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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Development of non-linear nano-structured compounds for the generation of ultrafast impulse dynamics in fiber LASER cavity

subject

description

My thesis work presented in this doctoral dissertation has started a new research axis within the Carnot Interdisciplinary Laboratory of Burgundy, and is part of the "Information processing devices" program of the Labex ACTION. This research consortium aims to optimize all the steps of an information processing system, using nano-structured materials and non-linear functionalities. In this context, this thesis focuses on the generation of optical signals in the near infrared, with the main objective of hybridizing integrated photonics with fiber laser cavities. These innovative hybrid LASERs offer, by design, many advantages that are particularly sought-after in the field of telecommunications, such as a high repetition rate, greater than 100 GHz, and ultra-short pulses, of the order of 100 fs.The fundamental element of the approach developed during my thesis is the use of on-chip fabricated micro-resonators. The material constituting these structures is the site of non-linear phenomena that can be exalted to generate new frequencies. In addition, by inserting the microstructure into a fiber LASER cavity, it can ensure mode locking and thus pulse generation. Filter driven-four wave mixing is then the mechanism involved.In order to successfully carry out this new project, a full characterization bench was designed. The latter includes a near-field microscope to analyze the electromagnetic field propagating in the on-chip fabricated structure, and more particularly the non-linear propagation of guided modes. In addition, the development and analysis of microstructures were carried out in order to optimize the desired linear and non-linear properties. To do this, several materials such as silicon-on-insulator, chalcogenide glasses and silicon nitrides were tested on about thirty samples.In addition, intra- and inter-laboratory collaborations give this multidisciplinary study subject a great richness. They allowed the demonstration of hybrid LASERs generating pulses with a repetition rate of 250 GHz, as well as the imaging by near-field microscopy of an octave spectral widening in a spiral-folded silicon nitride guide.