Spatial Beam Self-Cleaning in Second-Harmonic Generation.

We experimentally demonstrate the spatial self-cleaning of a highly multimode optical beam, in the process of second-harmonic generation in a quadratic nonlinear potassium titanyl phosphate crystal. As the beam energy grows larger, the output beam from the crystal evolves from a highly speckled intensity pattern into a single, bell-shaped spot, sitting on a low energy background. We demonstrate that quadratic beam cleanup is accompanied by significant self-focusing of the fundamental beam, for both positive and negative signs of the linear phase mismatch close to the phase-matching condition.

Thermally driven dual-frequency Q-switching of Nd:YGd2Sc2Al2GaO12 ceramic laser.

Multi-wavelength operation of Q-switched Nd-doped YGd(2)Sc(2)Al(2)GaO(12) garnet ceramic lasers has been investigated. Dual-wavelength emission around ~1.06 µm has been demonstrated both in the actively and passively Q-switched configurations. The ratio of output energy between the two laser wavelengths was driven by the temperature elevation caused by pumping. Passively Q-switched operation yields dual-frequency emission of two unsynchronized laser pulses carried by distinct transverse modes whereas active Q-switched configuration offers the possibility of synchronizing emission at the two wavelengths.

Control of near-infrared supercontinuum bandwidth by adjusting pump pulse duration.

We experimentally and numerically investigated the impact of input pump pulse duration on the near-infrared bandwidth of supercontinuum generation in a photonic crystal fiber. We continuously stretched the temporal duration of the input pump laser (centered at 1030 nm) pulses from 500 fs up to 10 ps, while keeping fixed the pump peak power. We observed that the long-wavelength edge of the supercontinuum spectrum is increased by 200 nm as the pump pulse duration grows from 500 fs to 10 ps. We provide a quantitative fit of the experimental results by means of numerical simulations. Moreover, we have explained the observed spectral broadening enhancement induced by pump pulse energy by developing an approximate yet fully analytical model for soliton energy exchange through a series of collisions in the presence of stimulated Raman scattering.

CHELSI: a portable neutron spectrometer for the 20-800 MeV region.

CHELSI is a CsI-based portable spectrometer being developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory for use in high-energy neutron fields. Based on the inherent pulse shape discrimination properties of CsI(Tl), the instrument flags charged particle events produced via neutron-induced spallation events. Scintillation events are processed in real time using digital signal processing and a conservative estimate of neutron dose rate is made based on the charged particle energy distribution. A more accurate dose estimate can be made by unfolding the 2D charged particle versus pulse height distribution to reveal the incident neutron spectrum from which dose is readily obtained. A prototype probe has been assembled and data collected in quasi-monoenergetic fields at The Svedberg Laboratory (TSL) in Uppsala as well as at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). Preliminary efforts at deconvoluting the shape/energy data using empirical response functions derived from time-of-flight measurements are described.

Suppression of sideband frequency shifts in the modulational instability spectra of wave propagation in optical fiber systems.

In standard optical fibers with constant chromatic dispersion, modulational instability (MI) sidebands execute undesirable frequency shifts due to fiber losses. By means of a technique based on average-dispersion-decreasing dispersion-managed fibers, we achieve both complete suppression of the sideband frequency shifts and fine control of the MI frequencies, without any compromise in the MI power gain.

Suppression of soliton self-frequency shift by upshifted filtering.

We consider the effects of stimulated Raman scattering on ultrashort light pulses propagating in long-haul fiber transmission lines. We propose an efficient method for suppressing the soliton self-frequency shift by use of upshifted filters without any compromise in signal-to-noise ratio and with the pulse stability preserved.