Silvia Carrasco

Properties of quadratic multi-soliton generation near phase-match in periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate

The properties of the multi-quadratic-soliton generation process have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally near and on phase-match in non-critically-phase-matched, periodically poled, potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP). It was found that multi-soliton generation occurs primarily due to asymmetry in the input beam and at phase-matching. The number of solitons generated depended on the input intensity in a non-trivial way.

Complex soliton-like pattern generation in potassium niobate due to noisy, high intensity, input beams

We report the generation of complex soliton-like patterns in noncritically-phase-matched potassium niobate which occur in random spatial patterns from shot-to-shot. Up to five spots have been generated at input intensities of 10s GW/cm2, many times the single soliton threshold. The mechanism which leads to the symmetry breaking required for the complex patterns is interpreted to be random noise imprinted on the input light.

Observation of self-focusing of light mediated by cubic nonlinearities in potassium titanyl phosphate.

We report our observations of the transient self-narrowing of light beams mediated by dominant Kerr nonlinearities and two-photon absorption in a bulk potassium titanyl phosphate crystal near conditions for second-harmonic generation. Drastic differences between upconversion and downconversion processes are highlighted.

Soliton birth from radiation

We report numerical simulations and experimental observations consistent with the slow coalescence of radiation fields into several solitons. Experiments were conducted in bulk PPKTP, and the different mechanisms which influence the process were investigated.

Soliton engineering with two-period QPM gratings

Two-period quasi-phase-matching schemes might make it practically possible to engineer the averaged effective competing nonlinearities governing beams in quadratic materials. We show that the bandwidth for soliton generation is broader than in homogeneous structures.

Walkoff acceptance for quadratic soliton generation

We show the walk-off acceptance for soliton formation in second-harmonic generation schemes with single-frequency pump light. Direct implications to temporal soliton generation with tilted pulse techniques in β-BaB2〇4 and LiIO3 are discussed.