All-optical induction of noncentrosymmetry in a transparent nonlinear polymer rod

The Formation of Volume Transmission Gratings in Acrylamide-Based Photopolymers Using Curcumin as a Long-Wavelength Photosensitizer

Curcumin, a natural dye found in the Curcuma longa rhizome, commonly called turmeric, is used as a photosensitizer in acrylamide-based photopolymers for holographic data storage. We studied the absorbance of photopolymer films that show two absorption bands due to curcumin, acrylamide monomer (AA), and the crosslinking agent N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA). Analysis of the real-time diffraction efficiency of these films shows a maximum of 16% for the sample with the highest curcumin concentration. Moreover, increasing the curcumin load enhanced the refractive index contrast from 7.8 × 10^-4 for the photopolymer with the lowest curcumin load to 1.1 × 10^-3 for the photopolymer with the largest load. The sensitivity and diffraction efficiency of the recorded gratings also increased from 7.0 to 9.8 cm·J^-1 and from 7.9 to 16% with the increase in curcumin load, respectively. Finally, the influence of NaOH on the photopolymerization of the AA-curcumin-based sample shows a diffraction efficiency increase with the NaOH content, revealing that the curcumin enol form is more efficient as a photosensitizer.

Self-reconstructing all-optical poling in polymer fibers

Self-sustained all-optical poling second-harmonic generation (SHG) experiments are conducted in single-core and multicore dye-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) optical fibers. By tuning the polarization of the fundamental beam, the SHG signal is degraded and is reconstructed spontaneously up to its initial level. We found a new situation in which the photo-induced self-organization of azo polymers creates a well-ordered periodic structure.

Metamaterials with tailored nonlinear optical response

We demonstrate that the second-order nonlinear optical response of noncentrosymmetric metal nanoparticles (metamolecules) can be efficiently controlled by their mutual ordering in an array. Two samples with minor change in ordering have nonlinear responses differing by a factor of up to 50. The results arise from polarization-dependent plasmonic resonances modified by long-range coupling associated with metamolecular ordering. The approach opens new ways for tailoring the nonlinear responses of metamaterials and their tensorial properties.

Stable frequency doubling by all-optical poling in dye-doped polymer optical fibers

We present experimental studies of all-optical poling (AOP) in large-core dye-doped poly(methyl methacrylate) plastic optical fibers. We show that the confinement of light within the fiber core permits us to reach the upper limit of second harmonic generation achievable by AOP using repeated trans-cis isomerization. Quantification of the output power indicates self-seeding that can counteract relaxation of the orientation during readout of the induced nonlinearity.

Theoretical investigation of carrier envelope phase dependence of all-optical poling with the third- and higher-order nonlinear processes

Dependence of efficiency in all-optical poling with nonlinear processes, up to eighth order, is considered. The explicit form of the nonlinear susceptibility that is responsible for the poling is derived, which shows both CEP and phase mismatch dependence. On the basis of an analysis of pulse propagation in a nonlinear material, it is shown that one can identify the order of nonlinearity that is relevant to the poling process, relying on current technology of CEP stabilization and thin-film growth.

Stabilization of dark and vortex parametric spatial solitons

We demonstrate that a weak defocusing Kerr effect in an optical medium with predominantly quadratic [or chi((2))] nonlinear response can eliminate the parametric modulational instability of plane waves, leading to the existence of stable two-wave dark and vortex spatial solitons.