Decoupling frequencies, amplitudes and phases in nonlinear optics

Schmidt, B. E., Lassonde, P., Ernotte, G., Clerici, M. , Morandotti, R., Ibrahim, H. and Légaré, F. (2017) Decoupling frequencies, amplitudes and phases in nonlinear optics. Scientific Reports, 7, 7861. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-07510-3) (PMID:28801622) (PMCID:PMC5554166)

Abstract

In linear optics, light fields do not mutually interact in a medium. However, they do mix when their field strength becomes comparable to electron binding energies in the so-called nonlinear optical regime. Such high fields are typically achieved with ultra-short laser pulses containing very broad frequency spectra where their amplitudes and phases are mutually coupled in a convolution process. Here, we describe a regime of nonlinear interactions without mixing of different frequencies. We demonstrate both in theory and experiment how frequency domain nonlinear optics overcomes the shortcomings arising from the convolution in conventional time domain interactions. We generate light fields with previously inaccessible properties by avoiding these uncontrolled couplings. Consequently, arbitrary phase functions are transferred linearly to other frequencies while preserving the general shape of the input spectrum. As a powerful application, we introduce deep UV phase control at 207 nm by using a conventional NIR pulse shaper.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Clerici, Professor Matteo
• Authors: Schmidt, B. E., Lassonde, P., Ernotte, G., Clerici, M., Morandotti, R., Ibrahim, H., and Légaré, F.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: Scientific Reports
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2045-2322
• ISSN (Online): 2045-2322
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Scientific Reports 7:7861
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License