A simple and comprehensive electromagnetic theory uncovering complete picture of light transport in birefringent crystals

Birefringence production of light by natural birefringent crystal has long been studied and well understood.Here,we develop a simple and comprehensive rigorous electromagnetic theory that allows one to build up the complete picture about the optics of crystals in a friendly way.This theory not only yields the well-known refraction angle and index of ellipse for birefringence crystal,but also discloses many relevant physical and optical quantities that are rarely studied and less understood.We obtain the reflection and transmission coefficient for amplitude and intensity of light at the crystal surface under a given incident angle and show the electromagnetic field distribution within the crystal.We derive the wavefront and energy flux refraction angle of light and the corresponding phase and ray refractive index.We find big difference between them,where the phase refractive index satisfies the classical index of ellipse and Snell’s law,while the ray refractive index does not.Moreover,we disclose the explicit expressions for the zero-reflection Brewster angle and the critical angle for total internal reflection.For better concept demonstration,we take a weak birefringent crystal of lithium niobate and a strong birefringent crystal tellurium as examples and perform simple theoretical calculations.In addition,we perform experimental measurement upon z-cut lithium niobate plate and find excellent agreement between theory and experiment in regard to the Brewster angle.Our theoretical and experimental results can help to construct a clear and complete picture about light transport characteristics in birefringent crystals,and may greatly facilitate people to find rigorous solution to many light-matter interaction processes happening within birefringent crystals,e.g.,nonlinear optical interactions,with electromagnetic theory.

High stability and low noise laser-diode end-pumped Nd:YAG ceramic passively Q-switched laser at 1123 nm based on a Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)-PVA saturable absorber

We report a high repetition frequency, high power stability and low laser noise laser-diode(LD) end-pumped Nd: YAG ceramic passively Q-switched laser at 1123 nm based on a Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)-polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) film as a saturable absorber(SA). A Brewster polarizer(BP) and a birefringent crystal(BC) are incorporated to enable frequency selection and filtering for the passively Q-switched 1123 nm pulsed laser to improve the power stability and reduce the noise. When the pump power is 5.1 W, an average output power of 457.9 m W is obtained, corresponding to a repetition frequency of 1.09 MHz,a pulse width of 56 ns, a spectral line width of 0.65 nm, a power instability of ±0.92%, and a laser noise of 0.89%.The successful implementation of the “Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)-PVA film passively Q-switching” combined with “frequency selection and filtering of BP + BC” technology path provides a valuable reference for developing pulsed laser with high repetition frequency, high stability and low noise.

Highly Birefringent Photonic Crystal Fibers B Using Asymmetric Core Design

We demonstrate a highly birefringent photonic crystal fiber by utilizing the asymmetric core design. Based on spectral measurements of the polarization mode interfering, we estimate that the fiber has a beat length of about 0.33 mm at 1545 nm.

ASb(SO_(4))_(2)(A=Rb,Cs):Two short-wave UV antimony sulfates exhibiting large birefringence

Herein,two antimony sulfates,named RbSb(SO_(4))_(2)(1)and CsSb(SO_(4))_(2)(2),have been successfully synthesized with the introduction of Sb^(3+)cation with stereochemically active lone pairs(SCALP)into sulfates by the conventional hydrothermal method.Both two compounds endow short ultraviolet(UV)absorption edges(281 nm and 278 nm,respectively)and large birefringence(0.171@546 nm and 0.174@546 nm,respectively),which means that they are promising short-wave UV optical materials.Interestingly,though both of the two compounds exhibit similar 1D chained structures,and possess the same functional moieties including SbO4 seesaws and SO4 tetrahedral groups,they exhibit significantly opposite macroscopic symmetries,i.e.,compound 1 crystallizes in a centrosymmetric(CS)manner(P2_(1)/n)and compound 2 in a noncentrosymmetric(NCS)manner(P2_(1)2_(1)2_(1)),due to the size of cations[r(Rb+)=1.56 A˚,r(Cs+)=1.67 A˚]affects the orientation of SCALP of the adjacent Sb^(3+).