Comparative analysis of ferroelectric domain statistics via nonlinear diffraction in random nonlinear materials.

We present an indirect, non-destructive optical method for domain statistic characterization in disordered nonlinear crystals having homogeneous refractive index and spatially random distribution of ferroelectric domains. This method relies on the analysis of the wave-dependent spatial distribution of the second harmonic, in the plane perpendicular to the optical axis in combination with numerical simulations. We apply this technique to the characterization of two different media, Calcium Barium Niobate and Strontium Barium Niobate, with drastically different statistical distributions of ferroelectric domains.

Temporal ringdown of silicon-on-insulator racetrack resonators.

Ring-down temporal measurements of silicon-on-insulator wire racetrack resonators are performed with 150 fs input pulses using a parametric process in a nonlinear crystal to gate and amplify the weak output pulses. We measure the cavity round trip time and the quality factor of these all-pass filters and find excellent agreement with continuous wave spectroscopic measurements as well as with an analytic model built using numerical solutions for the fully vectorial waveguide modes.

Enhanced efficiency of the second harmonic inhomogeneous component in an opaque cavity.

In this Letter, we experimentally demonstrate the enhancement of the inhomogeneous second harmonic conversion in the opaque region of a GaAs cavity with efficiencies of the order of 0.1% at 612 nm, using 3 ps pump pulses having peak intensities of the order of 10 MW/cm(2). We show that the conversion efficiency of the inhomogeneous, phase-locked second harmonic component is a quadratic function of the cavity factor Q.

Harmonic generation in metallic, GaAs-filled nanocavities in the enhanced transmission regime at visible and UV wavelengths.

We have conducted a theoretical study of harmonic generation from a silver grating having slits filled with GaAs. By working in the enhanced transmission regime, and by exploiting phase-locking between the pump and its harmonics, we guarantee strong field localization and enhanced harmonic generation under conditions of high absorption at visible and UV wavelengths. Silver is treated using the hydrodynamic model, which includes Coulomb and Lorentz forces, convection, electron gas pressure, plus bulk χ(3) contributions. For GaAs we use nonlinear Lorentz oscillators, with characteristic χ(2) and χ(3) and nonlinear sources that arise from symmetry breaking and Lorentz forces. We find that: (i) electron pressure in the metal contributes to linear and nonlinear processes by shifting/reshaping the band structure; (ii) TE- and TM-polarized harmonics can be generated efficiently; (iii) the χ(2) tensor of GaAs couples TE- and TM-polarized harmonics that create phase-locked pump photons having polarization orthogonal compared to incident pump photons; (iv) Fabry-Perot resonances yield more efficient harmonic generation compared to plasmonic transmission peaks, where most of the light propagates along external metal surfaces with little penetration inside its volume. We predict conversion efficiencies that range from 10(-6) for second harmonic generation to 10(-3) for the third harmonic signal, when pump power is 2 GW/cm2.

Third-harmonic generation via broadband cascading in disordered quadratic nonlinear media.

We study parametric frequency conversion in quadratic nonlinear media with disordered ferroelectric domains. We demonstrate that disorder allows realizing broadband third-harmonic generation via cascading of two second-order quasi-phase matched nonlinear processes. We analyze both spatial and polarization properties of the emitted radiation and find the results in agreement with our theoretical predictions.