Systems and methods of achieving high brightness infrared fiber parametric amplifiers and light sources

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9577401-B2
Application number	US-201514814848-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2015
Priority date	Jul 19, 2009
Publication date	Feb 21, 2017
Grant date	Feb 21, 2017

Abstract

Fiber optic amplification in a spectrum of infrared electromagnetic radiation is achieved by creating a chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber (PCF) structure having a radially varying pitch. A chalcogenide PCF system can be tuned during fabrication of the chalcogenide PCF structure, by controlling, the size of the core, the size of the cladding, and the hole size to pitch ratio of the chalcogenide PCF structure and tuned during exercising of the chalcogenide PCF system with pump laser and signal waves, by changing the wavelength of either the pump laser wave or the signal wave, maximization of nonlinear conversion of the chalcogenide PCF, efficient parametric conversion with low peak power pulses of continuous wave laser sources, and minimization of power penalties and minimization of the need for amplification and regeneration of pulse transmissions over the length of the fiber, based on a dispersion factor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system of fiber optic amplification in a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, the system comprising:
a chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber having a glass core surrounded by a plurality of air holes, wherein the glass core has a distance forming a pitch between each air hole in the plurality of air holes, wherein the pitch is a radially varying pitch, and wherein each air hole in the plurality of air holes has a hole size;
a first pump laser coupled to the glass core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber by a first coupler; wherein the first pump laser emits a first electromagnetic radiation wave at a first oscillation frequency and a second electromagnetic radiation wave at a second oscillation frequency, and wherein the first oscillation frequency of the first electromagnetic radiation wave equals the second oscillation frequency of the second oscillation wave, and
a signal laser coupled to the glass core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber by a second coupler, wherein the signal laser emits a third electromagnetic radiation wave having a third oscillation frequency, which is launched into the glass core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber through the second coupler, wherein the third electromagnetic radiation wave interacts with the first electromagnetic radiation wave and the second electromagnetic radiation wave in the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber, and wherein the first electromagnetic radiation wave and the second electromagnetic radiation wave interacting in the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber cause parametric amplification of the third electromagnetic radiation wave and cause a fourth electromagnetic radiation idler wave to be generated, wherein dispersion causes a first wavelength of the first electromagnetic radiation wave of the first pump laser, a second wavelength of the second electromagnetic radiation wave, a third wavelength of the third electromagnetic radiation wave from the signal laser and a fourth wavelength of the fourth electromagnetic radiation wave to all be phase matched, wherein parametric amplification is achieved by four wave mixing, and wherein generation of the fourth electromagnetic radiation idler wave is based on nonlinearities in a transmission medium and is related to frequencies of the first, second, third, and fourth electromagnetic radiation waves according to a relationship expressed as:
ω 3 +ω 4 =ω 1 +ω 2

where ω 1 =the first oscillation frequency;
where ω 2 =the second oscillation frequency;
where ω 3 =the third oscillation frequency; and
where ω 4 =a fourth oscillation frequency.

2. A fiber structure having amplification characteristics in a spectrum of infrared electromagnetic radiation, the fiber structure comprising:
a chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure composed of:
a preform structure comprising:
a plurality of glass rods and a plurality of glass tubes; wherein the fiber structure further comprises a core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure, a cladding, and a plurality of air holes surrounding the core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure, wherein a pitch between each air hole in the plurality of air holes is a radially varying pitch, and having amplification characteristics of the fiber structure tuned in the spectrum of infrared electromagnetic radiation, when a size of the core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure has been controlled, when a size of the cladding has been controlled, when geometrical arrangement of holes has been controlled, and when a ratio of hole size to pitch has been controlled, wherein the fiber structure further comprises a first pump laser coupled to the core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure by a first coupler; wherein the first pump laser emits a first wave and a second wave at a first oscillation frequency and a second oscillation frequency, and wherein the first oscillation frequency equals the second oscillation frequency, wherein the fiber structure further comprises a signal laser coupled to the core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure by a second coupler, wherein the signal laser coupled to the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure by the second coupler generates a third electromagnetic radiation wave having a third oscillation frequency, which is launched into the core of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure through the second coupler, wherein the third electromagnetic radiation wave interacts with a first electromagnetic radiation wave and a second electromagnetic radiation wave of the at least one electromagnetic radiation wave launched into the fiber structure of the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure, and wherein the first electromagnetic radiation wave and the second electromagnetic radiation wave interacting in the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure cause amplification of the third electromagnetic radiation wave and cause a fourth electromagnetic radiation wave to be generated and transmitted in the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure, wherein the chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber structure has a dispersion factor, wherein the dispersion factor causes a first wavelength of the first electromagnetic radiation wave of the first pump laser and a second wavelength of the second electromagnetic radiation wave of the first pump laser, a third wavelength of the third electromagnetic radiation wave and a fourth wavelength of the fourth electromagnetic radiation wave to be phase matched, wherein amplification is achieved by four wave mixing, and wherein generation of the fourth electromagnetic radiation wave is based on nonlinearities in a transmission medium and is related to frequencies of the first electromagnetic radiation wave according to a relationship expressed as:
ω 3 +ω 4 =ω 1 +ω 2 ; and

ω 1 =ω 2 ;

where ω 1 =the first oscillation wave frequency, associated with the first pump laser;
where ω 2 =the second oscillation wave frequency, associated with the first pump laser;
where ω 3 =the third oscillation wave frequency, associated with the signal laser and further associated with amplification of the third electromagnetic radiation wave; and
where ω 4 =the fourth oscillation wave frequency and is the idler wave, based on nonlinearities in the transmission medium.

Assignees

• Shaw Leslie Brandon
• Sanghera Jasbinder S
• Aggarwal Ishwar D
• Gibson Daniel J
• Kung Frederic H
• Us Navy

Inventors

• Shaw Leslie Brandon
• Sanghera Jasbinder S
• Aggarwal Ishwar D
• Gibson Daniel J
• Kung Frederic H

Classifications

• G02B6/02342

  characterised by cladding features, i.e. light confining region · CPC title

• G02B6/02357

  Property of longitudinal structures or background material varies radially and/or azimuthally in the cladding, e.g. size, spacing, periodicity, shape, refractive index, graded index, quasiperiodic, quasicrystals · CPC title

• G02B6/02347

  Longitudinal structures arranged to form a regular periodic lattice, e.g. triangular, square, honeycomb unit cell repeated throughout cladding · CPC title

• G02B6/02295

  Microstructured optical fibre (polarisation properties thereof G02B6/105 and G02B6/024) · CPC title

• H01S3/1083

  using parametric generation · CPC title