Nonlinear polarization rotation of elliptical light in cubic crystals, with application to cross-polarized wave generation

被引:48
作者
Jullien, A
Albert, O
Chériaux, G
Etchepare, J
Kourtev, S
Minkovski, N
Saltiel, SM [1 ]
机构
[1] CNRS, Ecole Polytech, Ecole Natl Super Tech Avancees, UMR 7639,Lab Opt Appl, F-91761 Palaiseau, France
[2] Thales Laser, F-91400 Orsay, France
[3] Univ Sofia, Fac Phys, BG-1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
关键词
D O I
10.1364/JOSAB.22.002635
中图分类号
O43 [光学];
学科分类号
070207 ; 0803 ;
摘要
We have investigated theoretically and experimentally the nonlinear propagation of intense elliptically polarized light pulses along a fourfold axis of the cubic crystal BaF2. Third-order nonlinear optical processes generate a cross-polarized wave, an effect that presents significant possibilities for application in femtosecond pulse contrast enhancement. The experimental setup consists of an input linear polarized light that passes through a cubic crystal sandwiched between two crossed quarter-wave plates. The exit orthogonal polarization-state production amount is measured at the output of an analyzer. When the light impinging on the sample is elliptically polarized with a quarter-wave plate at 22.5 deg, the achieved efficiency reaches 15%. It is more than twice that of a conventional polarization filter based on nonlinear ellipse rotation in an isotropic medium. This device is compared with previously reported polarization filtering [J. Opt. Sec. Am. B 21, 1659 (2004)], in which a linearly polarized light produced a perpendicular field component. The theoretical model describes in detail the obtained dependencies and allows the different nonlinear processes that contribute to the generation of a cross-polarized wave to be distinguished. Possible applications are discussed. (c) 2005 Optical Society of America
引用
收藏
页码:2635 / 2641
页数:7
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