Spectral Holography Using Bulk Photo-Refractive Crystals for High-Speed Lightwave Processing.
Abstract
The ultimate objective of this project is to assess the use of bulk photorefractive crystals in a femtosecond spectral holography setup to control and shape femtosecond pulses. By recording a hologram using near infrared light for which the crystals have high sensitivity, and reading out the holograms using 1.5 microns light, it should be possible to generate shaped pulses sequences at the 1.5 microns wavelength important for high speed fiber communications. One potential difficulty with this approach is the limited optical bandwidth expected for readout of a hologram recorded using a different wavelength, which could limit the minimum pulse duration accessible using this approach. We have performed a theoretical and experimental investigation of the optical bandwidth of bulk holograms read out using broadband femtosecond pulses. Experiments performed using a bulk InP:Fe photorefractive crystal verily the theoretically predicted variation of bandwidth with holographic grating period. Our experiments show that by using a grating period of 10 microns, more than enough bandwidth is available for processing of 100 femtosecond pulses. These results confirm the viability of the proposed pulse shaping approach based on bulk holographic media inside a spectral holography apparatus.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA342710
Entities
People
- Andrew M. Weiner
- David. D. Nolte
Organizations
- Purdue Research Foundation