Cross-Propagation Sum-Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy

Here we report the theory formulation and the experiment realization of sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy （SFG-VS） in the cross-propagation （XP） geometry or configuration. In the XP-SFG-VS, the visible and the infrared （IR） beams in the SFG experiment are delivered to the same location on the surface from visible and IR incident planes perpendicular to each other, avoiding the requirement to have windows or optics to be transparent to both the visible and IR frequencies. Therefore, the XP geometry is applicable to study surfaces in the enclosed vacuum or high pressure chambers with far infrared （FIR） frequencies that can directly access the metal oxide and other lower frequency surface modes, with much broader selection of visible and IR transparent window materials. The potential applications include surface science, material science, fundamental catalytic sciences, as well as low temperature molecular sciences, etc.

33 W quasi-continuous-wave narrow-band sodium D_(2a) laser by sum-frequency generation in LBO

We demonstrate an all-solid quasi-continuous-wave （QCW） narrow-band source tunable to sodium D2a line at 589.159 nm. The source is based on sum-frequency mixing between lasers at 1064 nm and 1319 nm in a LBO crystal. The 1064 nm and 1319 nm lasers are produced from two diode side-pumped Nd：YAG master oscillator power amplifier （MOPA） laser systems, respectively. A 33 W output of 589 nm laser is obtained with beam quality factor M^2 = 1.25, frequency stability better than ±0.2 GHz and linewidth less than 0.44 GHz. A prototype 589 nm laser system is assembled, and a sodium laser guided star has been successfully observed in the field test.

High sum-frequency generation in dielectric/antiferromagnet/Ag sandwich structures

We present a method to increase the sum-frequency （SF） outputs in dielectric/antiferromagnet（AF）/Ag sandwich structures for a fixed input power. Two incident waves simultaneously illuminate the upper surface, one is oblique and the other is normal to it. Numerical calculations based on the SiO2/MnF2/Ag and ZnF2/MnF2/Ag structures show that the SF outputs on the upper film increase a few times as compared to those of a single AF film when the thickness of the AF film is one-quarter of the vacuum wavelength. Moreover, the SF outputs generated near the higher resonant frequency will be higher than those obtained near the lower resonant frequency. An optimum AF film thickness is achieved through investigating its effect on the SF outputs in the two different dielectric sandwich structures.

Influence of intra-cavity loss on transmission characteristics of fiber Bragg grating Fabry–Perot cavity

A theoretical model of the fiber Bragg grating Fabry–Perot（FBG-FP） transmission spectrum considering loss of FBG and intra-cavity fiber is presented. Several types of FBG-FPs are inscribed experimentally, and their spectra are measured.The results confirm that weak intra-cavity loss is enhanced at the resonance transmission peak, that is, loss of transmission peaks is observably larger than other wavelengths. For FBG-FPs with multi resonance peaks, when the resonance peak wavelength is closer to the Bragg wavelength, the more significant loss effect of resonance transmission peak is exhibited.The measured spectra are fitted with the presented theoretical model. The fitted coefficient of determinations are near 1,which proves the validity of the theoretical model. This study can be applied to measure FBG loss more accurately, without a reference light. It can play an important role in FBG and FBG-FP writing process optimization and application parameter optimization.

An intra-cavity absorption fiber gas sensor based on performanceenhanced techniques

The performance of an erbium-doped fiber ring laser based intra-cavity absorption gassensor was evaluated with performance enhanced techniques. A multi-line wavelength sweep techniqueand a weighted averaging technique were proposed for better gas detection. By selecting appropriatesystem parameters, 6 strong absorption lines near 1 530 nm of C2H2 were obtained with good spectrumresolution in one scanning period. One group with higher absorption coefficients was used for relativelylow gas concentration detection and the other with lower absorption coefficients was used for relativelyhigh gas concentration. Both the groups can be used for medium gas concentration detection. For variousconcentration cases, by choosing proper absorption lines and performing weighted averaging, detectionaccuracy can be obtained over an extended detection range. The minimum detection limit could be verylow after optimization.

High spatial resolution collinear chiral sum-frequency generation microscopy

Chiral sum-frequency generation(SFG)has proven to be a versatile spectroscopic and imaging tool for probing chirality.However,due to polarization restriction,the conventional chiral SFG microscopes have mostly adopted noncollinear beam configurations,which only partially cover the aperture of microscope and strongly spoil the spatial resolution.In this study,we report the first experimental demonstration of collinear chiral SFG microscopy,which fundamentally supports diffraction-limited resolution.This advancement is attributed to the collinear focus of a radially polarized vectorial beam and a linearly polarized(LP)beam.The tightly focused vectorial beam has a very strong longitudinal component,which interacts with the LP beam and produces the chiral SFG.The collinear configuration can utilize the full aperture and thus push the spatial resolution close to the diffraction limit.This technique can potentially boost the understanding of chiral systems.

Eye-safe intra-cavity diamond cascaded Raman laser with high peak-power and narrow linewidth

The 1.4–1.8μm eye-safe lasers have been widely used in the fields of laser medicine and laser detection and ranging.The diamond Raman lasers are capable of delivering excellent characteristics,such as good beam quality concomitantly with high output power.The intra-cavity diamond Raman lasers have the advantages of compactness and low Raman thresholds compared to the external-cavity Raman lasers.However,to date,the intra-cavity diamond cascaded Raman lasers in the spectral region of the eye-safe laser have an output power of only a few hundred milliwatts.A 1485 nm Nd:YVO_4/diamond intra-cavity cascaded Raman laser is reported in this paper.The mode matching and stability of the cavity were optimally designed by a V-shaped folded cavity,which yielded an average output power of up to 2.2 W at a pulse repetition frequency of 50 kHz with a diode to second-Stokes conversion efficiency of 8.1%.Meanwhile,the pulse width of the second-Stokes laser was drastically reduced from 60 ns of the fundamental laser to 1.1 ns,which resulted in a high peak power of 40 kW.The device also exhibited single longitudinal mode with a narrow spectral width of<0.02 nm.

Large aperture disk standing-wave unstable resonator with intra-cavity adaptive correction

An unstable resonator with seven large aperture ceramic disks and intra-cavity adaptive correction is presented.The composite ceramic disks with absorption rings were adopted to suppress amplified spontaneous emission.An intra-cavity aberration non-conjugate correction based on round-trip wavefront and relaxation iteration was applied in the resonator.After tilt and defocus were corrected in turn,an average output power of 4.5 kW was obtained.The corresponding beam quality factorβwas 19.5.After tilt,defocus,and high order aberrations were corrected,the average output power was increased to 5.4 kW,and the beam quality factorβwas improved to 6.8.

High-intensity spatial-mode steerable frequency up-converter toward on-chip integration

Integrated photonic devices are essential for on-chip optical communication,optical-electronic systems,and quantum information sciences.To develop a high-fidelity interface between photonics in various frequency domains without disturbing their quantum properties,nonlinear frequency conversion,typically steered with the quadratic(χ2)process,should be considered.Furthermore,another degree of freedom in steering the spatial modes during theχ2 process,with unprecedent mode intensity is proposed here by modulating the lithium niobate(LN)waveguide-based inter-mode quasi-phasematching conditions with both temperature and wavelength parameters.Under high incident light intensities(25 and 27.8 dBm for the pump and the signal lights,respectively),mode conversion at the sum-frequency wavelength with sufficient high output power(−7–8 dBm)among the TM01,TM10,and TM00 modes is realized automatically with characterized broad temperature(ΔT≥8°C)and wavelength windows(Δλ≥1 nm),avoiding the previous efforts in carefully preparing the signal or pump modes.The results prove that high-intensity spatial modes can be prepared at arbitrary transparent wavelength of theχ2 media toward on-chip integration,which facilitates the development of chip-based communication and quantum information systems because spatial correlations can be applied to generate hyperentangled states and provide additional robustness in quantum error correction with the extended Hilbert space.

Sum-frequency generation in on-chip lithium niobate microdisk resonators

We report the first observation, to the best of our knowledge, of sum-frequency generation in on-chip lithium niobate microdisk resonators. The sum-frequency signal in the 780 nm band, distinct in wavelength from secondharmonic signals, was obtained in lithium niobate microresonators under the pump of two individual 1550 nm band lasers. The sum-frequency conversion efficiency was measured to be 1.4 × 10^(-7) mW^(-1). The dependence of the intensities of the nonlinear signals on the total pump power and the wavelength of one pump laser was investigated while fixing the wavelength of the other. This work paves the way for applications of on-chip lithium niobate microdisk resonators ranging from infrared single-photon detection to infrared spectroscopy.

Enhanced sum-frequency generation from etchless lithium niobate empowered by dual quasi-bound states in the continuum

The miniaturization of nonlinear light sources is central to the integrated photonic platform,driving a quest for high-efficiency frequency generation and mixing at the nanoscale.In this quest,the high-quality(Q)resonant dielectric nanostructures hold great promise,as they enhance nonlinear effects through the resonantly local electromagnetic fields overlapping the chosen nonlinear materials.Here,we propose a method for the enhanced sum-frequency generation(SFG)from etcheless lithium niobate(LiNbO_(3))by utilizing the dual quasi-bound states in the continuum(quasi-BICs)in a one-dimensional resonant grating waveguide structure.Two high-Q guided mode resonances corresponding to the dual quasi-BICs are respectively excited by two near-infrared input beams,generating a strong visible SFG signal with a remarkably high conversion efficiency of 3.66×10^(-2)(five orders of magnitude higher than that of LiNbO_(3)films of the same thickness)and a small full-width at half-maximum less than 0.2 nm.The SFG efficiency can be tuned via adjusting the grating geometry parameter or choosing the input beam polarization combination.Furthermore,the generated SFG signal can be maintained at a fixed wavelength without the appreciable loss of efficiency by selectively exciting the angle-dependent quasi-BICs,even if the wavelengths of input beams are tuned within a broad spectral range.Our results provide a simple but robust paradigm of high-efficiency frequency conversion on an easy-fabricated platform,which may find applications in nonlinear light sources and quantum photonics.

Effects of Second-Order Sum-and Difference-Frequency Wave Forces on the Motion Response of a Tension-Leg Platform Considering the Set-down Motion

This paper presents a study on the motion response of a tension-leg platform(TLP) under first-and second-order wave forces, including the mean-drift force, difference and sum-frequency forces. The second-order wave force is calculated using the full-field quadratic transfer function(QTF). The coupled effect of the horizontal motions, such as surge, sway and yaw motions, and the set-down motion are taken into consideration by the nonlinear restoring matrix. The time-domain analysis with 50-yr random sea state is performed. A comparison of the results of different case studies is made to assess the influence of second-order wave force on the motions of the platform. The analysis shows that the second-order wave force has a major impact on motions of the TLP. The second-order difference-frequency wave force has an obvious influence on the low-frequency motions of surge and sway, and also will induce a large set-down motion which is an important part of heave motion. Besides, the second-order sum-frequency force will induce a set of high-frequency motions of roll and pitch. However, little influence of second-order wave force is found on the yaw motion.

Efficient collinear frequency tripling of femtosecond laser with compensation of group velocity delay

This paper demonstrates an approach that negative uniaxial crystal has a relative anomalous dispersion effect which can compensate group velocity delay, and applies this approach to nonlinear frequency conversion of an ultrafast laser field. High efficiency of the third harmonic generation is experimentally fulfilled by adopting a collinear configuration of doubing-compensation-tripling system. Through finely adjusting the incident angle and optical axis direction of the compensation plate, it obtains ultraviolet （UV） output energy of 0.32 mJ centered at 270 nm with spectral bandwidth of 2 nm when input beam at 800 nm was 70 fs pulse duration and 6 mJ pulse energy which was extracted from Ti：sapphire laser system by a diaphragm, corresponding to an 800-to-270 nm conversion efficiency of 5.3% and a factor-of-l.6 improvement in the third harmonic generation of UV band in comparison with a general conventional configuration. Furthermore, when the full energy of 18 mJ from a Ti：sapphire laser system was used and optimized, the UV emission could reach 0.83 mJ.

Normal, degenerated, and anomalous-dispersion-like Cerenkov sum-frequency generation in one nonlinear medium

We report on the experimental realization of Cerenkov sum-frequency generation across the material dispersion in a one-dimensional, periodically poled ferroelectric crystal. Three schemes of sum-frequency generation, confined only in the vicinity of domain walls and in the form of nonlinear Cerenkov radiation, are demonstrated in normal,degenerated, and anomalous-dispersion-like configurations. We exploit their phase-matching geometries, which exhibit a whole scenario of the evolution of Cerenkov radiation varying with the dispersion relationship among the interaction waves. In addition, two sets of conical sum-frequency generation with different radius and center are demonstrated, which result from scattering assistant phase-matching processes.

NON-LINEAR OPTICAL IMAGING OF OBESITY-RELATED HEALTH RISKS:REVIEW

This review highlights the recent applications of non-linear optical(NLO)microscopy to study obesity-related health risks.A strong emphasis is given to the applications of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering(CARS)microscopy where multiple non-linear optical imaging modalities including CARS,sum-frequency generation(SFG),and two-photon fluorescence are employed simultaneously on a single microscope platform.Specific examples on applications of NLO microscopy to study lipid-droplet biology,obesity-cancer relationship,atherosclerosis,and lipidrich biological structures are discussed.

Quantitative Surface Chirality Detection with Sum Frequency Generation Vibrational Spectroscopy： Twin Polarization Angle Approach

Here we report a novel twin polarization angle （TPA） approach in the quantitative chirality detection with the surface sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy （SFG-VS）. Generally, the achiral contribution dominates the surface SFG-VS signal, and the pure chiral signal is usually two or three orders of magnitude smaller. Therefore, it has been difficult to make quantitative detection and analysis of the chiral contributions to the surface SFG- VS signal. In the TPA method, by varying together the polarization angles of the incoming visible light and the sum frequency signal at fixed s or p polarization of the incoming infrared beam, the polarization dependent SFG signal can give not only direct signature of the chiral contribution in the total SFG-VS signal, but also the accurate measurement of the chiral and achiral components in the surface SFG signal. The general description of the TPA method is presented and the experiment test of the TPA approach is also presented for the SFG-VS from the S- and R-limonene chiral liquid surfaces. The most accurate degree of chiral excess values thus obtained for the 2878 cm^-1 spectral peak of the S- and R-limonene liquid surfaces are （23.7±0.4）% and （-25.4±1.3）%, respectively.

Output Characteristics of Narrow No-Gain Competition Linewidth Dual-Wavelength Laser at 912 nm and 1064 nm

The output characteristics of a narrow linewidth, no-gain competition, dual-wavelength solid-state laser using an intra-cavity pumped method are reported. This system consists of an intra-cavity pumped Nd:YVO4 laser emitting at 1064 nm, using a 912 nm Nd:GdVO4 laser. A Fabry-Perot etalon is used to compress the linewidth that located at the common cavity of 912 nm and 1064 nm laser. Theoretical analysis and experimental verification were carried out. When the pump power is 32.8 W, the output of 912 nm and 1064 nm theoretical value is 0.036 W and 0.046 W, and the experimental value is 0.017 W and 0.016 W, respectively. The change trend of the theoretical simulated output power value was the same as the actual measured value in the experiment. In addition to this, the experimental measurement shows when the etalon with an angle of 15?, corresponding minimum linewidths were 0.284 nm and 0.627 nm, respectively.

Conical sum-frequency generation in a bulk anomalous-like dispersion medium

We observe conical sum-frequency generation in a bulk anomalous-like dispersion medium, which is attributed to complete phase-matching of one fundamental wave and the scattering wave of the other fundamental wave. In addition, efficient sum-frequency output is achieved making use of total internal reflection with conversion efficiency of 7.9% by only one reflection. The experiment proposes a new phase-matching mode under an anomalous-like dispersion condition, which suggests potential applications in efficient frequency conversion.

Line-narrowed electro-optic periodically-poled-lithium-niobate Q-switched laser with intra-cavity optical parametric oscillation using a grazing-incidence grating

We report a line-narrowed electro-optic periodically-poled-lithium-niobate （PPLN） Q-switched laser with intra-cavity optical parametric oscillation using a grazing-incidence grating, producing 8-ns, 5-#J pulses at 10-kHz repetition rate when pumped with a 10-W diode laser at 808 rim. The output wavelength is centered at 1554.3 nm with a 0.03-nm spectral width. Wavelength tuning is achieved by rotating a mirror and changing the crystal temperature.

Coherent Vibrational Dynamics and High-resolution Nonlinear Spectroscopy： A Comparison with the Air/DMSO Liquid Interface

We present a comparative study on the C-H stretching vibrations at air/DMSO （dimethyl sulfoxide） interface with both the free-induction decay （FID） coherent vibrational dynamics and the sub-wavenumber high resolution sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy measurements. In principle the frequency-domain and time-domain spectroscopic measurements should generate identical information for a given molecular system. However, when the molecular systems are with several coupled or overlapping vibrational modes, obtain- ing detailed spectroscopic and coherent dynamics information is not as straightforward and rather difficult from either the time-domain or the frequency domain measurements. For the case of air/DMSO interface that is with moderately complex vibrational spectra, we show that the frequency-domain measurement with sub-wavenumber high-resolution sum-frequency generation vibrational spectroscopy is probably more advantageous than the time- domain measurement in obtaining quantitative understanding of the structure and coherent dynamics of the molecular interface.