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Light-driven phase shifter

J W Early

Published Jan 23, 2023• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

A light-driven phase shifter is provided for modulating a transmission light beam. A gaseous medium such as argon is provided with electron energy states excited to populate a metastable state. A tunable dye laser is selected with a wavelength effective to deplete the metastable electron state and may be intensity modulated. The dye laser is directed through the gaseous medium to define a first optical path having an index of refraction determined by the gaseous medium having a depleted metastable electron state. A transmission laser beam is also directed through the gaseous medium to define a second optical path at least partially coincident with the first optical path. The intensity of the dye laser beam may then be varied to phase modulate the transmission laser beam. 2 figs.

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A light-driven phase shifter is provided for modulating a transmission light beam. A gaseous medium such as argon is provided with electron energy states excited to populate a metastable state. A tunable dye laser is selected with a wavelength effective to deplete the metastable electron state and may be intensity modulated. The dye laser is directed through the gaseous medium to define a first optical path having an index of refraction determined by the gaseous medium having a depleted metastable electron state. A transmission laser beam is also directed through the gaseous medium to define a second optical path at least partially coincident with the first optical path. The intensity of the dye laser beam may then be varied to phase modulate the transmission laser beam. 2 figs.
Nonlinear optics normally involves the change in the susceptibility of a material due to the presence of optical radiation. In many cases, the light-matter interaction produces a change in the refractive index of the medium, as occurs in photorefractive media, as well as in Kerr-like media, Brillouin-active media and absorbing media with thermallyinduced refractive index changes. Such nonlinear refractive index variation corresponds to a change in the real part of the optical susceptibility %. In resonant materials, the optical radiation induces stimulated emission (or absorption) causing transfer of population between different energy states of the medium. This can lead to saturation of the amplification (or absorption) corresponding to changes in the imaginary part of the susceptibility x= i2odk where the amplitude gain coefficient a(I) is a saturable function of the intensity /, and k is the magnitude of the wavevector of the optical radiation. The interference of two (or more) coherent beams I(x) in the laser amplifier can cause a modulation of the population inversion N(x). This modulation of the inversion is commonly known as spatial hole burning in lasers and leads to formation of a gain-grating a(x) = 1/2GN(X) where G is the stimulated emission cross-section. The gain grating can act as a very efficient diffractive optical element exhibiting high diffraction efficiency that may be even greater than unity [16] and also very high phase conjugate reflectivity using four-wave mixing (FWM) geometries [5-7].
Modulation features in the frequency domain can be transferred from an amplitude-modulated laser field to a nonmodulated one by a strong Raman coupling, which is based on refractive index control with a strong Raman coherence established with two sufficiently intense laser fields slightly off the two-photon Raman resonance of a selected Raman mode. Numerical simulations show that modulation transfers between the driving lasers, such as transfers from ultraviolet to extreme ultraviolet and from infrared to middle infrared lasers, can be realized in gaseous Raman media. This provides an efficient way to extend the optical modulation range beyond the transparent ranges of commercial modulators. Modulation features can also be transferred from a low-intensity driving laser to a high-intensity one, which ensures a direct application to modulate lasers with high intensities beyond the damage thresholds of standard modulators.
Transfer of modulation from a phase-modulated laser beam to an unmodulated, oppositely running beam occurs in a sufficiently nonlinear resonant gaseous medium. Two mechanisms account for this transfer: modulated hole burning and reflection from an induced population grating. Heterodyne detection of the transferred modulation reveals multiplet patterns that are distinct for the two mechanisms. In particular, a central dispersion feature in the dispersive phase pattern is a diagnostic indication of the reflection process.
Nondegenerate four-wave mixing in fluorescein-doped glass was used to demonstrate frequency- dependent beam steering and tilt/focus phase control. An argon-ion laser at 457.9 nm provided the probe beam and one of the pump beams. An argon-pumped dye laser, tunable from 560 to 615 nm, provided the second pump beam. The conjugate emerged at the same wavelength as the dye laser and at a frequency tunable, phase matching steering angle. It was shown conclusively that this beam was due to four-wave mixing.
We experimentally demonstrate and theoretically analyze practical aspects of using a laser-pumped dye medium as an ultrafast (~10–ps) optically addressed spatial light modulator for application with high-power radiation. Optical modulation of the absorption of a high-power pump beam is produced by a relatively weak (control) beam that is experiencing stimulated emission. The intensity of the control beam required for strong switching of the pump-beam transmission is determined by the gain that is due to stimulated emission at the control-beam frequency. A practical limitation on the gain that is due to excited-state absorption of the pump frequency is described. We demonstrate the application of the dye medium spatial light modulator for high-resolution image transfer and determine the resolution limit of the transfer process. Experimental demonstration is made of optical image processing (edge enhancement). The control beam can also be generated by self-lasing in feedback geometries, and pump transmission can be controlled by the strength of the feedback.