Collaborative Research: Novel Laser and Nonlinear Properties of Anderson Localization Optical Fibers

在过去的半个世纪里，光纤一直是许多技术进步的支柱。仅举一例，通过光纤进行的跨洋电信几乎连接了世界上所有的民族和文化。这些光纤将光限制在由光学密度比周围玻璃包层高的材料制成的中心玻璃芯中。这里提出的基本调查集中在一类新型的光纤，引导光的安德森本地化。在这种光纤中，PI和团队首先将其付诸实践，由于菲利普安德森提出的诺贝尔奖获奖现象，内部随机微结构引导光。直接的好处是，光纤上的任何位置，而不仅仅是纤芯，都可以用来引导和控制光。这种安德森定域纤维具有许多其他新颖的性质，使它们对基础科学探索和设备级应用都具有吸引力。这项研究将探索这些新型光纤的激光和非线性特性。设备研究包括用于成像和照明的超宽色谱激光器的研究。成像可以受益于明亮的激光源;不幸的是，传统的激光器是单色的，而拟议的激光器可以提供相当广泛的色域。还将研究的是可调量子相关光子对发生器的安全通信和高速计算，在随机的底层结构的可能性的多样性提供。除了新科学的进步，一个主要的成果将是研究生和本科生在这个项目中工作的跨学科环境中的广泛的主题的曝光。这种广泛接触不同学科是一个平台，以培养未来的高技能劳动力。技术摘要：这一变革性的计划将提供一个深入的调查一类新的光纤，引导光，而不是在传统的核心包层设置，而是通过安德森本地化，在任何位置横跨光纤的横向轮廓可以用来引导光。该研究特别关注这些新型光纤的激光和非线性特性，这些光纤对基础科学探索和设备级实用性和洞察力都有潜在的好处。本研究将揭示局域化的本质及其与非线性的相互作用的突出问题，并探索安德森局域化对激光特性的影响，如阈值行为，斜率效率，稳定性和频谱。相反，将探讨非线性和增益对局部化特性的影响。安德森局域化光纤在过去的六年中已经被探索，并且在光束多路复用、图像传输、波前整形、锐聚焦和单光子数据打包方面非常有前途。然而，仍然有许多悬而未决的问题，这些光纤的光学性能，必须首先解决。例如，将探索这些光纤中模式的相速度和群速度的统计数据，以确定它们在光通信、量子信息处理、成像和照明以及用于医疗和工业应用的超短脉冲激光器方面的潜力。它们的激光特性和模式动力学将在高功率光纤激光器中的应用进行研究。所提出的装置的例子包括用于照明和成像的宽带低空间相干稀土掺杂光纤激光器，特别是在近红外光谱中，超高功率掺镱光纤激光器，使用单股光纤的可调谐激光器，和量子相关光子对的可调谐源，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的评估被认为值得支持。影响审查标准。

Optical fibers have been the enabling backbone for many technological advancements over the last half-century. As just one example, transoceanic telecommunications via optical fibers connect nearly all the world's peoples and cultures. Those fibers confine light in a central glass core made from an optically denser material than the surrounding glass cladding. The proposed fundamental investigation here is focused on a novel class of optical fibers that guide light by means of Anderson localization. In such fibers, first brought to practice by the PI and team, an internal random microstructure guides the light due to a Nobel-Prize-winning phenomenon proposed by Phillip Anderson. The immediate advantage is that any location across the fiber, not just the core, can be used to guide and control light. Such Anderson localizing fibers have many other novel properties that make them attractive for both basic science exploration and device-level application. The proposed study will explore laser and nonlinear properties of these novel fibers. Device investigations include the study of ultra-broad color spectrum lasers for imaging and illumination. Imaging can benefit from bright laser sources; unfortunately, conventional lasers are single-colored and the proposed lasers can provide a considerably broader color gamut. Also to be studied are tunable quantum-correlated photon pair generators for secure communication and high-speed computation, afforded by the diversity of possibilities in the random underlying structure. In addition to the advancement of new science, a major outcome will be the exposure of the graduate and undergraduate students working on this project to a broad range of topics in an interdisciplinary environment. This broad exposure to different disciplines is a platform to train the highly skilled workforce of the future.Technical Abstract:This transformative program will provide an in-depth investigation of a novel class of optical fibers that guide light, not in a conventional core-cladding setting, but by means of Anderson localization, where any location across the transverse profile of the fiber can be used to guide light. The study is particularly focused on the lasing and nonlinear properties of these novel fibers with potential benefits to both basic science exploration and device-level utility and insights. The research will unravel outstanding problems on the nature of localization and its interaction with nonlinearity and to explore the impact of Anderson localization on laser characteristics such as threshold behavior, slope efficiency, stability, and frequency spectrum. Conversely, the impact of the nonlinearity and gain on localization properties will be explored. Anderson localization fibers have been explored over the past six years, and are quite promising for beam multiplexing, image transport, wave-front shaping, sharp focusing, and single-photon data packing. However, there are still many open questions regarding the optical properties of these fibers that must be addressed first. For example, the statistics of the phase and group velocities of the modes in these fibers will be explored to determine their potential for optical communications, quantum information processing, imaging and illuminations, and ultra-short-pulse lasers for medical and industrial applications. Their laser properties and modal dynamics will be studied for applications in high-power fiber lasers. Examples of the proposed devices include broadband low-spatial coherence rare-earth doped fiber lasers for illumination and imaging, especially in the near infrared spectrum, ultra-high power Ytterbium-doped fiber lasers, tunable lasers using a single strand of fiber, and tunable sources of quantum correlated photon pairs via four-wave mixing for quantum information processing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.