Abstract
Nonlinear directional couplers (NLDC) allow for ultrafast all-optical switching. To date, various types of NLDCs have been studied, predominantly based on the Kerr [1] or cascaded quadratic nonlinearity [2] in second-harmonic generation (SHG). In the later case the switching can occur at lower powers because of a propagating-wave resonance effect. While a number of experiments to characterise the pulse propagation in Kerr-type couplers exist, till now the temporal behavior of short pulses in the NLDC with quadratic nonlinearity has never been studied experimentally. Several important questions such as the reason for incomplete switching and possible pulse compression factors remain unanswered. In this work we experimentally measure the pulse reshaping in a NLDC with second-order nonlinearity and show that pulse compression, break-up and back-switching play an important role in the switching process.
© 2011 Optical Society of America
PDF ArticleMore Like This
R. Schiek, W. Elflein, T. Pertsch, A. Tünnermann, K. R. Parameswaran, and M. M. Fejer
TuD6 Nonlinear Optics: Materials, Fundamentals and Applications (NLO) 2000
R Schiek, Y Baek, G Krijnen, and GI Stegeman
FI3 International Quantum Electronics Conference (IQEC) 1996
Uwe Hempelmann
ThD29 Nonlinear Guided Waves and Their Applications (NP) 1999