measured the distribution of the second-harmonic
intensity that is generated inside a highly-scattering slab of porous gallium
phosphide. Two complementary techniques for determining the distribution are
used. First, the spatial distribution of second-harmonic light intensity at the
side of a cleaved slab has been recorded. Second, the total second-harmonic
radiation at each side of the slab has been measured for several samples at
various wavelengths. By combining these measurements with a diffusion model for
second-harmonic generation that incorporates extrapolated boundary conditions,
we present a consistent picture of the distribution of the second-harmonic
intensity inside the slab. We find that the ratio of the
mean free path at the second-harmonic frequency to the coherence length, which
was suggested by some earlier calculations, cannot describe the second-harmonic
yield in our samples. For describing the total second-harmonic yield, our
experiments show that the scattering parameter at the fundamental frequency
\k_{1\omega}\ell_{1\omega} is the most relevant parameter in our type of
samples.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure
Mapping of periodically poled crystals via spontaneous parametric down-conversion
A new method for characterization of periodically poled crystals is developed
based on spontaneous parametric down-conversion. The method is demonstrated on
crystals of Y:LiNbO3, Mg:Y:LiNbO3 with non-uniform periodically poled
structures, obtained directly under Czochralski growth procedure and designed
for application of OPO in the mid infrared range. Infrared dispersion of
refractive index, effective working periods and wavelengths of OPO were
determined by special treatment of frequency-angular spectra of spontaneous
parametric down-conversion in the visible range. Two-dimensional mapping via
spontaneous parametric down-conversion is proposed for characterizing spatial
distribution of bulk quasi-phase matching efficiency across the input window of
a periodically poled sample.Comment: 19 pages, 6 figure
Tunable continuous wave emission via phase-matched second harmonic generation in a ZnSe microcylindrical resonator
Whispering gallery mode microresonators made from crystalline materials are of great interest for studies of low threshold nonlinear phenomena. Compared to amorphous materials, crystalline structures often exhibit desirable properties such as high indices of refraction, high nonlinearities, and large windows of transparency, making them ideal for use in frequency comb generation, microlasing and all-optical processing. In particular, crystalline materials can also possess a noncentrosymmetric structure which gives rise to the second order nonlinearity, necessary for three photon processes such as frequency doubling and parametric down-conversion. Here we report a novel route to fabricating crystalline zinc selenide microcylindrical resonators from our semiconductor fibre platform and demonstrate their use for tunable, low power continuous wave second harmonic generation. Visible red light is observed when pumped with a telecommunications band source by a process that is phase-matched between different higher order radial modes, possible due to the good spatial overlap between the pump and signal in the small volume resonator. By exploiting the geometrical flexibility offered by the fibre platform together with the ultra-wide 500-22000 nm transmission window of the ZnSe material, we expect these resonators to find use in applications ranging from spectroscopy to quantum information systems