Low drive voltage electro-optic Bragg deflector using a periodically poled lithium niobate planar waveguide.

An electro-optic Bragg light deflector is demonstrated in a thinned, periodically poled lithium niobate planar waveguide confined between two silica layers on a silicon substrate. More than 97% of diffraction efficiency is obtained with an operating wavelength of 633 nm for the two orthogonal light polarizations with a drive voltage of about 5 V. The temporal electric drift and the response time of the component are also studied.

Robust and broadband frequency conversion in composite crystals with tailored segment widths and χ(2) nonlinearities of alternating signs.

We propose an efficient, robust, and broadband nonlinear optical frequency conversion technique, which uses segmented crystals constructed in analogy with the composite pulses in nuclear magnetic resonance and quantum optics. The composite crystals are made of several macroscopic segments of nonlinear susceptibilities of opposite signs and specific thicknesses, which are determined from the condition to maximize the conversion efficiency with respect to variations in the experimental parameters. These crystals deliver broadband operation for significantly lower pump intensities than single bulk crystals. We demonstrate this technique by numerical simulation of sum-frequency generation in MgO:LiNbO3 crystal.

Experimental control of pattern formation by photonic lattices.

We study the control of modulational instability and pattern formation in a nonlinear dissipative feedback system with a periodic modulation of the material refractive index. We use a one-dimensional photonic lattice in a single-mirror feedback configuration and identify three mechanisms for pattern control: bandgap suppression of instability modes, periodicity induced pattern modes, and orientational pattern control.

Refractive indices of Sn2P2S6 at visible and infrared wavelengths.

We report on the refractive indices of Sn2P2S6 crystals in the wavelength range 550 - 2300 nm. The measurements are performed at room temperature using the minimum deviation method. The dispersion is described by a two oscillator model yielding the oscillator energies and strengths (Sellmeier parameters) for all polarization directions. The rotation of the indicatrix in the mirror plane and the direction of the optical axes have also been determined in the wavelength range lambda= 550-2200 nm.

Nonlinear optical coefficients and phase-matching conditions in Sn(2)P(2)S(6).

Phase matching conditions and second and third order nonlinear optical coefficients of Sn2P2S6 crystals are reported. The coefficients for second harmonic generation (SHG) are given at lambda = 1542 nm and 1907 nm at room temperature. The largest coefficients at these wavelengths are d111 = 17+/-1.5pm/V and d111 = 12+/-1.5pm/V, respectively. The third-order subsceptibilities chi(3) 1111 = (17 +/- 6) . 10-20m2/V2 and chi(3) 2222 = (9 +/- 3) . 10-20m2/V2 were determined at lambda = 1907 nm. All measurements were performed by the Maker-Fringe technique. Based on the recently determined refractive indices, we analyze the phase-matching conditions for second harmonic generation, sum- and difference-frequency generation and parametric oscillation at room temperature. Phase-matching curves as a function of wavelength and propagation direction are given. Experimental phase-matched type I SHG at 1907 nm has been demonstrated. The results agree very well with the calculations. It is shown that phase-matched optical parametrical oscillation is possible in the whole transparency range up to 8 microm with an effective nonlinear coefficient deff approximately 4pm/V.

Narrow-bandwidth holographic reflection filters with photopolymer films.

Narrow-bandwidth holographic reflection filters are demonstrated that use volume gratings in 100-mum-thick photopolymer films. A full width at half-maximum of 0.09 nm can be achieved with ~35% peak reflectance near the 900-nm region. Detailed fabrication procedures and filter performances are described.

High-frame-rate joint Fourier-transform correlator based on Sn(2)P(2)S(6) crystal.

We present a joint Fourier-transform correlator working at a 10-kHz repetition rate. It is based on a photorefractive Sn(2)P(2)S(6) crystal operated in the pulsed direct band-to-band photoexcitation regime at a wavelength of 532 nm and a pulse length of 50 ns. The intersection of two plane waves with a total pulse fluence of 100muJ/cm(2) results in a buildup of thin dynamic holograms to a typical diffraction efficiency of 10(-4) in a time of ~1mus and decay again in less than 10mus . The correlator was tested by a fast image sequence generated by the pulsed readout of a holographic memory system. Successful correlation at a rate of 10 kHz has already been achieved for a pulse energy of only 200 nJ in the template images.

High-resolution, high-speed photorefractive incoherent-to-coherent optical converter.

We demonstrate a photorefractive incoherent-to-coherent optical converter driven by ultraviolet light that provides a 35-mus response time and an optical resolution of 124 line pairs/mm. The device, implemented in KNbO(3) , operates with a modulating intensity of 85 mW/cm(2) , which corresponds to an optical switching energy per bit of 0.5 pJ. A conversion rate of the order of 90 Gbits/(s cm(2)) is achieved. The conversion between the ultraviolet light and the visible laser beam at lambda=532 nm occurs through anisotropic Bragg diffraction at a modulated interband photorefractive grating. Our device has a better optical resolution and conversion rate than optically addressed solid-state spatial light modulators based on the photorefractive effect and multiple quantum wells, and it is also faster than devices based on liquid crystals.

Fast, reconfigurable light-induced waveguides.

Fast and reconfigurable one-dimensional waveguides are produced by interband photorefraction. The index barriers are induced by ultraviolet light. The guiding of a red laser beam with a full width at half-maximum of 15 mum is demonstrated. Buildup and decay times of the waveguide in pure KNbO(3) are of the order of 100 mus and 10 ms, respectively. The intensity of the guided light has no influence on the guiding properties over the range from 4 mW/cm(2) to 200 W/cm(2) . By reconfiguration of the waveguide, deflection angles of as much as 1.75 deg inside the crystal are achieved.

Profile of photorefractive one-dimensional bright spatial solitons.

Analytic solutions for the profile of one-dimensional bright photorefractive steady-state spatial solitons generated as a result of screening of drift or photogalvanic currents are found by means of a power series development. The solutions are valid over all ranges of intensities. We also give simple analytic expressions that describe the soliton full width at half-maximum as a function of all important experimental parameters.

Photorefractive properties of iron-doped stoichiometric lithium niobate.

The photorefractive properties of stoichiometric LiNbO(3) crystals with a small number of defect densities grown by the double-crucible Czochralski method are investigated and compared with the defect densities of commercially available congruent Fe-doped LiNbO(3) crystals. Two-wave-mixing experiments show that novel stoichiometric crystals exhibit larger photorefractive gain and considerably faster response times than congruent ones. The results indicate that the nonstoichiometry defect control of photorefractive crystals is of key importance for the improvement of their properties.

Self-organized learning of purely temporal information in a photorefractive optical resonator.

A photorefractive resonator containing an optical delay line is shown to learn temporal information through a self-organization process. We present experiments in which a resonator mode selectively learns the mostfrequently presented signals at the input. We also demonstrate the self-organized association of two different analog signals with two different resonator modes.