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Quasi-phase-matching of momentum and energy in nonlinear optical processes

Nature Photonics volume 4, pages 570–575 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

Quasi-phase-matching is an important technique in nonlinear optics and is in widespread use. It not only makes efficient frequency conversion possible, but also enables diverse applications such as beam and pulse shaping, multi-harmonic generation, high harmonic generation, all-optical processing and the generation of entangled photons. However, since its introduction in the early 1960s at the dawn of nonlinear optics, quasi-phase-matching has always been considered a technique in which a purely spatial modulation mitigates the momentum mismatch that dispersion imposes on the interacting photons. Here, we present an important and fundamental generalization of quasi-phase-matching in which spatiotemporal nonlinear optical diffraction allows for correction of both momentum and energy mismatch. This concept provides a powerful tool for manipulating light through nonlinear interactions, and suggests unique applications. Recent experiments provide evidence for the feasibility and importance of spatiotemporal quasi-phase-matching.

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Figure 1: Extending the concept of spatial mismatch to spatiotemporal mismatch.
Figure 2: Spectrum of HHG for different QPM schemes around the 183rd harmonic.
Figure 3: Frequency tuning of HHG using spatiotemporal QPM.
Figure 4: Normalized evolution of the second-harmonic power for spatial and spatiotemporal QPM.
Figure 5: Generalized schemes for QPM.
Figure 6: Second-harmonic generation using an oblique STNPC.

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Change history

  • 11 June 2010

    In the version of this article initially published online, the figure legend was missing from Fig. 5. The error has been corrected for all versions of the article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Army Research Office and from the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center in EUV Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, 80309, Colorado, USA

    Alon Bahabad, Margaret M. Murnane & Henry C. Kapteyn

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  1. Alon Bahabad
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  2. Margaret M. Murnane
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Contributions

A.B. conceived the idea. A.B., M.M.M. and H.C.K. developed the theory. A.B. performed the simulations. A.B., M.M.M. and H.C.K. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Alon Bahabad.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Bahabad, A., Murnane, M. & Kapteyn, H. Quasi-phase-matching of momentum and energy in nonlinear optical processes. Nature Photon 4, 570–575 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2010.122

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