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

合作研究：安德森定位光纤的新型激光和非线性特性

• 批准号: 1807857
• 负责人: Arash Mafi
• 金额: $ 23.33万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-15 至 2022-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1807857&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Novel; Laser; Nonlinear

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.

在过去的半个世纪里，光纤一直是许多技术进步的支柱。仅举一个例子，通过光纤进行的跨洋通信将世界上几乎所有的人民和文化联系在一起。这些纤维将光线限制在中央玻璃芯中，玻璃芯由一种比周围玻璃覆层密度更高的材料制成。这里提出的基础研究集中在一类通过安德森局域化来引导光的新型光纤。在这种纤维中，由于菲利普·安德森提出的诺贝尔奖获得者现象，内部随机微结构引导着光。这种纤维首先由PI和团队投入实践。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Anderson局域化光纤还有许多其他新颖的特性，使它们对基础科学探索和设备级应用都很有吸引力。拟议的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带彩色光谱激光器的研究。成像可以受益于明亮的激光光源；不幸的是，传统激光是单色的，所提出的激光可以提供相当广泛的色域。还需要研究的是可调量子关联光子对生成器，用于安全通信和高速计算，这是由随机底层结构中的各种可能性提供的。除了新科学的进步，一个主要的结果将是从事这个项目的研究生和本科生在跨学科的环境中接触到广泛的主题。这种对不同学科的广泛接触是一个培养未来高技能劳动力的平台。技术摘要：这个变革性的项目将对一种新型的光纤进行深入研究，这种光纤不是在传统的芯包层环境中引导光，而是通过安德森本地化的方式，其中横跨光纤横向轮廓的任何位置都可以用于引导光。这项研究特别关注这些新型光纤的激光和非线性特性，这些新型光纤对基础科学探索和设备级实用和洞察力都有潜在的好处。这项研究将揭开局域化的本质及其与非线性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。反之，我们将探讨非线性和增益对局域化特性的影响。安德森局部化光纤在过去的六年中已经被探索，并在光束复用、图像传输、波前整形、尖锐聚焦和单光子数据封装方面具有相当的前景。然而，关于这些光纤的光学性质仍然有许多悬而未决的问题，必须首先解决。例如，将探索这些光纤中模式的相位和群速度的统计数据，以确定它们在光通信、量子信息处理、成像和照明以及医疗和工业应用的超短脉冲激光方面的潜力。它们的激光特性和模式动力学将被研究在高功率光纤激光器中的应用。建议的设备包括用于照明和成像的宽带低空间相干性稀土掺杂光纤激光器，特别是在近红外光谱中，超高功率掺Yb光纤激光器，使用单束光纤的可调谐激光器，以及用于量子信息处理的通过四波混频获得量子关联光子对的可调谐光源。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Optical characterization of disordered Yb-doped silica glass Anderson localizing optical fiber

无序掺镱石英玻璃安德森定域光纤的光学表征

• DOI: 10.1364/josab.444214
• 发表时间: 2022
• 期刊: Journal of the Optical Society of America B
• 作者: Bassett, Cody;Tuggle, Matthew;Ballato, John;Mafi, Arash
• 通讯作者: Mafi, Arash

Group velocity distribution and short-pulse dispersion in a disordered transverse Anderson localization optical waveguide

• DOI: 10.1016/j.yofte.2019.102061
• 发表时间: 2019-09
• 期刊: Optical Fiber Technology
• 影响因子: 2.7
• 作者: A. Mafi

Advances in the fabrication of disordered transverse Anderson localizing optical fibers [Invited]

• DOI: 10.1364/ome.9.002769
• 发表时间: 2019-07
• 期刊: Optical Materials Express
• 影响因子: 2.8
• 作者: A. Mafi;M. Tuggle;Cody Bassett;Esmaeil Mobini;J. Ballato

Observation of optical nonlinearities in an all-solid transverse Anderson localizing optical fiber

全固体横向安德森定域光纤中光学非线性的观测

• DOI: 10.1364/ol.385438
• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: Optics Letters
• 影响因子: 3.6
• 作者: Tuggle, Matthew;Bassett, Cody;Hawkins, Thomas W.;Stolen, Roger;Mafi, Arash;Ballato, John
• 通讯作者: Ballato, John