Regents of the University of Colorado (Short-Pulse Tunable Source and Amplifier for Long-Wavelength Infrared)
Abstract
Nonlinear light-matter interaction in the LWIR range of 8-12 ~m, an important molecular fingerprint region and atmospheric transmission window, remains largely unexplored owing to the lack of high-power (both peak and average power) femtosecond sources in this wavelength range. The mid-wave and long-wave infrared regions, from 2 to 12 microns, are spaces that suffer from a serious lack of photonic materials, devices and light sources. The region has been called the ~chemical fingerprint region~ due to the many fundamental molecular vibrational resonances that occur in the spectral window. Despite the applications in sensing, imaging and communications, photonics technology has been slow to catch up. Fundamental physical phenomena make technological breakthroughs challenging. Multi-phonon relaxation limits thetransparency of many materials and is a major source of loss for both lasers and devices. Additionally, there is a lack of suitable gain media with low quantum defects and transparent materials in the region often suffer from poor mechanical strength and chemical stability as well as poor thermal conductivity. Conventional materials that are used for nonlinear absorb in the infrared, making conventional fiber and bulk optics unsuitable for use in photonic systems. Finally, nonlinearity decreases with wavelength, meaning that integrated nonlinear optics in the infrared requires more power than other regions. By identifying suitable nonlinear mid-infrared materials, such as chalcogenides and materials suitable for ultrafast amplification, we can exploitthe power of the nonlinearity to produce functioning light sources in this region using second and third order nonlinearities. These approaches will yield sources with broad tunability, ultrashort pulses, and can provide scalability to mJ pulse energies, providing new capabilities in the LWIR for spectroscopy, atmospheric propagation and nonlinear optical phenomena.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912251
Entities
People
- Juliet T. Gopinath
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Regents of the University of Colorado
- United States Navy