2D noncarbon materials-based nonlinear optical devices for ultrafast photonics [Invited]

Ultrafast lasers play an important role in a variety of applications ranging from optical communications to medical diagnostics and industrial materials processing. Graphene and other two-dimensional(2D) noncarbon materials, including topological insulators(TIs), transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDCs), phosphorene, bismuthene, and antimonene, have witnessed a very fast development of both fundamental and practical aspects in ultrafast photonics since 2009. Their unique nonlinear optical properties enable them to be used as excellent saturable absorbers(SAs) that have fast responses and broadband operation, and can be easily integrated into lasers. Here, we catalog and review recent progress in the exploitation of these 2D noncarbon materials in this emerging field. The fabrication techniques, nonlinear optical properties, and device integration strategies of 2D noncarbon materials are first introduced with a comprehensive view. Then, various mode-locked/Q-switched lasers(e.g., fiber, solid-state, disk, and waveguide lasers) based on 2D noncarbon materials are reviewed. In addition, versatile soliton pulses generated from the mode-locked fiber lasers based on 2D noncarbon materials are also summarized. Finally, future challenges and perspectives of 2D materials-based lasers are addressed.     

ZnO and ZnS Nanostructures: Ultraviolet-Light Emitters,Lasers, and Sensors

ZnO and ZnS, well-known direct bandgap II–VI semiconductors, are promising materials for photonic, optical, and electronic devices. Nanostructured materials have lent a leading edge to the next generation technology due to their distinguished performance and efficiency for device fabrication. As two of the most suitable materials with size- and dimensionality-dependent functional properties, wide bandgap semiconducting ZnO and ZnS nanostructures have attracted particular attention in recent years. For example, both materials have been assembled into nanometer-scale visible-light-blind ultraviolet (UV) light sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity, in addition to other applications such as field emitters and lasers. Their high-performance characteristics are particularly due to the high surface-to-volume ratios (SVR) and rationally designed surfaces. This article provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research activities in ZnO and ZnS nanostructures, including their syntheses and potential applications, with an emphasis on one-dimensional (1D) ZnO and ZnS nanostructure-based UV light emissions, lasers, and sensors. We begin with a survey of nanostructures, fundamental properties of ZnO and ZnS, and UV radiation–based applications. This is followed by detailed discussions on the recent progress of their synthesis, UV light emissions, lasers, and sensors. Additionally, developments of ZnS/ZnO composite nanostructures, including core/shell and heterostructures, are discussed and their novel optical properties are reviewed. Finally, we conclude this review with the perspectives and outlook on the future developments in this area. This review explores the possible influences of research breakthroughs of ZnO and ZnS nanostructures on the current and future applications for UV light–based lasers and sensors.     

大模场面积光子晶体光纤耗散孤子锁模激光器

研制了一种基于掺Yb3+的双包层大模场面积偏振光子晶体光纤的耗散孤子锁模激光器.利用数值模拟分析了光纤激光器中耗散孤子动力学过程,与全正色散锁模激光器相比,脉冲窄化机理更加丰富,半导体可饱和吸收镜(SESAM)的非线性吸收,啁啾脉冲的光谱滤波以及光纤的增益色散同时起作用,这些因素使耗散孤子锁模更加容易实现,并且稳定运行.其中,光谱滤波的耗散过程是稳定锁模机制的主导因素,滤波片能够在频域和时域同时窄化脉冲,并且去除脉冲啁啾,限制脉冲在腔内始终小于1ps.在实验上实现了无色散补偿腔中直接输出脉冲宽度777fs,最高平均功率达到1W,重复频率48·27MHz,对应单脉冲能量20nJ的飞秒激光.     

Two-dimensional materials for ultrafast lasers

As the fundamental optical properties and novel photophysics of graphene and related two-dimensional(2D) crystals are being extensively investigated and revealed, a range of potential applications in optical and optoelectronic devices have been proposed and demonstrated. Of the many possibilities, the use of 2D materials as broadband, cost-effective and versatile ultrafast optical switches(or saturable absorbers) for short-pulsed lasers constitutes a rapidly developing field with not only a good number of publications, but also a promising prospect for commercial exploitation. This review primarily focuses on the recent development of pulsed lasers based on several representative 2D materials. The comparative advantages of these materials are discussed, and challenges to practical exploitation, which represent good future directions of research, are laid out.     

Recent Advances in Spatial Self-Phase Modulation with 2D Materials and its Applications

In recent years, spatial self-phase modulation (SSPM) with two-dimensional (2D) materials has attracted the attention of many researchers as an emerging and ubiquitous nonlinear optical effect. In this review, the state of the art of 2D material-based SSPM is summarized. SSPM measures or tunes the nonlinearity of 2D materials, and it is also an effective approach to study the band structure of 2D materials. Several modified forms of SSPM, such as high-order, white-light-excited, vector field excited, and optically nonlinearly enhanced SSPM are also presented. Subsequently, the physical origin of the SSPM formation mechanism is compared and analyzed. Furthermore, the applications of SSPM with 2D materials, including passive photonic devices, generation of Bessel beams, and identifying the mode of the orbital angular momentum, are listed. Finally, several urgent problems of the SSPM with 2D materials, potential applications, and prospects for future development are presented.     

Adaptive femtosecond pulse shaping to control supercontinuum generation in a microstructure fiber

Efficient confinement of laser radiation in the core of a photonic crystal fiber increases the nonlinear processes resulting in supercontinuum generation. The technique of adaptive pulse shaping using an evolutionary algorithm provides a method to gain control over such highly nonlinear processes. Adaptive pulse shaping of the driving laser radiation passing through the photonic crystal fiber is employed to modify the shape and composition of the output supercontinuum. Amplitude and phase shaping are used to optimize the broadband emission between 500 and 700 nm, as well as a soliton centered at 935 nm. The intensities of the emission and of the soliton driven by a shaped laser pulse increase in comparison to an unshaped pulse by factors of 4 and 3, respectively. The spectral width in the range of 500-600 nm is increased by approximately 40%. In addition, the suppression of self-steepening effects in supercontinuum spectra is demonstrated.     

Computer simulation and observation of anomalous light emission from nonlinear photonic crystal with various geometry of its elements

Recently, in papers [1, 2] were described the effect of long-time emission of photonic crystal (synthetic opals) under the action of nanosecond laser pulse. The duration of the luminescence is of the order of seconds. Despite on the other phenomena, which were considered in these papers, below we focus our attention on possible explanation of long time emission from nonlinear photonic crystal. The basis of our consideration is papers [3, 4], those deal with soliton formation in several layers of 1D nonlinear photonic crystal. Because of this, the light wave can exist in photonic crystal a long time (in ideal case—infinite time interval). Taking into account a relation between soliton duration and its maximum intensity, the leaving of laser energy from the layer of photonic crystal takes place due not full reflection from boundaries of layer. The time of light emission for this case depends on nonlinear susceptibility of photonic crystal and the intensity of laser pulse. Hence, soliton formation inside the nonlinear elements of photonic crystal can be one of the reasons of long time emission. We got in computer simulation a long time emission of 1D (layered) and 2D (circular or rectangular elements) nonlinear photonic crystal under the action of laser pulse with femtosecond duration under the conditions of soliton formation in some elements of photonic crystal. Input intensity of laser pulse, at which a soliton appears in nonlinear photonic crystal, can be ten times less due to effects of enhancement of optical intensity in periodic structure [4, 5].     

飞秒激光与透明介质的相互作用

随着飞秒(1fs=1×10-15s)激光技术的不断成熟,飞秒激光器不但在实验室能产生小于10fs的光脉冲,啁啾放大后的飞秒光脉冲的聚焦峰值功率密度可达到1021W/cm2以上,而且飞秒激光系统已实现全固体、小型化结构,其稳定性和可靠性大大提高,因此在科学技术研究中的应用越来越广.文章重点介绍飞秒激光的主要特性和它与透明介质[如熔融石英、光学玻璃、对激光透明的高分子聚合物(PMMA)等]的相互作用过程,分析它们之间的非线性相互作用过程引起的材料特性或结构变化的物理机制和可能的应用,尤其在高密度大容量三维存储和微光子器件制造等方面的应用可能性.     

Modulation of the second-harmonic generation in MoS_2 by graphene covering

Nonlinear optical frequency mixing,which describes new frequencies generation by exciting nonlinear materials with intense light field,has drawn vast interests in the field of photonic devices,material characterization,and optical imaging.Investigating and manipulating the nonlinear optical response of target materials lead us to reveal hidden physics and develop applications in optical devices.Here,we report the realization of facile manipulation of nonlinear optical responses in the example system of MoS₂ monolayer by van der Waals interfacial engineering.We found that,the interfacing of monolayer graphene will weaken the exciton oscillator strength in MoS₂ monolayer and correspondingly suppress the second harmonic generation(SHG)intensity to 30%under band-gap resonance excitation.While with off-resonance excitation,the SHG intensity would enhance up to 130%,which is conjectured to be induced by the interlayer excitation between MoS₂ and graphene.Our investigation provides an effective method for controlling nonlinear optical properties of two-dimensional materials and therefore facilitates their future applications in optoelectronic and photonic devices.     

Coexistence of bound soliton and harmonic mode-locking soliton in an ultrafast fiber laser based on MoS_2-deposited microfiber photonic device

As the typical material of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides(TMDs), few-layered MoS_2 possesses broadband saturable absorption and a large nonlinear refractive index, which could be regarded as a promising candidate for dual-function photonic device fabrication. In this work, the coexistence of a bound soliton and harmonic mode-locking soliton was demonstrated in an ultrafast fiber laser based on a MoS_2-deposited microfiber photonic device. Through a band-pass filter, each multi-soliton state was investigated separately. The bound soliton has periodic spectral modulation of 1.55 nm with a corresponding pulse separation of 5.16 ps.The harmonic mode-locking soliton has the repetition rate of 479 MHz, corresponding to the 65th harmonic of the fundamental repetition rate. The results indicated that there exist more possibilities of different multi-soliton composites, which would enhance our understanding of multi-soliton dynamics.     

Generalized optical filters using a nonlinear micro ring resonator system

We present the interesting results of nonlinear behaviors of a soliton pulse within a nonlinear micro ring resonator system, where the optical filter characteristics in terms of frequency, wavelength and time can be functioned by using the chaotic filter within the micro ring resonator system. There are three forms of applications using the chaotic soliton behaviors and optical filter characteristics presented. Firstly, the simultaneous up-link and down-link frequency bands can be filtered and the required frequency bands obtained. Secondly, we propose the simple system of an extremely narrow light pulse generation over the spectrum range, where the required wavelengths can be filtered and obtained. Finally, a simple system of fast light generation by using a soliton pulse circulating in the integrated micro ring devices is proposed. Using such a system, an attosecond pulse and beyond can be easily filtered and obtained.     

The geometric phase in nonlinear frequency conversion

The geometric phase of light has been demonstrated in various platforms of the linear optical regime, raising interest both for fundamental science as well as applications, such as flat optical elements. Recently, the concept of geometric phases has been extended to nonlinear optics, following advances in engineering both bulk nonlinear photonic crystals and nonlinear metasurfaces. These new technologies offer a great promise of applications for nonlinear manipulation of light. In this review, we cover the recent theoretical and experimental advances in the field of geometric phases accompanying nonlinear frequency conversion. We first consider the case of bulk nonlinear photonic crystals, in which the interaction between propagating waves is quasi-phase-matched, with an engineerable geometric phase accumulated by the light. Nonlinear photonic crystals can offer efficient and robust frequency conversion in both the linearized and fully-nonlinear regimes of interaction, and allow for several applications including adiabatic mode conversion, electromagnetic nonreciprocity and novel topological effects for light. We then cover the rapidly-growing field of nonlinear Pancharatnam-Berry metasurfaces, which allow the simultaneous nonlinear generation and shaping of light by using ultrathin optical elements with subwavelength phase and amplitude resolution. We discuss the macroscopic selection rules that depend on the rotational symmetry of the constituent meta-atoms, the order of the harmonic generations, and the change in circular polarization. Continuous geometric phase gradients allow the steering of light beams and shaping of their spatial modes. More complex designs perform nonlinear imaging and multiplex nonlinear holograms, where the functionality is varied according to the generated harmonic order and polarization. Recent advancements in the fabrication of three dimensional nonlinear photonic crystals, as well as the pursuit of quantum light sources based on nonlinear metasurfaces, offer exciting new possibilities for novel nonlinear optical applications based on geometric phases.     

Emerging 2D Semiconducting Materials: Tin Diselenide for Ultrafast Photonics

SnSe₂, a novel 2D semiconducting material with good photoelectric properties and tunable bandgaps structure, has been widely studied in high-performance photodetectors and superconductivity applications, etc. Herein, another excellent property, nonlinear optical absorption, is applied to ultrafast photonics. The measured nonlinear optical absorption curve of SnSe₂ with modulation depth of 5.52% is obtained. Q-switching and mode-locking in Er-doped fiber lasers based on SnSe₂ is reported. A Q-switched fiber laser can be obtained with a 0.5-m-long gain fiber and a 50:50 optical coupler. With 0.75-m-long active fiber and a 40:60 optical coupler, mode locking can be obtained. Furthermore, a third-order bound-state soliton pulse with a pulse duration of 882 fs can be achieved. The experimental results show that SnSe₂ is an excellent optical saturable absorber for the applications of ultrafast photonics.     

Photonic generation of microwave arbitrary waveforms

In this paper, techniques to generate microwave arbitrary waveforms based on all-fiber solutions are reviewed, with an emphasis on the system architectures based on direct space-to-time pulse shaping, spectral-shaping and wavelength-to-time mapping, temporal pulse shaping, and photonic microwave delay-line filtering. The generation of phase-coded and frequency-chirped microwave waveforms is discussed. The challenges in the implementation of the systems for practical applications are also discussed.     

Ultrafast photonic crystal lasers

We describe recent progress in photonic crystal nanocavity lasers with an emphasis on our recent results on ultrafast pulse generation. These lasers produce pulses on the picosecond scale, corresponding to only hundreds of optical cycles. We describe laser dynamics in optically pumped single cavities and in coupled cavity arrays, at low and room temperature. Such ultrafast, efficient, and compact lasers show great promise for applications in high‐speed communications, information processing, and on‐chip optical interconnects.     

基于倏逝场耦合的石墨烯波导光传输相位特性仿真与实验研究

石墨烯材料应用到各种光波导器件中正成为新一代光子器件的重要发展方向之一,目前基于石墨烯的光纤和集成光子器件研究越来越受到国内外的重视. 本文建立了一种由微纳光纤耦合光倏逝场,并在石墨烯薄膜中传输的模型. 通过有限元分析法,研究了光在这种石墨烯波导中传输光场的强度分布和相位特性,并通过实验进行了验证. 结果表明,沿着微纳光纤-石墨烯光波导传播的倏逝场的强度分布和相位均受石墨烯材料作用,石墨烯材料能有效聚集和导行波导中传输的高阶模,在单位传输长度上具有更密集的等相位面. 本文提出了一种利用微纳光纤耦合光倏逝场研究石墨烯相位响应特性的新方法,对基于石墨烯波导的新型调制器、滤波器、激光器和传感器等光子器件的设计和应用具有一定的参考意义. 关键词： 石墨烯平面光波导 倏逝波 光场强度 相位     

Ultrafast optical pulse shaping: A tutorial review

This paper presents a tutorial on the field of femtosecond pulse shaping, a technology that enables generation of nearly arbitrary, user defined, ultrafast optical waveforms, with control of phase, amplitude, and polarization. The emphasis is on Fourier transform pulse shaping, the most widely applied technique. Selected pulse shaping applications are described, with specific discussion of coherent control of quantum and nonlinear processes and of lightwave communications. Two new areas of pulse shaping research, namely, hyperfine spectral resolution pulse shaping and pulse shaping applications in ultrabroadband RF photonics, are discussed and illustrated with examples taken from the author's laboratory.     

飞秒激光在三维微细体系中的应用

飞秒激光的超快特性使其能以极低的脉冲能量获得超强光场,并且激光加照区淀积的能量能以通过热扩散途径逸出辐照区域,其与透明物质相互作用是通过双光子或多光子吸收过程实现,故作用区限域于焦点核心很小体积内,因而在三维微制备及生物医学领域有着独到优势。文章介绍了飞秒激光应用于微爆炸、高密度三维光学数据存储、直写光波导及三维光子晶体制备、生物医学工程等方面的最新进展。飞秒激光三维微制备技术在微电子、计算机、光通信、生物医学等高技术领域有着广阔的应用前景。     

中红外可调谐大能量飞秒脉冲激光产生

可调谐中红外飞秒光纤激光器具有非常普遍的应用,从而引起了人们的广泛关注。目前,非线性光纤中的拉曼孤子自频移效应是实现大范围可调谐飞秒脉冲激光的理想方法之一。然而,非线性光纤中其他高阶非线性效应的产生通常会限制拉曼孤子脉冲的能量提升。本文提出了利用有源掺杂光纤作为非线性介质和增益介质实现可调谐大能量中红外飞秒激光脉冲的方法。在理论上研究了有源掺杂非线性光纤中高阶孤子劈裂和孤子自频移效应的产生,以及线性增益对波长移动拉曼孤子能量、脉宽、光谱的影响。结果表明,通过为波长红移的低能量拉曼孤子提供线性增益,孤子脉冲的能量得到了显著提升且保持了其单脉冲特性,脉冲宽度为45 fs,且孤子脉冲的波长可通过所提供的增益进行大范围调谐。因此,利用有源掺杂光纤作为非线性介质是实现大能量可调谐中红外飞秒脉冲激光的一种有效方法。     

Self-similar evolution of parabolic pulses in a laser

Self-similar propagation of ultrashort, parabolic pulses in a laser resonator is observed theoretically and experimentally. This constitutes a new type of pulse shaping in mode-locked lasers: in contrast to the well-known static (solitonlike) and breathing (dispersion-managed soliton) pulse evolutions, asymptotic solutions to the nonlinear wave equation that governs pulse propagation in most of the laser cavity are observed. Stable self-similar pulses exist with energies much greater than can be tolerated in solitonlike pulse shaping, and this has implications for practical lasers.