Nonlinear Optical Processes for Spectral Broadening and Short Pulse Generation Hongyu Hu University of Connecticut, [email protected]
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University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 1-13-2017 Nonlinear Optical Processes for Spectral Broadening and Short Pulse Generation Hongyu Hu University of Connecticut, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Hu, Hongyu, "Nonlinear Optical Processes for Spectral Broadening and Short Pulse Generation" (2017). Doctoral Dissertations. 1353. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1353 Nonlinear Optical Processes for Spectral Broadening and Short Pulse Generation Hongyu Hu, PhD University of Connecticut, 2017 The dramatic progress in optical communication is attributed to the development of wavelength- division multiplexing and time-division multiplexing technologies, which employ broadband light source and ultrashort optical pulses respectively to carry signals in optical fibers. Supercontinuum generation is the spectral broadening of narrow-band incident pulses by the propagation through optical waveguides made of nonlinear materials. In this PhD dissertation, I show the design of a tapered lead-silicate optical fiber for supercontinuum generation. The physical mechanisms of optical pulse evolution are explained, which involve various nonlinear optical effects including self-phase and cross-phase modulation, stimulated Raman scattering, four-wave mixing, modulation instability and optical soliton dynamics. I have also proposed planar waveguides with longitudinally varying structure to manage chromatic dispersion, and numerically simulated the generation of (1) broadband and (2) flat octave-spanning supercontinuum output. The coherence property and noise sensitivity of supercontinuum are also investigated in this dissertation, which depend strongly on pumping conditions. A hybrid mode- locked erbium-doped fiber ring laser, which combines rational harmonic active mode-locking technique and graphene saturable absorber, has been designed and experimentally demonstrated to produce optical pulse train. Compared to active mode-locking configuration, the hybrid scheme narrows the pulse width significantly at a high repetition rate of 20 GHz. Nonlinear Optical Processes for Spectral Broadening and Short Pulse Generation Hongyu Hu B.S., Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China, 2011 M.S., University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA, 2013 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2017 i Copyright by Hongyu Hu 2017 ii APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Nonlinear Optical Processes for Spectral Broadening and Short Pulse Generation Presented by Hongyu Hu, B.S., M.S. Major Advisor ___________________________________________________________________ Niloy K. Dutta Associate Advisor ___________________________________________________________________ Boris Sinkovic Associate Advisor ___________________________________________________________________ Peter Schweitzer University of Connecticut 2017 iii Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my major advisor, Dr. Niloy K. Dutta, for his continuous guidance, assistance, patience and encouragement during my PhD study. He has provided me with not only valuable scientific advice on research work, but also insightful suggestions on life outside the lab. Without his support and contributions of time and ideas, my graduate experience would not be so productive. I would like to thank all the members of my advisory committee, Dr. Menka Jain, Dr. Jason Hancock, Dr. Boris Sinkovic, Dr. Peter Schweitzer, Dr. Gayanath Fernando and Dr. Alexander Kovner, for their kind support and helpful comments on my doctoral dissertation. I would like to thank the present and former members of Dr. Dutta’s research group. During the early years, Dr. Shaozhen Ma helped me a lot in adapting to new circumstances and taking the first step towards success in scientific research. Working with Dr. Wenbo Li and Mr. Xiang Zhang, both of whom are smart and brilliant scientists, is always enjoyable. I would like to extend my appreciation to my friends in the Physics Department: Mr. Di Shu, Mr. Zhiwei Zhang, Mr. Shiqi Yin, Mr. Yiteng Tian, Mr. Cheng Tu, Dr. Hui Chen, Dr. Jia Wang, Mr. Thomas Dodge, Mr. James Dragan, and Mr. Martin Disla. They have been so friendly and I spent so many unforgettable days with them. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family. I couldn’t be more grateful to my parents for their understanding and all of the sacrifices they have made. I also want to send my gratitude to iv my girlfriend Xuan Guo. Without her love and support I couldn’t have gone through all the difficulties and got what I have achieved today. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................1 1.1 A Brief Description of Optical Communications ...................................................................1 1.2 Broadband Light Source and Pulsed Laser Source for Optical Communications .................4 1.3 Overview of This Thesis ........................................................................................................5 Chapter 2 Supercontinuum Evolution in Microstructured Fiber Taper ................................8 2.1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................8 2.2 Physical Mechanisms of Supercontinuum Generation ..........................................................9 2.2.1 Generalized Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation ................................................................9 2.2.2 Optical Losses ...............................................................................................................13 2.2.3 Dispersion .....................................................................................................................15 2.2.4 Self-Phase and Cross-Phase Modulation ......................................................................18 2.2.5 Optical Solitons ............................................................................................................20 2.2.6 Stimulated Raman Scattering ........................................................................................23 2.2.7 Four-Wave Mixing and Modulation Instability ............................................................24 2.3 Design of Dispersion-Tailored Lead-Silicate Fiber Taper ..................................................25 2.4 Simulation Results and Discussions ....................................................................................32 2.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................50 Chapter 3 On-Chip Broadband Supercontinuum Generation ...............................................51 3.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................51 3.2 Waveguide Design and Theoretical Model .........................................................................52 3.3 Simulation Results ...............................................................................................................57 3.4 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................65 Chapter 4 Coherence Properties of Supercontinuum Generated in Dispersion-Tailored Optical Waveguides ....................................................................................................................66 4.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................66 4.2 Theoretical Model ...............................................................................................................67 4.3 Simulation Results and Discussions ....................................................................................68 4.3.1 Coherence Properties of Supercontinuum Generated in Dispersion-Tailored Lead- Silicate Fiber Taper ...............................................................................................................69 vi 4.3.2 Coherence Properties of Supercontinuum Generated in Dispersion-Engineered Tapered Planar Waveguide ..................................................................................................................74 4.3.3 Physical Mechanisms of Coherence Degradation ........................................................78 4.4 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................78 Chapter 5 On-Chip Flat Octave-Spanning Supercontinuum Generation .............................80 5.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................80 5.2 Waveguide Design and Modelling ......................................................................................82 5.3 Simulation Results and Discussions ....................................................................................89 5.3.1 Soliton Fission and Dispersive Wave Generation in Uniform Planar Waveguides ......89 5.3.2 Supercontinuum Generation in the Dispersion-Varying Planar Waveguide ................94 5.4 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................99