Microstructure fiber optical parametric oscillator
AssigneeNorthwestern University
InventorsPrem Kumar, Jay E. Sharping
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fiber optical parametric oscillator is formed using photonic crystal fibers, also known as microstructure fibers or holey fibers. The optical parametric oscillator includes only a few meters of microstructure fiber. In one embodiment, the microstructure fiber is disposed between a highly reflective mirror and a diffraction grating in a simple Fabry-Perot configuration wherein the diffraction grating is tuned to reflect a particular wavelength of the signal wave back to the microstructure fiber. In another embodiment, the microstructure fiber is disposed in a ring cavity and the parametric oscillator is synchronously pumped. The parametric oscillator may be implemented with free space optics or use all fiber optic components.
Claims63
A fiber optical parametric oscillator comprising:
- a microstructure fiber having a first end and a second end;
- a pump wave input to the first end of the microstructure fiber;
- a reflective mirror for reflecting a wave from the second end of the microstructure fiber back to the microstructure fiber;
- a diffraction grating tuned to reflect a signal wave of a particular wavelength;
- a beam splitter disposed between the first end of the microstructure fiber and the diffraction grating, the beam splitter passing the pump wave to the first end of the microstructure fiber, the wave being reflected by the reflective mirror back through the microstructure fiber, the microstructure fiber generating a signal wave and an idler wave that are directed from the first end of the microstructure fiber to the diffraction grating by the beam splitter, the diffraction grating reflecting a signal wave of the particular wavelength back to the beam splitter and from the beam splitter back to the microstructure fiber, and the beam splitter passing a portion of the signal wave to an output of the parametric oscillator.
A fiber optical parametric oscillator comprising:
- a microstructure fiber having a first end and a second end;
- a pump wave input to the first end of the microstructure fiber;
- a movable reflective mirror for reflecting a wave from the second end of the microstructure fiber back to the microstructure fiber;
- a diffraction grating tuned to reflect a signal wave of a particular wavelength;
- a beam splitter disposed between the first end of the microstructure fiber and the diffraction grating, the beam splitter passing the pump wave to the first end of the microstructure fiber, the wave being reflected by the reflective mirror back through the microstructure fiber, the microstructure fiber generating a signal wave and an idler wave that are directed from the first end of the microstructure fiber to the diffraction grating by the beam splitter, the diffraction grating reflecting a signal wave of the particular wavelength back to the beam splitter and from the beam splitter back to the microstructure fiber, and the beam splitter passing a portion of the signal wave to an output of the parameter oscillator.
A fiber optical parametric oscillator comprising:
- a microstructure fiber having a first end and a second end;
- a pump wave input to the first end of the microstructure fiber;
- a movable reflective mirror for reflecting a wave from the second end of the microstructure fiber back to the second end of the microstructure fiber;
- a diffraction grating tuned to reflect a signal wave of a particular wavelength;
- a beam splitter disposed between the pump wave input and the first end of the microstructure fiber and between the diffraction grating and the microstructure fiber;
- and
- a half-wave plate disposed between the beam splitter and the first end of the microstructure fiber.
A fiber optical parametric oscillator comprising:
- a microstructure fiber having a first end and a second end, the microstructure fiber having a zero-dispersion wavelength;
- a pump wave input to the first end of the microstructure fiber, the pump wave having a wavelength near the zero-dispersion wavelength of the microstructure fiber;
- a movable reflective mirror for reflecting a wave from the second end of the microstructure fiber back to the second end of the microstructure fiber;
- a diffraction grating tuned to reflect a signal wave of a particular wavelength;
- a beam splitter disposed between the pump wave input and the first end of the microstructure fiber and between the diffraction grating and the microstructure fiber;
- and
- a half-wave plate disposed between the beam splitter and the first end of the microstructure fiber.
A fiber optical parametric oscillator comprising:
- a fiber optical ring cavity, at least a portion of which is formed of a microstructure fiber, the cavity having an associated repetition rate;
- a pump wave coupled to an input of the cavity, the pump wave having a repetition rate that is a multiple of the cavity repetition rate;
- and
- a tunable optical bandpass filter in the ring cavity.
A fiber optical parametric oscillator comprising:
- a fiber optical ring cavity, at least a portion of which is formed of a microstructure fiber;
- a pump wave coupled to an input of the cavity, to provide synchronously pumped parametric oscillation in the cavity;
- and
- wherein the fiber optical parametric oscillator is tunable over a range in a 1550 nm band.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.