We present high-resolution spectroscopy of Iodine vapour that is loaded and trapped within the core of a hollow-core photonic crystal fibre (HC-PCF). We compare the observed spectroscopic features to those seen in a conventional iodine cell and show that the saturation characteristics differ significantly. Despite the confined geometry it was still possible to obtain sub-Doppler features with a spectral width of ~6 MHz with very high contrast. We provide a simple theory which closely reproduces all the key observations of the experiment.
We investigate non-diffracting hollow-core nonlinear optical waves propagating in a layered nanoscaled metal-dielectric structure characterized by a very small average linear dielectric permittivity (Nonlinear Epsilon-Near-Zero metamaterial). We analytically show that hollow-core waves have a power flow exactly vanishing at a central region and exhibiting a sharp sloped profile at the edges of the regions surrounding the core. Physically, the absence of power flow at the core region is due to the vanishing of the transverse component of the electric displacement field, condition that can be satisfied by the full compensation between the nonlinear and linear dielectric contribution.
Efficient monitoring of airborne particulate matter (PM), especially particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 um (PM2.5), is crucial for improving public health. Reliable information on the concentration, size distribution and chemical characteristics of PMs is key to evaluating air pollution and identifying its sources. Standard methods for PM2.5 characterization require sample collection from the atmosphere and post-analysis using sophisticated equipment in a laboratory environment, and are normally very time-consuming. Although optical methods based on analysis of scattering of free-space laser beams or evanescent fields are in principle suitable for real-time particle counting and sizing, lack of knowledge of the refractive index in these methods not only leads to inevitable sizing ambiguity but also prevents identification of the particle material. In the case of evanescent wave detection, the system lifetime is strongly limited by adhesion of particles to the surfaces. Here we report a novel technique for airborne particle metrology based on hollow-core photonic crystal fibre. It offers in situ particle counting, sizing and refractive index measurement with effectively unlimited device lifetime, and relies on optical forces that automatically capture airborne particles in front of the hollow core and propel them into the fibre. The resulting transmission drop, together with the time-of-flight of the particles passing through the fibre, provide unambiguous mapping of particle size and refractive index with high accuracy. The technique represents a considerable advance over currently available real-time particle metrology systems, and can be directly applied to monitoring air pollution in the open atmosphere as well as precise particle characterization in a local environment such as a closed room or a reaction vessel.
A systematic numerical study of ultrafast nonlinear directional coupler performance based on soliton self-trapping in a novel type of dual-core optical fibre is presented. The considered highly nonlinear fibre structure is composed of a real, intentionally developed soft glass-pair with high refractive index contrast at the level of 0.4 in the near infrared. Nonlinear propagation of picojoule level femtosecond pulses was studied numerically with the aim to identify the best switching performance in input parameter space of 1400 - 1800 nm in terms of excitation wavelengths, and of 75 - 150 fs in terms of pulse width, respectively. For every combination of excitation wavelength and pulse width, the switching energies together with the optimal fibre length were determined and their relation to the input and switching parameters is discussed. The highest switching contrast of 46 dB in the time window of the ultrashort soliton was predicted at combination of 1500 nm excitation wavelength and 75 fs pulse width considering 43 mm fibre length. These results represent significant improvement both from point of view of switching contrast and switching energies, which are only at level of 20 pJ, in comparison to the previously published case of air-glass dual-core photonic crystal fibre. Moreover, the simpler fibre design without cladding microstructure together with the all-solid approach holds promise of improved dual-core symmetry and therefore offers high probability of the successful realization of a low power, compact and simple switching device.
We use hollow-core fibre to preserve the spectrum and temporal profile of picosecond laser pulses in CBD to suppress 2.6 dB of amplitude noise at MHz noise frequencies, to within 0.01 dB of the shot-noise limit. We provide an enhanced version of the CBD scheme that concatenates circuits to suppress over multiple frequencies and over broad frequency ranges --- we perform a first demonstration that reduces total excess amplitude noise, between 2 - 6 MHz, by 85%. These demonstrations enable passive, broad-band, all-guided fibre laser technology operating at the shot-noise limit.
The possibility of performing time-resolved spectroscopic studies in the molecular fingerprinting region or extending the cut-off wavelength of high-harmonic generation has recently boosted the development of efficient mid-infrared ultrafast lasers. In particular, fibre lasers based on active media such as thulium or holmium are a very active area of research since they are robust, compact and can operate at high repetition rates. These systems, however, are still complex, are unable to deliver pulses shorter than 100 fs and are not yet as mature as their near-infrared counterparts. Here we report generation of sub-40 fs pulses at 1.8 microns, with quantum efficiencies of 50% and without need for post-compression, in hydrogen-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibre pumped by a commercial 300-fs fibre laser at 1030 nm. This is achieved by pressure-tuning the dispersion and avoiding Raman gain suppression by adjusting the chirp of the pump pulses and the proportion of higher order modes launched into the fibre. The system is optimized using a physical model that incorporates the main linear and nonlinear contributions to the optical response. The approach is average power-scalable, permits adjustment of the pulse shape and can potentially allow access to much longer wavelengths.