Chang-Qing Xu

Thermal effects in kilowatt fiber lasers

Thermal effects and their influences on kilowatt ytterbium-doped double-clad (YDDC) fiber lasers are studied through numerical modeling. Solutions to suppress the thermal effects in the YDDC fiber lasers under bidirectional end pump and distributed pump are presented and compared for the first time. It is shown that lower operating temperature and more uniform heat dissipation in fibers can be obtained by optimizing the arrangement of pump powers, pump absorption coefficients, and fiber lengths.

Analysis of novel cascaded /spl chi//sup (2)/ (SFG+DFG) wavelength conversions in quasi-phase-matched waveguides

A novel cascaded second-order nonlinear interaction (/spl chi//sup (2)/), which is simultaneously based on sum frequency generation (SFG) and difference frequency generation (DFG) processes, is proposed and analyzed in quasi-phase-matched wavelength converters. Analytical expressions with clear physical insights are derived for the converted light. It is shown that the same conversion efficiency can be achieved by employing two pump sources with lower output power (P/sub p1/,P/sub p2/) in this novel scheme as compared with the conventional cascaded wavelength conversion technique based on second-harmonic generation and difference frequency generation (SHG+DFG) with a single higher power pump beam (P/sub p/=P/sub p1/+P/sub p2/). The theoretical results are consistent with the experimental ones. It is found that the pump wavelength difference can be separated by a span as large as 75 nm, while large 3-dB signal conversion bandwidth is retained. The results show that the novel cascaded /spl chi//sup (2)/ wavelength conversion scheme is very attractive for practical applications.

Cascaded wavelength conversions based on sum-frequency generation and difference-frequency generation.

A novel wavelength conversion scheme based on cascaded sum-frequency generation (SFG) and difference-frequency generation (DFG) is proposed and demonstrated in a MgO-doped LiNbO3 quasi-phase-matched waveguide. In this scheme, two pump wavelengths are set outside the communication band. It is shown that the same conversion efficiency can be achieved by use of two pump sources with lower output power (P1, P2) in this scheme compared with the conventional cascaded wavelength conversion technique based on second-harmonic generation and DFG with a single higher-power pump beam (P = P1 + P2) that is due to the use of a larger SFG nonlinear coefficient. The results significantly influence the selection of a suitable nonlinear interaction scheme for practical applications.

Sealing SU-8 microfluidic channels using PDMS

A simple method of irreversibly sealing SU-8 microfluidic channels using PDMS is reported in this paper. The method is based on inducing a chemical reaction between PDMS and SU-8 by first generating amino groups on PDMS surface using N(2) plasma treatment, then allowing the amino groups to react with the residual epoxy groups on SU-8 surface at an elevated temperature. The N(2) plasma treatment of PDMS can be conducted using an ordinary plasma chamber and high purity N(2), while the residual epoxy groups on SU-8 surface can be preserved by post-exposure baking SU-8 at a temperature no higher than 95 °C. The resultant chemical bonding between PDMS and SU-8 using the method create an interface that can withstand a stress that is greater than the bulk strength of PDMS. The bond is permanent and is long-term resistant to water. The method was applied in fabricating SU-8 microfluidi-photonic integrated devices, and the obtained devices were tested to show desirable performance.

Optimization of Cladding-Structure-Modified Long-Period-Grating Refractive-Index Sensors

The cladding-modified long-period-grating (LPG) refractive-index sensors with a high-refractive-index overlay are optimized based on systematical studies on the structure-modified LPG. Dependence of the cladding-mode effective indexes on the parameters of the structure-modified LPG, such as the overlay refractive index (RI), the overlay thickness, the cladding-layer radius, and the ambient RI, as well as the order of cladding mode, are investigated in detail. An optimization procedure based on reducing the cladding radius, keeping the grating period as an adaptive parameter, and employing the HE13 mode notch-wavelength shift is proposed for the LPG RI sensors. By using the proposed optimization method, it is shown that an ambient RI sensitivity as large as 5980 nm/RI can be achieved, representing a threefold sensitivity enhancement, as compared to the best result obtained from the reported structure, in which the high HE17 mode resonate notch wavelength was employed in sensing

Optical Transceivers for Fiber-to-the-Premises Applications: System Requirements and Enabling Technologies

A comprehensive review of the optical transceivers for fiber-to-the-premises applications is presented, with emphasis on system requirements and enabling technologies. Recent progress in photonic integration to realize low-cost, high-performance, and compact optical transceivers for the optical network terminal is reviewed

Formation and characterization of an ideal excitation beam geometry in an optofluidic device

An optimal excitation beam shape is necessary to perform reliable flow cytometric analysis but has so far not been implemented in a photonic-microfluidic integrated (i.e. optofluidic) device. We have achieved this feature by integrating a 1D lens system with planar waveguides and microfluidic channel on a substrate using one patterning material via a one-shot process. In this paper, we report the method of design and the performance of specifically formed excitation regions shaped to be ideal for reducing double detections, improving SNR, and for reliable detection in a flow cytometry application. Demonstration of different sizes via changes to lens design shows the ability to control the width of the shaped beam according to a targeted detection.

Picosecond-pulse wavelength conversion based on cascaded second-harmonic generation- difference frequency generation in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide

The wavelength conversion of picosecond optical pulses based on the cascaded second-harmonic generation-difference-frequency generation process in a MgO-doped periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide is studied both experimentally and theoretically. In the experiments, the picosecond pulses are generated from a 40 GHz mode-locked fiber laser and two tunable filters, with which the lasing wavelength can be tuned from 1530 to 1570 nm, and the pulse width can be tuned from 2 to 7 ps. New-frequency pulses, i.e., converted pulses, are generated when the picosecond pulse train and a cw wave interact in the waveguide. The conversion characteristics are systematically investigated when the pulsed and cw waves are alternatively taken as the pump at the quasi-phase-matching wavelength of the device. In particular, the conversion dependences on input pulse width, average power, and pump wavelength are examined quantitatively. Based on the temporal and spectral characteristics of wavelength conversion, a comprehensive analysis on conversion efficiency is presented. The simulation results are in good agreement with the measured data.

Switching-induced perturbation and influence on actively Q-switched fiber lasers

Dynamic characteristics of typical actively Q-switched fiber lasers are numerically investigated by using the traveling-wave method. The multipeak phenomena of output pulses are analyzed, and the mechanism for these phenomena is detailed. In particular, the switching-induced perturbation and its influence are emphasized under different conditions. A quantitative analysis shows that under certain conditions of cavity, pump and switching, a split-pulse output can turn to a single-pulse output. Then how to realize the single-pulse output is systematically illustrated, and some experimental results are shown for comparison.

Analysis of cascaded second-order nonlinear interaction based on quasi-phase-matched optical waveguides

Wavelength conversions based on the cascaded second-order nonlinear interaction in nonlinear optical medium with periodical structures are studied both theoretically. Analytical expressions with clear physical insights are, for the first time, derived for the converted light by the step-by-step method. It is shown that the obtained expressions are valid in large ranges of device parameters, and have features such as simple form, high accuracy, and less computing time. Simulations using the obtained expressions are compared with the experimental results of a MgO-doped LiNbO/sub 3/ quasi-phase matched waveguide. It is found that our simulations are consistent well with the experimental results.