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Unidirectional amplification and shaping of optical pulses by three-wave mixing with negative phonons

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Abstract

A possibility to greatly enhance frequency-conversion efficiency of stimulated Raman scattering is shown by making use of extraordinary properties of three-wave mixing of ordinary and backward waves. Such processes are commonly attributed to negative-index plasmonic metamaterials. This work demonstrates the possibility to replace such metamaterials that are very challenging to engineer by readily available crystals which support elastic waves with contra-directed phase and group velocities. The main goal of this work was to investigate specific properties of indicated nonlinear optical process in short-pulse regime and to show that it enables elimination of fundamental detrimental effect of fast damping of optical phonons on the process concerned. Among the applications is the possibility of creation of a family of unique photonic devices such as unidirectional Raman amplifiers and femtosecond pulse shapers with greatly improved operational properties.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in parts by the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant No. FA950-12-1-298, by the US National Science Foundation under Grant No. ECCS-1028353, by the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences under Grant No. 24-31 and by the Russian Federal Program on Science, Education and Innovation under Grant No. 14.A18.21.1942.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, 54481, USA

    Alexander K. Popov

  2. Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Alexander K. Popov

  3. Siberian Federal University, 660041 , Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation

    Mikhail I. Shalaev & Vitaly V. Slabko

  4. Institute of Physics of Russian Academy of Sciences, 660036 , Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation

    Sergey A. Myslivets

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  1. Alexander K. Popov
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  2. Mikhail I. Shalaev
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  3. Sergey A. Myslivets
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  4. Vitaly V. Slabko
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Correspondence to Alexander K. Popov.

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Popov, A.K., Shalaev, M.I., Myslivets, S.A. et al. Unidirectional amplification and shaping of optical pulses by three-wave mixing with negative phonons. Appl. Phys. A 115, 523–529 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-013-8078-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-013-8078-4

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