Competition between the Modulation Instability and Stimulated Brillouin Scattering in a Broadband Slow Light Device

We observe competition between the modulation instability (MI) and stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a 9.2-GHz broadband SBS slow light device, in which a standard 20-km-long single-mode LEAF fibre is used as the SBS medium. We find that MI is dominant and depletes most of the pump power when we use an intense pump beam at ~1.55 {\mu}m, where the LEAF fibre is anomalously dispersive. The dominance of the MI in the LEAF-fibre-based system suppresses the SBS gain, degrading the SBS slow light delay and limiting the SBS gain-bandwidth to 126 dB \cdot GHz. In a dispersion-shifted highly nonlinear fibre, the SBS slow light delay is improved due to the suppression of the MI, resulting in a gain-bandwidth product of 344 dB \cdot GHz, limited by our available pump power of 0.82 W

Evolution of the Correlation between Orthogonal Polarization Patterns in Broad-Area Lasers

We measure polarization-resolved instantaneous patterns in a large-aspect ratio quasi-isotropic Nd:YAG laser. High correlation between the instantaneous orthogonal polarization patterns recorded at the earlier stages of the laser pulse has been found due to the strong cross saturation between both polarization modes

Documentos interactivos libres para una metodología docente de “aula invertida”

Los resultados del proyecto se encuentran en otro eprint con el archivo OpticaFisicaIILibro_JupyterNotebook.zipSección Deptal. de Óptica (Óptica)Fac. de Óptica y OptometríaFALSEsubmitte

Phase tunability of group velocity by modulated-pump-forced coherent population oscillations

We propose a technique to obtain slow and fast light propagations based on coherent population oscillations forced by a modulated pump. This mechanism produces an enhancement of 1 order of magnitude of the delay or advancement of light signals. The relative phase between the pumps to the signal fields is used as a knob for changing light propagation from ultraslow group velocities to negative group velocities. The experimental realization of the phenomenon was carried out in an erbium-doped fiber amplifier at room temperature

A brighter era for silver chalcogenide semiconductor nanocrystals

Silver chalcogenide semiconductor nanocrystals (Ag2E SNCs) have become a household name in the biomedical field, where they are used as contrast agents in bioimaging, photothermal therapy agents, and luminescent nanothermometers. The prominent position they have come to occupy in this field stems from a unique combination of features, above all near-infrared excitation and emission alongside low cytotoxicity. However, the first reports on Ag2E SNCs showed that a great limitation of these luminescent nanomaterials resided in their low photoluminescence quantum yield, which results in reduced brightness: a crippling feature in bioimaging and biosensing. In this article, we provide an overview of the strategies developed to overcome this hurdle. These strategies aim to remedy the presence of defects in the SNC core and/or surface, the presence of metallic silver, and off-stoichiometric composition. These features stem from the high mobility and redox potential of Ag+ ions, alongside the difficulty in controlling the nucleation and growth rate of Ag2E SNCs. The effectiveness of each approach is discussed. Lastly, a perspective on future research efforts to make Ag2E SNCs even brighter – and thus more effective in biomedical applications – is provided, with the hope of inspiring further investigation on these nanomaterials with a rich, complex set of physicochemical and spectroscopic propertiesThis work was financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under project NANONERV PID2019-106211RB-I00, NANOGRANZ PID2021-123318OB-I00, PID2021-122806OB-I00 and TED2021-132317-I00B, by the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI19/ 00565), by the Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid (P2022/BMD-7403 RENIM-CM) and co-financed by the European structural and investment fund. R.M. is grateful to the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación for support to research through a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC2021- 032913-I). I.Z.-G. thanks UCM-Santander for a predoctoral contract (CT63/19-CT64/19). L.M. acknowledges a scholarship from the China Scholarship Council (No. 202108350018

Optical pumping of a single hole spin in a p-doped quantum dot coupled to a metallic nanoparticle

The preparation of quantum states with a defined spin is analyzed in a hybrid system consisting of a p-doped semiconductor quantum dot (QD) coupled to a metallic nanoparticle. The quantum dot is described as a four-level atom-like system using the density matrix formalism. The lower levels are Zeeman-split hole spin states and the upper levels correspond to positively charged excitons containing a spin-up, spin-down hole pair and a spin electron. A metallic nanoparticle with spheroidal geometry is placed in close proximity to the quantum dot, and its effects are considered in the quasistatic approximation. A linearly polarized laser field drives two of the optical transitions of the QD and produces localized surface plasmons in the nanoparticle which act back upon the QD. The frequencies of these localized plasmons are very different along the two principal axes of the nanoparticle, thus producing an anisotropic modification of the spontaneous emission rates of the allowed optical transitions which is accompanied by local-field corrections. This effect translates into a preferential acceleration of some of the optical pathways and therefore into a fast initialization of the QD by excitation with a short optical pulse. The population transfer between the lower levels of the QD and the fidelity is analyzed as a function of the nanoparticle's aspect ratio, the external magnetic field, and the Rabi frequency of the driving field. It is also shown that the main effect of the local-field corrections is a lengthening of the time elapsed to reach the steady-state. The hole spin is predicted to be successfully cooled from 5 to 0.04 K at a magnetic field of 4.6 T applied in the Voigt geometry

Propagation-induced transition from slow to fast light in highly doped erbium fibers

We analyze the propagation regime of an amplitude-modulated 1536 nm signal when traveling along a highly doped erbium fiber pumped at 977 nm as a function of the fiber length. A propagation-induced transition from superluminal to subluminal propagation takes place along the fiber length which allows a change in regime solely based upon increasing the signal modulation frequency. This peculiar behavior is due to the interplay between pump absorption and pump-power broadening of the spectral hole induced by coherent population oscillations. The effect of ion density on this frequency-dependent regime change has been investigated

Effect of ion concentration on slow light propagation in highly doped erbium fibers

The effect of ion density on slow light propagation enabled by coherent population oscillations has been experimentally investigated for highly doped erbium fibers at room temperature. We found that fractional delay increases with ion density. A saturation effect in the fractional delay has been observed for doping levels above ∼3150 ppm. Ultra-high ion concentration can simultaneously increase the fractional delay and the bandwidth of the signals. We have studied the propagation of Gaussian pulses along the fibers obtaining fractional delays up to 0.7 for the highest doping levels used. It is shown that pulse power can be used as a control parameter to reduce distortion at different pulse bandwidths