Molecular and atomic confinement in large core photonic microcells for slow light and laser metrology applications

Natalie V. Wheeler

Published Nov 1, 2010• 0 citations

Abstract

This thesis describes developments in the fabrication and applications of photonic microcells (PMCs). A PMC is a length of gas-filled hollow core-photonic crystal fibre (HC-PCF) that is hermetically sealed by splicing both ends to standard single mode fibre. A PMC enables integration of gas-filled HC-PCF into all-fibre systems with low insertion loss. PMCs have applications in coherent optics and metrology, where specific HC-PCF designs are advantageous. Two types of state-of-the-art HC-PCF, double bandgap HCPCF and large-pitch Kagome fibre, are fabricated. The double bandgap HC-PCF extends the usable bandwidth of the fibre by providing low loss guidance across two transmission bands. The large-pitch Kagome HC-PCF has a record low attenuation of 0.3 dB/m at 800 nm, while maintaining broadband guidance, which is partially attributed to the core shape. Three distinct developments in the field of PMCs are described. Firstly, a record length 20 metre acetylene-filled PMC is fabricated which is the key component in the first demonstration of an all-fibre slow and fast light system based on electromagnetically induced transparency. Secondly, a technique based on fibre tapering is presented which enables low loss integration of large core Kagome HC-PCFs into PMC form. Thirdly, micromirrors are developed and integrated with HC-PCF to confine light in the longitudinal dimension, providing a means to fabricate multi-pass PMCs. Two uncoated micromirrors are used to form a low finesse microcavity in Kagome HC-PCF, with record high fringe visibility using reflections from a silica/air junction. In collaboration with Kansas State University, an acetylene optical reference with sub-10 KHz accuracy and the first acetylene laser based on population inversion are demonstrated using Kagome HC-PCF.Finally, this thesis reports on rubidium vapour loading in HC-PCF with the ultimate aim being the production of a rubidium-filled PMC for applications in metrology. Preliminary results highlight the limited loading distance of the current technique and modified loading schemes are outlined accordingly.

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