XPM-induced pulse compression in birefringent dispersion decreasing fiber

The pulse compression induced by cross-phase modulation in birefringent dispersion decreasing fiber is discussed theoretically by solving the coupled Schrodinger equations which include the contribution of the high-order non-linear effects, and third-order dispersion. In particular, it is found that a high quality compressed signal pulse can be obtained by a pump pulse of low intense through the technique. The dependence of optimum compression on the non-linear factor N, time delay tau(d) and the dispersive ratio f is also discussed in detail. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Distributed measurement of birefringence dispersion in polarization-maintaining fibers

A new method to measure the birefringence dispersion in high-birefringence polarization-maintaining fibers is presented using white-light interferometry. By analyzing broadening of low-coherence interferograms obtained in a scanning Michelson interferometer, the birefringence dispersion and its variation along different fiber sections are acquired with high sensitivity and accuracy. Birefringence dispersions of two PANDA fibers at their operation wavelength are measured to be 0.011 ps/(km nm) and 0.018 ps/(km nm), respectively. Distributed measurement capability of the method is also verified experimentally. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.

Characterization of birefringence dispersion in polarization-maintaining fibers by use of white-light interferometry

A new method for measuring the birefringence dispersion in polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs) with high sensitivity and accuracy is presented. The method employs white-light interferences between two orthogonally polarized modes of PMFs. The group birefringence of the fiber is calibrated first. Then the birefringence dispersion and its variation along different fiber sections are acquired by analyzing the broadening of interferograms at different fiber lengths. The main sources of error are investigated. Bireffingence dispersions of two PANDA fibers at their operation wavelength are measured to be 0.011 ps/(km nm) and 0.018 ps/(km nm). A measurement repeatability of 0.001 ps/(km nm) is achieved. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Influence of birefringence dispersion on distributed measurement of polarization coupling in birefringent fibers

A white light interferometer is developed to measure the distributed polarization coupling in high-birefringence polarization-maintaining fibers (PMFs). Usually the birefringence dispersion between two orthogonal eigenmodes of PMFs is neglected in such systems. Theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the birefringence dispersion becomes a nonnegligible factor in a long-fiber test. Significant broadening of interferograms and loss of longitudinal coherence are observed. The spatial resolution and measurement sensitivity of the system decrease correspondingly. Optimum spectrum width selection is presented for better spatial resolution and measurement range. c 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

Analysis of dispersion compensation by chirped fiber grating in directly and externally modulated CATV systems

The dispersion compensation effect of the chirped fiber grating (CFG) is analyzed theoretically, and analytic expressions are derived for composite second-order (CSO) distortion in analog modulated sub-carrier multiplexed (AM-SCM) cable television (CATV) systems with externally and directly modulated transmitters. Simulations are given for the two kinds of modulations and for standard single mode fiber and non-zero dispersion shift fiber (NZDSF) systems. The results show that CFG could be used as a dispersion compensator in directly modulated systems, but its dispersion coefficient should be adjusted much more precisely than the externally modulated system. The requirements for the NZDSF system could be loosened much. It is proposed that directly modulated source may be used as a transmitter in CATV systems combined with tunable CFG dispersion compensator being adjusted precisely, which may be more cost-effective than externally modulation technology. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Improved uniformity of target illumination by combining a lens array and the technique of spectral dispersion

A scheme using a lens array and the technique of spectral dispersion is presented to improve target illumination uniformity in laser produced plasmas. Detailed two-dimensional simulation shows that a quasi-near-field target pattern, of steeper edges and without side lobes, is achieved with a lens array, while interference stripes inside the pattern are smoothed out by the use of the spectral dispersion technique. Moving the target slightly from the exact focal plane of the principal focusing lens can eliminate middle-scale-length intensity fluctuation further. Numerical results indicate that a well-irradiated laser spot with small nonuniformity and great energy efficiency can be obtained in this scheme. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Beam smoothing by lens array with spectral dispersion

A scheme of combining technology of lens array (LA) and smoothing by spectral dispersion (SSD) is introduced to improve the irradiation uniformity in laser fusion based on the earlier works on LA. The feasibility of the scheme is also analyzed by numerical simulation. It shows that a focal pattern with flat-top and sharp-edge profile could be obtained, and the irradiation nonuniformity can fall down from 14% with only LA to 3% with both SSD and LA. And this smoothing scheme is depended less on the incidence comparing to other smoothing methods. The preliminary experiment has demonstrated its effectiveness. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Field and dispersion properties of subwavelength-diameter hollow optical fiber

We have investigated the basic properties of subwavelength-diameter hollow optical fiber with exact solutions of Maxwell's equations. The characteristics of modal field and waveguide dispersion have been studied. It shows that the subwavelength-diameter hollow optical fibers have interesting properties, such as enhanced evanescent field, local enhanced intensity in the hollow core and large waveguide dispersion that are very promising for many miniaturized high performance and novel photonic devices. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Smoothing the side lobes of a focused pattern by spectral dispersion in the broadband laser

Starting from the Huygens-Fresnel diffraction integral, the propagation equations of a broadband laser passing through a dispersive lens and a dispersive wedge are derived. Smoothing effect on the side lobes of the focused pattern is achieved as the broadband laser passes through the lens because of the spectral dispersion of the lens. By inserting a dispersive wedge behind the lens, better smoothing effect is realized because a relative position shift between focused patterns of different frequency components is generated due to the spectral dispersion of the wedge. Smoothing effect on the side lobe is obtained even with small bandwidth of the broadband laser as the wedge is used. (c) 2006 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Two-dimensional performance of uniform irradiation with the use of an edge-softened lens array and spectral dispersion

A lens array composed of edge-softened elements is used to improve on-target irradiation uniformity in the Shenguang II Laser Facility, with which a Fresnel pattern of suppressed diffraction peaks is obtained. Additional uniformity can be reached by reducing short-wavelength interference speckles inside the pattern when the technique of smoothing by spectral dispersion is also used. Two-dimensional performance of irradiation is simulated and the results indicate that a pattern of steeper edges and a flat top can be achieved with this joint technique. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

Upconversion properties of TM3+/Yb3+ codoped fluorophosphate glasses with low phonon density of states

Fluorophosphate glasses codoped with Tm3+ and Yb3+ were prepared and their thermal stability, phonon states, and upconversion properties were studied. It is found that the increment of phosphate content is good for the thermal stability but increases the phonon density of states. However, the phonon density of states of these fluorophosphate glasses is very low due to the low phosphate content in their composition. The upconversion luminescence spectra were measured under excitation of 970 nm laser diode, and the intense blue (476 nm) and near infrared (794 nm) emission were simultaneous obtained at room temperature. The sensitizing mechanisms of Yb3+ to Tm3+ for blue and red emission contain both sequential and cooperative sensitization. The near infrared emission is a two-photon upconversion process. These researches suggest that when the phosphate content in the composition is low enough, fluorophosphate glass can be suitable host material of Tm3+ codoped with Yb3+ for blue and near infrared upconversion luminescence. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.

Comparative investigation of up-conversion luminescence in Tm3+/Yb3+-codoped germanate-niobic and germanium-bismuth glasses: effect of phonon density on up-conversion emission

Tm3+/Yb3+-codoped gernianate-niobic (GN) and germanium-bismuth (GB) glasses have been synthesized by conventional ruching and quenching method. Intense blue and weak red emissions centered at 477 and 650 nm, corresponding to the transitions (1)G(4)->H-3(6) and (1)G(4)->H-3(4), respectively, were observed at room temperature. The possible Up-conversion mechanisms are discussed and estimated. GN glass showed a weaker up-conversion emission than GB glass, which is inconsistent with the prediction from the difference of maximum phonon energy between GN and GB glasses. In this paper, Raman spectroscopy was employed to investigate the origin of the difference in up-conversion luminescence in the two glasses. Compared with phonon side-band spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy extracts more information including both phonon energy and phonon density. For the first time, our results reveal that, besides the maximum phonon energy, the phonon density of host glasses is also an important factor in determining the up-conversion efficiency. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Group delay dispersion measurement of Yb : Gd2SiO5, Yb : GdYSiO5 and Yb : LuYSiO5 crystal with white-light interferometry

We report the measured group delay dispersion (GDD) of new crystals Yb:Gd2SiO5 (Yb:GSO), Yb:GdYSiO5 (Yb:GYSO) and Yb:LuYSiO5 (Yb:LYSO) over wavelengths from 1000nm to 1200nm, with a white-light interferometer. Those GDD data should be useful for the dispersion compensation for femtosecond pulse generation in the lasers with these new crystals as the gain media. (C) 2007 Optical Society of America

Newly designed multilayer thin film mirror for dispersion compensation in Ti:sapphire femtosecond lasers

There are two different effects to generate group delay dispersion by multilayer thin film mirrors: chirper effect and Gires-Tournois effect. Both effects are employed to introduce desired dispersion in the designed mirror. Thus the designed mirror provides large dispersion throughout broad waveband. Such mirror can be used for dispersion compensation in Ti:sapphire femtosecond lasers. Most group delay dispersion of a 5-mm Ti:sapphire crystal can be compensated perfectly with only four bounces of the designed mirror.