Ultrabroadband second-harmonic generation via spatiotemporal-coupled phase matching

We propose a spatially chirped quasi-phase-matching(QPM)scheme that enables ultrabroadband second-harmonic-generation(SHG)by using a fan-out QPM grating to frequency-convert a spatially chirped fundamental wave.A“zerodispersion”4f system maps the spectral contents of ultrabroadband fundamental onto different spatial coordinates in the Fourier plane,where the fundamental is quasi-monochromatic locally in picosecond duration,fundamentally canceling high-order phase mismatch.A fan-out QPM grating characterized by a linear variation of the poling period along the transverse direction exactly supports the QPM of the spatially chirped beam.We theoretically demonstrate the SHG of an 810-nm,12.1-fs pulse into a 405-nm,10.2-fs pulse with a conversion efficiency of 77%.

Parametric generation and phase locking of multiple sidebands in the regime of full-back-conversion

Parametric interaction allows both forward and backward energy transfers among the three interacting waves.The back-conversion effect is usually detrimental when unidirectional energy transfer is desired.In this theoretical work,we manifest that the back-conversion effect underpins the direct generation of the picosecond pulse train without the need for a laser resonator.The research scenario is an optical parametric amplification(OPA)that consists of a second-order nonlinear medium,a quasi-continuous pump laser and a sinusoidal amplitude-modulated seed signal.The back-conversion of OPA can transfer the modulation peaks(valleys)of the incident signal into output valleys(peaks),which inherently induces spectral sidebands.The generation of each sideband is naturally accompanied with a phase shift of±π.In the regime of full-back-conversion,the amount and amplitude of the sidebands reach the maximum simultaneously,and their phase constitutes an arithmetic sequence,leading to the production of a picosecond pulse train.The generated picosecond pulse train can have an ultrahigh repetition rate of 40 GHz or higher,which may facilitate ultrafast applications with ultrahigh speed.

Analysis and evaluation of idler absorption for quasi-parametric chirped-pulse amplification

Quasi-parametric chirped-pulse amplification(QPCPA) can improve the signal amplification efficiency and stability by inhibiting the back-conversion, in which the idler absorption plays a critical role. This Letter theoretically studies the impacts of idler absorption on the QPCPA performance in both the small-signal and saturation regimes. We demonstrate that there exists an optimal idler absorption that enables the achievement of maximum pump depletion within a minimum crystal length. To overcome the reduction in small-signal gain induced by idler absorption, the configuration of gradient idler absorption is proposed and demonstrated as a superior alternative to constant idler absorption. The results provide guidelines to the design of state-of-the-art QPCPA lasers.