The topic of this thesis is about experimental study of phenomena which are associated with light propagation in nonlinear dielectric media. In the first part of this work, we study experimentally the snake instability of the bright soliton stripe of the (2+1)-dimensional hyperbolic nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The instability is observed, through spectral measurements, on spatially extended femtosecond pulses propagating in a normally dispersive self-defocusing semiconductor planar waveguide. The second part of this thesis is about light propagation in nonlinear periodic media. We experimentally observe a stationary spatial gap (or Bragg) soliton in a periodic semiconductor planar waveguide. Based on the interference pattern of the soliton beam, we measure the power parameter of the soliton which is related to the position of the spatial spectrum in the linear band gap. Cette thèse de doctorat a pour sujet l’étude expérimentale de phénomènes associés à la propagation de la lumière dans les milieux diélectriques non linéaires. La première partie porte sur la démonstration expérimentale de l’instabilité serpentine d’une bande solitonique dans un système décrit par une équation de Schrödinger non linéaire à (2+1)-dimensions. L’instabilité est observée sur base de mesures du spectre spatial ainsi que du profil spatio-fréquentiel d’une impulsion femtoseconde après propagation dans un guide plan semi-conducteur qui présente une dispersion normale et une non-linéarité défocalisante. Le second thème abordé concerne la propagation de la lumière dans les milieux non linéaires périodiques. Les expériences réalisées ont montré l’existence du soliton de Bragg spatial stationnaire sous forme de faisceaux se propageant dans des guides plans semi-conducteurs périodiquement gravés. Sur base du profil de la distribution modale en intensité du faisceau soliton, il a été possible de mesurer le paramètre de puissance du soliton de Bragg qui détermine la position du spectre spatial dans la bande interdite linéaire.

No description available.

The nonlinear optical properties of a semiconductor-doped glass (SDG) channel waveguide were measured on a picosecond time-scale; namely, fluence-dependent changes in the absorption and the refractive index as well as the relaxation time of the nonlinearity. Slower, thermally-induced changes in the refractive index were also observed. The saturation of the changes in the absorption and the refractive index with increasing optical fluence is explained using a plasma model with bandfilling as the dominant mechanism. The fast relaxation time of the excited electron-hole plasma (20 ps) is explained using a surface-state recombination model. A figure of merit for a nonlinear directional coupler fabricated in a material with a saturable nonlinear refractive index is presented. The measured nonlinear change in the refractive index of the SDG saturates below the value required to effect fluence-dependent switching in a nonlinear directional coupler. Experiments with a channel-waveguide directional coupler support this prediction. However, absorption switching due to differential saturation of the absorption in the two arms of the directional coupler was observed.

Since the discovery of optical bistability a considerable amount of research activity has been aimed toward the realization of general-purpose all-optical computers. The basic premise for most of this work is the widely held notion that a reliable optical switch can be fabricated from a piece of optically bistable material. To date only a very small number of published articles have addressed the subject of the engineering issues (that is, the optimization and tolerancing) of these optical switches. This dissertation is a systematic treatment of these issues. From the starting point of Maxwell's equations a simple model of optically bistable Fabry-Perot etalons is outlined, in which the material is assumed to be a pure Kerr medium having linear absorption. This model allows for a relatively straightforward optical switch optimization procedure. The procedure is applicable for optimizing any number of switch parameters. The emphasis in this dissertation is on the optimization of the contrast of the switch's output signals, with the other parameters (switching energy, tolerance sensitivity) assuming a secondary yet critical role. Following the optimization of the optical switch is a tolerance analysis which addresses the manufacturability and noise immunity of the optimized switch. In the first part of this analysis equations describing the propagation of errors through a large scale system of like devices are derived from the truth tables of the switches themselves. From these equations worst case tolerances are established on the optical switch's transfer function parameters. In the second part of the tolerance analysis the bistability model is used to arrive at tolerances on the physical parameters of the switch. These tolerances are what determine the manufacturability of the optical switches. The major conclusion of the dissertation is that, within the range of validity of the model and the other simplifying assumptions, optically bistable Fabry-Perot etalons cannot be used reliably as logic gates in large-scale computing systems.

This dissertation describes the study of excitonic optical nonlinearities in semiconductors and semiconductor microstructures. The main emphasis is placed on the evolution of optical nonlinearities as one goes from bulk to quantum-confined structures. Included are experimental studies of molecular-beam-epitaxially-grown bulk GaAs and ZnSe, GaAs/AlGaAs multiple-Quantum-Wells (MQW's), and finally, quantum-confined CdSe-doped glasses. The microscopic origins and magnitudes of the optical nonlinearities of bulk GaAs and ZnSe were investigated and the exciton recovery time in ZnSe was measured. A comparison with a plasma theory indicates that in GaAs, band filling and screening of the continuum-state Coulomb enhancement are the most efficient mechanisms, while in ZnSe, exciton screening and broadening are the dominating mechanism for the nonlinearity. The maximum nonlinear index per excited electron-hole pair of ZnSe at room temperature is comparable to that of bulk GaAs and the exciton recovery times are of the order of 100 ps or less. A systematic study of the dependence of the optical nonlinearities on quantum well thickness for GaAs/AlGaAs MQWs and the results of nonlinear optical switching and gain in a 58 A GaAs/AlGaAs MQW are reported and discussed. The maximum change in the refractive index is greatest for the MQWs with the smallest well size and decreases with increasing well size, reaching a minimum for bulk GaAs. The maximum index change per photoexcited carrier increases by a factor of 3 as the well size decreases from bulk to 76 A MQW. A differential energy gain of 0.2 and the contrast of 4 are measured for a 58 MQW using 3 ns laser pulses. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of CdSe semiconductor microcrystallites grown under different heat treatments in borosilicate glasses are investigated. Pump-probe spectroscopic techniques and interferometric techniques were employed to study size quantization effects in these microcrystallites (quantum dots). Nonlinear optical properties due to the transitions between quantum confined electron and hole states are reported for low temperature and room temperature. A relatively large homogeneous linewidth is observed. Single beam saturation experiments for quantum confined samples were performed to study the optical nonlinearities as a function of microcrystallite size. Results indicate that the saturation intensity is larger for smaller size quantum dots.

This dissertation describes the study of various nonlinear optical effects in both bulk and quantum-confined semiconductors. Transverse effects in increasing absorption optical bistability are considered in bulk CdS for both single beam and wave mixing geometries. Measurement of the temporal response of BiI₃ quantum dots is described using degenerate four-wave mixing and explained theoretically. Finally, the experimental techniques developed to measure the one- and two-photon absorption coefficients of CdS quantum dots in glass are described along with the latest theoretical description and interpretation of the experimental spectra. The basic theory of increasing absorption optical bistability is presented along with experimental observation of this effect in CdS at low temperature. Transverse effects in increasing absorption optical bistability were observed in single beam experiments with CdS at low temperatures. The ring structures observed experimentally are explained theoretically. Degenerate four-wave mixing performed with this nonlinearity is theoretically shown to produce new scattering orders compared with a standard Kerr analysis. Experimental observation of these new scattering orders is presented. The temporal response of the nonlinearity in a solution of BiI₃ quantum dots in acetonitrile is determined using degenerate four-wave mixing. The independent contributions to the phase-conjugate signal are determined for both of the spatial gratings induced in the solution. The observed temporal responses indicated that a thermal mechanism was responsible for the nonlinearity. A theoretical analysis based on a thermal nonlinearity is presented which provides good agreement with the observed responses. The experimental techniques necessary to measure the one- and two-photon absorption coefficients of CdS quantum dots are described. The resultant measurements of quantum dot samples with microcrystallites ranging from 3.6 to 10.8 nm in diameter indicate no splitting of the energy levels associated with the hole. Theoretical spectra indicate this can be partially explained by the inclusion of Coulombic effects of the charged electron-hole pair.

This dissertation combines aspects of lasers, nonlinear optics and interferometry to measure the linear optical properties involved in phase matched second harmonic generation, (SHG). A new measuring technique has been developed to rapidly analyze the phase matching performance of potential SHGs. The data taken is in the form of interferograms produced by the self referencing nonlinear Fizeau interferometer (NLF), and correctly predicts when phase matched SHG will occur in the sample wedge. Data extracted from the interferograms produced by the NLF, allows us to predict both phase matching temperatures for noncritically phase matchable crystals and crystal orientation for angle tuned crystals. Phase matching measurements can be made for both Type I and Type II configurations. Phase mismatch measurements were made at the fundamental wavelength of 1.32 (mu)m, for: calcite, lithium niobate, and gadolinium molybdate (GMO). Similar measurements were made at 1.06 (mu)m. for calcite. Phase matched SHG was demonstrated in calcite, lithium niobate and KTP, while phase matching by temperature tuning is ruled out for GMO.

Chiral molecules, which exist under enantiomers with non-mirror-symmetrical structures, have been the subject of intense research for their linear and nonlinear optical activities. Cysteine is such a chiral amino acid found as a building block of proteins throughout human bodies. Second harmonic generation (SHG) has been considered to investigate chiral molecules. SHG from metallic nanoparticles is promising for nanoplasmonics and photonic nanodevice applications. Therefore, it’s desirable to combine and study nonlinear properties due to both chirality and metallic nanoparticles, and help developing an alternatively optical diagnostic of chiral molecules. Our experiments are carried out with the FemtoFiber Scientific FFS laser system. SHG of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) modified by either L-Cysteine (L-C) or D-Cysteine (D-C) is observed, where L-Cysteine and D-Cysteine are a pair of enantiomers. Ag NPs are deposited through Vacuum Thermal Evaporation, controlled under different deposition thicknesses. UV-Vis/IR spectra and AFM are used to characterize Ag NPs under different conditions. Transmitted SHG measurements dependent on incidence are recorded with standard lock-in techniques. Deposition thickness of vacuum thermal evaporation plays an important role in forming diverse Ag NPs, which strongly imparts the intensity of SHG. Second harmonic intensity as a function of the incident angle presents similar results for Ag NPs with or without L-Cysteine or D-Cysteine modification, in the output of p- and s-polarization. However, we monitor reversed rotation difference in second harmonic intensities at linearly +45° and -45° polarization for L-C/Ag NPs and D-C/Ag NPs, while there’s no difference at linearly +45° and -45° polarization for Ag NPs alone. This optical rotation difference in SHG is termed as SHG-ORD. Also, for second harmonic light fixed at p-polarization, L-C/Ag NPs and D-C/Ag NPs exhibit a reversely net difference for SHG excited by right and left circular polarization, which is termed as SHG-CD. Experiments on SHG-ORD of chiral-modified Ag NPs by a mixture of L-Cysteine and D-Cysteine further help verifying the existence of chirality in chiral-modified Ag NPs. As a conclusion, SHG efficiently probed and distinguished L-Cysteine from D-Cysteine in chiral-modified Ag NPs. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-29 21:27:23.112

QC 351 A7 no. 66 / This volume is intended to be used as a text for two courses at the Optical Sciences Center. A major part of the volume consists of lecture notes on the theory of laser operation, written by M. O. Scully and M. Sargent III. These notes, developed under NSF sponsorship for a new quantum optics curriculum at the University of Arizona, were the basis of a new course "Quantum Optics," which was first offered during the 1969-70 academic year. After considerable editing they were again used during "The Physics of Quantum Electronics" summer course in Prescott, June 22 - July 3, 1970. The remainder of the volume consists of unpublished work presented at Prescott, most of which will be utilized in a new course on nonlinear optics. References are given to material presented that has already appeared in print.

An important aspect of third-order optical nonlinearity is the intensity-dependent refractive index, where the intensity of the light itself affects the refractive index. This nonlinear effect is known as Kerr nonlinearity. In this work, a theory of amplification based on Kerr nonlinearity is developed. Kerr nonlinearity is well known to exhibit instability. Our amplification theory is based on seeding this instability. The full theory is developed to obtain the vectorial wave equations of the instability. It is shown that for materials of interest, vectorial effects are negligible across the instability regime and the scalar theory gives an accurate account of Kerr instability amplification. It is also shown that this instability analysis is a spatiotemporal generalization to four-wave mixing, modulation instability, and filamentation instability. It fact, it can be considered a seeded conical emission process. Subsequently, the theory of plane wave Kerr instability is explored. Quantitatively, the importance of pump wavelength, linear dispersive properties, and non-collinear angles for optimal amplification are demonstrated. Next, the seed beam is generalized to a finite Gaussian pulse in both time and space; the effect of a finite seed beam is quantitatively analyzed. Our analysis of Kerr instability in bulk dielectric crystals demonstrates the potential to amplify pulses in the wavelength range of ~1-14 μm. Whereas plane wave amplification is shown to extend to 40 μm in the example materials shown, material damage limits finite pulse Kerr instability amplification to about 14μm. There, seed pulse output energies in the 50 μJ range appear feasible with a ratio of pump to seed pulse energy in the range 400-500. Three key aspects of Kerr amplification are the capacity for single cycle pulse amplification, that it is intrinsically phase-matched, and its simplicity and versatility. As the Kerr instability gain profile is of Bessel-Gaussian nature in the transverse space domain, it lends itself naturally to the amplification of Bessel-Gauss beams. It is shown that pump-to-seed energy amplification that is more effcient than the Gaussian case by a factor of about 5-7. Whereas in the Gaussian case, the efficiency is on the order of about 0.15-0.2%, in the Bessel-Gaussian case it is on the order of about 1%. It is also demonstrated that Bessel-Gaussian seed beams centered at longer wavelengths than ordinary Gaussian beams may be amplified. Lastly, Bessel-Gauss beams are known to have favourable properties, such as being diffraction-free over a certain propagation range. Finally, a quantum optical theory of Kerr instability is developed. In particular, we explore a theory of the generation of ultrashort photon pairs (biphotons) from vacuum with Kerr instability.