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Pure and Applied Optics Journal of the European Optical Society Part A

Optical phase conjugation by degenerate four-wave mixing: spatial and temporal aspects

M.L. Roblin, C. Joubert, Herve Coic, R. Grousson, François Gires

Published Jan 1, 1994• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We describe an experiment in phase conjugation using holographic degenerate four-wave mixing with picosecond pulses. Spatial and temporal distortions are simultaneously introduced on the probe beam, respectively, by a ground glass and a Gires-Tournois interferometer. We experimentally show that after it recrosses the ground glass we obtain a time reversed pulse on the reconstructed beam. Its temporal shape is the same as that without the ground glass. We theoretically discuss this result and show that in our configuration the temporal effect depends only on the hologram dimension parallel to the direction of propagation of the beam, while the spatial phase conjugation is related to the dimensions in the perpendicular plane.

DOI
10.1088/0963-9659/3/1/008

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We describe an experiment in phase conjugation using holographic degenerate four-wave mixing with picosecond pulses. Spatial and temporal distortions are simultaneously introduced on the probe beam, respectively, by a ground glass and a Gires-Tournois interferometer. We experimentally show that after it recrosses the ground glass we obtain a time reversed pulse on the reconstructed beam. Its temporal shape is the same as that without the ground glass. We theoretically discuss this result and show that in our configuration the temporal effect depends only on the hologram dimension parallel to the direction of propagation of the beam, while the spatial phase conjugation is related to the dimensions in the perpendicular plane.
This thesis describes theoretical and experimental aspects as well as potential applications in the field of coherent optics known as Phase Conjugate Optics (PCO). By utilizing nonlinear optical techniques, real-time or wavefront reversal of an arbitrary incident electromagnetic field can be realized. The nonlinear optical interaction gives rise to what is referred to as the phase conjugate (of the incident monochromatic wave) by performing the operation of complex conjugation upon the incident wave's complex spatial amplitude in real time. This conjugate wave, which is also designated as being a wavefront, has the property of exactly retracing the path of the incident field. The ability of the conjugate wave to correct for inhomogeneous linear and nonlinear (intensity-dependent) aberrations as well as polarization distortions is proved. In particular, the theory of a degenerate four-wave nonlinear optical interaction as providing for the conjugator is presented. The effects of linear and nonlinear losses upon this interaction are discussed. The quantum mechanical origin of the third order nonlinear optical susceptibility responsible for the four-wave mixing process is analyzed for both single and two-photon allowed transitions in an atomic (or molecular) system. The analogies of four-wave mixing with that of real-time holography are discussed. The theory of conjugation via four-wave mixing in optical waveguides is presented. Several of the above characteristics of conjugate fields are verified experimentally where conjugate fields via degenerate four-wave mixing were observed both in the bulk and in waveguide geometries, using carbon disulfide as the nonlinear medium. Amplified time-reversed wavefront generation as well as a mirrorless optical parametric mode of oscillation have been observed, both in agreement with theoretical predictions. Potential applications of PCO are discussed in three different regimes: spatial-frequency, temporal-frequency, and spatial/temporal frequency domains. In the first category, the ability of PCO to correct for image modal dispersion in optical waveguides as well as the use of PCO to perform real-time coherent image processing and nonlinear microscopy is discussed. Temporal-frequency domain applications of PCO to be analyzed include the use of a nearly degenerate four-wave mixing process as a narrowband, wide field-of-view optical filter, capable of an amplified bandpass. The ability of a PCO interaction to renarrow (transform limited) optical pulses which have been temporally spread due to propagation through (group velocity) dispersive channels is analyzed. A potential application of PCO in the field of nonlinear laser spectroscopy is presented. Specifically, the scattering of a probe photon off a two-photon coherent state (created in a three-level atomic system) is shown to yield a conjugate replica. This conjugate replica is capable of providing sub-Doppler width resolution of the two-photon resonance. Further, in the transient regime, the optical free-induction decay of the conjugate wave is capable of yielding detailed spectral features of the three-level system such as the anharmonic contribution to a (nearly) harmonic potential. This technique, performed in the time domain, is known as [alpha]-beat spectroscopy. Finally, a detailed theoretical and experimental study is presented of a laser resonator in which one (or both) of the mirror(s) comprising the optical cavity is replaced by a conjugate mirror (PCM). This novel resonator, which is termed a conjugate resonator (PCR), combines many of the spatial- and temporal-frequency aspects of PCO interactions discussed above. The stability criterion, transverse and longitudinal mode spectra, and the PCR output energy, as well as the frequency locking features of the laser modes to the PCM are discussed.
We present a time-resolved study of the diffracted pulse in degenerate four-wave mixing experiments with short-response-time materials. The first step is the validation of a theoretical model that takes into account the temporal characteristics of the energy level (relaxation time T1 and dephasing time T2) and of the incident pulse (duration and spectral phase) in a simple particular case. Two methods are used for characterizing the diffracted beam: the amplitude correlation with the reference pulse and the spectrum intensity measurements. We discuss the experimental results, which show good agreement with the theoretical model and evidence the strong influence of the incident pulse characteristics.
The theory of phase conjugation in laser amplifiers by saturable-gain degenerate four-wave mixing with copolarized beams is developed for pulses of arbitrary temporal shape and duration in the limit of a weak signal beam. The influence of the input pulse’s characteristics (energy, temporal pulse shape, duration) on the phase-conjugate reflectivity and on the conjugate pulse shape is analyzed. A sharp instantaneous peak of phase-conjugate reflectivity is predicted at high intensities of the four-wave mixing beams. This effect is experimentally demonstrated at λ0 = 1064 nm in a Nd:YVO4 amplifier pumped by a cw Ti:sapphire laser. A transient peak reflectivity of R ∼ 50% is thus obtained, corresponding to an enhancement of 1.6× compared with the maximum steady-state reflectivity. The experimental results and the theoretical predictions are in good agreement.
Using perturbation theory, we examine the fidelity of the photorefractive degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) phase conju- gator when the probe wave is spatially and temporally varying. Previous theories are based on linearized undepleted pump approximation and Laplace transform technique. Fully nonlinear solutions assume a single monochromatic plane wave probe. We have considered instead the more general case in which the probe is spatially varying (a beam) and/or temporally varying (a pulse), and the pumps are allowed to deplete. The probe wave is expanded as a sum of monochromatic plane waves of frequencies ω j = ω p + Ω j , wavevectors k j , and complex amplitudes A j (Ω j , k j ), where ω p is the frequency of the pumps. Using a perturbation approach up to the third order, we found that the components of the probe interact in pairs, so that the component of the conjugate wave at −Ω l −k l is H(Ω l , k l ) is the linearized response, ρ(Ω l , k l ; Ω j , k j ) represents crosstalk when j ≠ l, and self-nonlinear effect otherwise. Both functions exhibit resonance behavior. We use Eq. (1) to determine the response of the conjugate to pulsed beams.
Nondegenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) of picosecond optical pulses in semiconductor optical amplifiers is investigated theoretically, taking into account various carrier processes, probe depletion, and cross-gain modulation effects. Analytical solutions for greatly simplified coupled-wave mixing equations are obtained from which conditions where probe depletion and cross-gain modulation effects cannot be neglected are found. On the other hand, the frequency detuning dependence of optimum input pump pulse energy and shaping of output conjugate pulses are observed from numerical simulations. In particular, calculations show that the frequency symmetry of conjugate and probe pulses with respect to the pump pulse does not hold for optical pulse FWM. Two-photon absorption and ultrafast nonlinear refraction effects are shown to decrease the FWM conversion efficiency.