Wavelength shifting of optical pulses in a polydiacetylene waveguide

We characterize the process of wavelength shifting (generation of a pulse at the wavelength lambda(p)-Delta from a signal at lambda(p)+Delta under the action of a pump at lambda(p)) in a planar waveguide of poly (3BCMU) for short. With a propagation length of 4.5 mm, pulses of 20 ps time duration, and lambda(') s around 1.3 mu m, we observe wavelength conversion with 1% efficiency when the energy of the pump pulse per unit width is about 10(-5) J/m. (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)00424-6].