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Degenerate Four Wave Mixing of Short and Ultrashort Light Pulses

Ian C. McMichael

Published Aug 1, 1984• 1 citation
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Abstract

This dissertation presents experimental and theoretical studies of transient degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) in organic dyes. Chapter 1 is an introduction to DFWM. Chapter 2 describes DFWM experiments that were performed in the gain medium of a dye laser. Chapter 3 presents the theory of DFWM of short pulses in three level saturable media. Chapter 4 presents DFWM experiments of femtosecond pulses in the saturable absorber of a passively modelocked ring dye laser. Chapter 5 presents the theory of DFWM of ultrashort pulses in resonant media.

Related papers

Degenerate Four-Wave Mixing of Femtosecond Pulses in the Saturable Absorber of a Ring Dye Laser

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The saturable absorber dye jet of a femtosecond ring dye laser provides an ideal candidate for the study of fast transients in de- generate four-wave mixing (DFWM). Since the counterpropagating pulses in the ring laser meet at the absorber jet, the problem of timing the DFWM pump pulses is solved. The energy of the pulses inside the cavity is such that the absorber is saturated. This meets one of the conditions for efficient DFWM in saturable media.1 Since the dye jet is thin, fast transients in DFWM are not masked by propagation effects.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Jan 1, 1984•3 citations

Time Dependence of Degenerate Four-wave Mixing with Broad Bandwidth Pulsed Lasers

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A time dependent theory of resonant degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) with broad bandwidth lasers is outlined and used to calculate the temporal evolution of DFWM signals generated by pulsed lasers. Experimental measurements of saturation-induced pulse-shortening and reshaping effects are reported for DFWM in atomic Na vapour and found to be in quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions.

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Degenerate four-wave mixing spectroscopy with short-pulse lasers: theoretical analysis

Thomas A. Reichardt, Robert P. Lucht

The use of picosecond lasers for degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) diagnostics of atmospheric pressure flames has been suggested as a means of overcoming the complicated collision-rate dependence of the DFWM signal in the nanosecond-laser pulse-length regime. In this paper DFWM spectroscopy in the regime in which the laser pulse length (τL) is less than the characteristic collisional time (τC) is investigated theoretically. DFWM signal levels for the phase-conjugate geometry (counterpropagating pump beams) are calculated by integration of the time-dependent density-matrix equations at numerous grid points along the phase-matching axis and by summing of the polarization contribution from each of these grid points. Both purely homogeneously broadened resonances and resonances that are both collision broadened and Doppler broadened are considered. DFWM signal generation for these two types of resonances in the fully transient regime (τL≪τC) is strikingly different. For a homogeneously broadened resonance, the DFWM signal persists long after the laser beam has passed through the medium. The decay rate of the DFWM signal is determined by the collision rate in the medium, and the integrated DFWM signal is still dependent on the collision rate even in this fully transient regime. However, when the Doppler broadening of the resonance is much greater than the collisional broadening, the DFWM signal decays with a fall time close to that of the laser pulse. For τL≪τC, we find that it is the laser spectral width, rather than the collisional width, that dictates the range of velocity groups with which the pulses effectively interact. The signal decays with a fall time close to that of the laser pulse because the excited velocity groups radiate out of phase with one another. In a medium in which the Doppler width is much greater than the collisional width, the DFWM reflectivity is independent of collision rate for τL≪τC, but the signal level is dependent on the Doppler width. Finally, we investigate the effect of different laser pulse lengths on reflectivity saturation curves for resonances with different levels of Doppler broadening.

Journal of the Optical Society of America B•Dec 1, 1996•17 citations

Transient effects in degenerate four-wave mixing in saturable absorbers

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The transient behavior of degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in a three-level saturable absorber is analyzed and verified experimentally. A sharp peak of phase-conjugated reflectivity is predicted and observed at high pump intensities for pulsed beams. The influence of the time-dependent behavior of the conjugate wave signal on results of pulsed-beam experiments is studied. It is shown that transient effects could account for discrepancies between previous experimental results and steady-state theory.

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Transient coherent degenerate four-wave mixing

J.T. Chen, Z. X. Yu

A set of coupled equations is derived and used to analyze transient coherent degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in a two-level system. The numerical results show that in the case of near-resonance, intense pumping, and short pulses, the properties of degenerate four-wave mixing have interesting coherent interaction characteristics, such as quasi-periodicity in the pump pulse area, probe pulse areas, and energy reflectivity, oscillatory behavior of the DFWM pulse, and generation of a DFWM signal in the case of delayed incidence, where the three incident pulses do not overlap in the medium.>

IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics•Mar 1, 1989•3 citations

Degenerate Four Wave Mixing With Pulsed Lasers Theory And Applications

P. Ewart

Resonant Degenerate Four Wave Mixing, DFWM, is a nonlinear optical process arising from the third order susceptibility X(3). Resonance enhancement of X(3)in absorbing media makes the process useful for spectroscopic applications[1]. In many situations pulsed, high power lasers are used which have broad spectral bandwiths. The stochastic fluctuations of amplitude and phase associated with this bandwidth complicates the theoretical description in such cases. An averaging of the atom-field interaction is required simultaneously over the temporal and spatial variations of the fields. A solution has been found in the broad bandwidth limit which uses an appropriate decorrelation approximation. Theoretical and experimental results will be presented for the effects of laser bandwidth on the power dependence and temporal behaviour of resonant DFWM[2].

Digest on Nonlinear Optics: Materials, Phenomena and Devices•Jan 1, 1990•0 citations
This dissertation presents experimental and theoretical studies of transient degenerate four wave mixing (DFWM) in organic dyes. Chapter 1 is an introduction to DFWM. Chapter 2 describes DFWM experiments that were performed in the gain medium of a dye laser. Chapter 3 presents the theory of DFWM of short pulses in three level saturable media. Chapter 4 presents DFWM experiments of femtosecond pulses in the saturable absorber of a passively modelocked ring dye laser. Chapter 5 presents the theory of DFWM of ultrashort pulses in resonant media.
The saturable absorber dye jet of a femtosecond ring dye laser provides an ideal candidate for the study of fast transients in de- generate four-wave mixing (DFWM). Since the counterpropagating pulses in the ring laser meet at the absorber jet, the problem of timing the DFWM pump pulses is solved. The energy of the pulses inside the cavity is such that the absorber is saturated. This meets one of the conditions for efficient DFWM in saturable media.1 Since the dye jet is thin, fast transients in DFWM are not masked by propagation effects.
The use of picosecond lasers for degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) diagnostics of atmospheric pressure flames has been suggested as a means of overcoming the complicated collision-rate dependence of the DFWM signal in the nanosecond-laser pulse-length regime. In this paper DFWM spectroscopy in the regime in which the laser pulse length (τL) is less than the characteristic collisional time (τC) is investigated theoretically. DFWM signal levels for the phase-conjugate geometry (counterpropagating pump beams) are calculated by integration of the time-dependent density-matrix equations at numerous grid points along the phase-matching axis and by summing of the polarization contribution from each of these grid points. Both purely homogeneously broadened resonances and resonances that are both collision broadened and Doppler broadened are considered. DFWM signal generation for these two types of resonances in the fully transient regime (τL≪τC) is strikingly different. For a homogeneously broadened resonance, the DFWM signal persists long after the laser beam has passed through the medium. The decay rate of the DFWM signal is determined by the collision rate in the medium, and the integrated DFWM signal is still dependent on the collision rate even in this fully transient regime. However, when the Doppler broadening of the resonance is much greater than the collisional broadening, the DFWM signal decays with a fall time close to that of the laser pulse. For τL≪τC, we find that it is the laser spectral width, rather than the collisional width, that dictates the range of velocity groups with which the pulses effectively interact. The signal decays with a fall time close to that of the laser pulse because the excited velocity groups radiate out of phase with one another. In a medium in which the Doppler width is much greater than the collisional width, the DFWM reflectivity is independent of collision rate for τL≪τC, but the signal level is dependent on the Doppler width. Finally, we investigate the effect of different laser pulse lengths on reflectivity saturation curves for resonances with different levels of Doppler broadening.
The transient behavior of degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in a three-level saturable absorber is analyzed and verified experimentally. A sharp peak of phase-conjugated reflectivity is predicted and observed at high pump intensities for pulsed beams. The influence of the time-dependent behavior of the conjugate wave signal on results of pulsed-beam experiments is studied. It is shown that transient effects could account for discrepancies between previous experimental results and steady-state theory.
A set of coupled equations is derived and used to analyze transient coherent degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in a two-level system. The numerical results show that in the case of near-resonance, intense pumping, and short pulses, the properties of degenerate four-wave mixing have interesting coherent interaction characteristics, such as quasi-periodicity in the pump pulse area, probe pulse areas, and energy reflectivity, oscillatory behavior of the DFWM pulse, and generation of a DFWM signal in the case of delayed incidence, where the three incident pulses do not overlap in the medium.>
Resonant Degenerate Four Wave Mixing, DFWM, is a nonlinear optical process arising from the third order susceptibility X(3). Resonance enhancement of X(3)in absorbing media makes the process useful for spectroscopic applications[1]. In many situations pulsed, high power lasers are used which have broad spectral bandwiths. The stochastic fluctuations of amplitude and phase associated with this bandwidth complicates the theoretical description in such cases. An averaging of the atom-field interaction is required simultaneously over the temporal and spatial variations of the fields. A solution has been found in the broad bandwidth limit which uses an appropriate decorrelation approximation. Theoretical and experimental results will be presented for the effects of laser bandwidth on the power dependence and temporal behaviour of resonant DFWM[2].