Robert M. Gray, Caltech

Leuchs-Russell-Auditorium, A.1.500, Staudtstr. 2

Location details

Abstract:

Ultrashort optical pulses and their correspondingly broadband spectra have found myriad applications, including sensing and spectroscopy, information processing, and extreme nonlinear optics. To date, quadratic nonlinear processes have found wide utility in ultrafast optics, particularly in the important near- and mid-infrared spectral regions. Specific uses include broadband coherent up- and down-conversion with high efficiency, spectral broadening, short pulse amplification, and pulse characterization. With that said, experimental realizations of more complex nonlinear dynamical phenomena such as soliton formation in quadratic nonlinear systems have been limited, despite numerous theoretical proposals. Such phenomena can be accompanied by many practical benefits including pulse compression and improved conversion efficiencies, and their dynamics may be leveraged for applications such as sensing. Here, we discuss our recent experimental explorations of soliton formation and ultrashort pulse dynamics in both bulk and integrated quadratic nonlinear platforms. Furthermore, we show how such processes may be leveraged for applications including molecular sensing and optical computing. Finally, we emphasize the new opportunities unlocked by moving to nanophotonics, and indicate the potential for utilizing such mechanisms to generate ultrashort pulses in the few- and single-cycle regime.