S. Wabnitz

Far-detuned cascaded intermodal four-wave mixing in a multimode fiber

We demonstrate far-detuned parametric frequency conversion processes in a few mode graded-index optical fibers pumped by a Q-switched picosecond laser at 1064 nm. Through a detailed analytical and numerical analysis, we show that the multiple sidebands are generated through a complex cascaded process involving inter-modal four-wave mixing. The resulting parametric wavelength detuning spans in the visible down to 405 nm and in the near-infrared up to 1355 nm.

Kerr self-cleaning of pulsed beam in an ytterbium doped multimode fiber

We experimentally demonstrate that Kerr spatial self-cleaning of a pulsed beam can be obtained in an amplifying multimode optical fiber. An input peak power of 500 W only was sufficient to produce a quasi-single-mode emission from the double-clad ytterbium doped multimode fiber (YMMF) with non-parabolic refractive index profile. We compare the self-cleaning behavior observed in the same fiber with loss and with gain. Laser gain introduces new opportunities to achieve spatial self-cleaning of light in multimode fibers at a relatively low power threshold.

Second harmonic generation in multimode graded-index fibers: spatial beam cleaning and multiple harmonic sideband generation

We study experimentally and numerically the spectral and spatial dynamics of second harmonic generation in an all-optically poled multimode graded-index fiber. In contrast with poled single-mode fibers, in a multimode graded-index fiber a pump can generate a series of sharp sidebands around its second harmonic (SH) that originate from the sub-millimetric periodic evolution of the intensity at the fundamental frequency. The mutual interaction between the fundamental and its SH may also strongly affect the spatial distribution of guided light for both colors: when increasing the pump power, both fundamental and SH output beams evolve from disordered multimode speckles into two bell-shaped beams.

Nonlinear beam self-cleaning in a coupled cavity composite laser based on multimode fiber

We study a coupled cavity laser configuration where a passively Q-switched Nd:YAG microchip laser is combined with an extended cavity, including a doped multimode fiber. For appropriate coupling levels with the extended cavity, we observed that beam self-cleaning was induced in the multimode fiber thanks to nonlinear modal coupling, leading to a quasi-single mode laser output. In the regime of beam self-cleaning, laser pulse duration was reduced from 525 to 225 ps. We also observed a Q-switched mode-locked operation, where spatial self-cleaning was accompanied by far-detuned nonlinear frequency conversion in the active multimode fiber.

Intermodal modulational instability in graded-index multimode optical fibers

We report on the experimental observation of an intermodal noise-seeded modulational instability process (MI) taking place in the normal dispersion regime of a few-mode graded-index optical fiber. Strong power dependence of the MI spectra is observed, with a peak gain modulation frequency that scales as the square root of the injected light power. These observations are in excellent agreement with the predictions of a bimodal-MI model.

Spatio-temporal beam dynamics in multimode nonlinear optical fibers

We overview recent advances in the spatio-temporal nonlinear dynamics of optical pulses propagating in multimode optical fibers. The Kerr effect leads to spatial beam self-cleaning in a graded-index multimode optical fiber, followed by sideband series generation spanning multiple octaves. Effectively single mode supercontinuum spanning from the visible to the mid-infrared was also demonstrated. Enhancement of Kerr beam self-cleaning was observed in active fiber with quasi-step index profile. Moreover, mutual self-cleaning was recently reported for both the fundamental and the second harmonic beams in optically poled multimode fibers with cubic and quadratic nonlinearity.

Open-Cavity Spun Fiber Raman Lasers with Dual Polarization Output

Random distributed feedback fiber Raman lasers, where the feedback mechanism is provided by Rayleigh backscattering, have attracted a good deal of attention since they were first introduced in 2010. Their simple and flexible design, combined with good lasing efficiency and beam quality properties, comparable to those of standard cavity lasers, have led to multiple applications, particularly in the fields of fiber sensing and optical communications. In spite of these advances, the polarization properties of random fiber Raman lasers, which can strongly affect their performance in both sensing and communications, have barely been explored so far. In this article we experimentally and theoretically study the polarization properties of different open-cavity laser designs, based on either standard transmission fibers or low polarization-mode-dispersion spun fibers. By using high-power, highly-polarized pumps, we demonstrate controllable polarization-pulling and simultaneous lasing at close wavelengths with different output polarization properties in random distributed feedback fiber Raman lasers. These results advance our understanding of the polarization dynamics in ultralong lasers, and pave the way to the design of novel fiber laser sources capable of polarization-sensitive sensing and distributed amplification.