Random media with tailored optical properties are attracting burgeoning interest for applications in imaging, biophysics, energy, nanomedicine, spectroscopy, cryptography
A key paradigm for devices based on this class of materials is the transmission matrix, the tensorial link between the input and the output signals, that describes in full their optical behavior. The transmission matrix has specific statistical properties, as the existence of lossless channels, that can be used to transmit information, and are determined by the disorder distribution. In nonlinear materials, these channels may be modulated and the transmission matrix tuned accordingly. Here we
report the direct measurement of the nonlinear transmission matrix of complex materials, exploiting the strong
Category: Nonlinear Photonics
Accelerated electrons go farther if out-of-equilibrium
We explore the nonlinear response of plasmonic materials driven by ultrashort pulses of electromagnetic radiation with temporal duration of few femtoseconds and high peak intensity. By developing the Fokker-Planck-Landau theory of electron collisions, we solve analytically the collisional integral and derive a novel set of hydrodynamical equations accounting for plasma dynamics at ultrashort time scales. While in the limit of small light intensities we recover the well established Drude model of plasmas, in the high intensity limit we observe nonlinear quenching of collision-induced damping leading to absorption saturation. Our results provide a general background to understand electron dynamics in plasmonic materials with promising photonic applications in the manipulation of plasma waves with reduced absorption at the femtosecond time scale.
Andrea Marini, Alessandro Ciattoni, and Claudio Conti, Collision quenching in the ultrafast dynamics of plasmonic materials in ArXiv:1808.03669
Nonlinear Optics 2019 at Hawaii launched !!!
The NLO 2019 OSA workshop has been launched. This is the periodical world-famous event on the last developments of nonlinear optics.
The NLO 2019 edition will be open to new directions as quantum nonlinear optics, machine learning, novel soft- and bio-materials, nanomedicine and imaging applications.
Stay tuned and do not miss the opportunity to visit Hawaii and enjoy an exciting scientific and natural environment.
Synchrotron resonant radiation from nonlinear self-accelerating pulses
Solitons and nonlinear waves emit resonant radiation in the presence of perturbations. This effect is relevant for nonlinear fiber optics, supercontinuum generation, rogue waves, and complex nonlinear dynamics. However, resonant radiation is narrowband, and the challenge is finding novel ways to generate and tailor broadband spectra. We theoretically predict that nonlinear self-accelerated pulses emit a novel form of synchrotron radiation that is extremely broadband and controllable. We develop an analytic theory and confirm the results by numerical analysis. This new form of supercontinuum generation can be highly engineered by shaping the trajectory of the nonlinear self-accelerated pulses. Our results may find applications in novel highly efficient classical and quantum sources for spectroscopy, biophysics, security, and metrology.
Lifu Zhang, Xiang Zhang, Davide Pierangeli, Ying Li, Dianyuan Fan, and Claudio Conti in Optics Express 26, 14710 (2018)
LSA Paper: Phase-matching-free parametric oscillators based on two-dimensional semiconductor
Optical parametric oscillators are widely used as pulsed and continuous-wave tunable sources for innumerable applications, such as quantum technologies, imaging, and biophysics. A key drawback is material dispersion, which imposes a phase-matching condition that generally entails a complex design and setup, thus hindering tunability and miniaturization. Here we show that the burden of phase-matching is surprisingly absent in parametric micro-resonators utilizing mono-layer transition-metal dichalcogenides as quadratic nonlinear materials. By the exact solution of nonlinear Maxwell equations and first-principle calculations of the semiconductor nonlinear response, we devise a
novel kind of phase-matching-free miniaturized parametric oscillator operating at conventional pump intensities. We find that different two-dimensional semiconductors yield degenerate and non-degenerate emission at various spectral regions due to doubly resonant mode excitation, which can be tuned by varying the incidence angle of the external pump laser. In addition, we show that high-frequency electrical modulation can be achieved by doping via electrical gating, which can be used to efficiently shift the threshold for parametric oscillation. Our results pave the way for the realization of novel ultra-fast tunable micron-sized sources of entangled photons—a key device underpinning any quantum protocol. Highly miniaturized optical parametric oscillators may also be employed in lab-on-chip technologies for biophysics, detection of environmental pollution and security.
A. Ciattoni, A. Marini, C. Rizza and C. Conti, Light: Science & Applications 7 (2018) 5