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Author(s): F. Benabid (corresponding author) [1]; F. Couny [1]; J. C. Knight [1]; T. A. Birks [1]; P. St J. Russell [1] Gas-phase materials are used in a variety of [...]

We report on stimulated Raman scattering in an approximately 1-meter-long hollow-core photonic crystal fiber filled with hydrogen gas under pressure. Light was guided and confined in the 15-micrometer-diameter hollow core by a two-dimensional photonic bandgap. Using a pulsed laser source (pulse duration, 6 nanoseconds; wavelength, 532 nanometers), the threshold for Stokes (longer wavelength) generation was observed at pulse energies as low as 800 ± 200 nanojoules, followed by a coherent anti-Stokes (shorter wavelength) generation threshold at 3.4 ± 0.7 microjoules. The pump-to-Stokes conversion efficiency was 30 ± 3% at a pulse energy of only 4.5 microjoules. These energies are almost two orders of magnitude lower than any other reported energy, moving gas-based nonlinear optics to previously inaccessible parameter regimes of high intensity and long interaction length., A long-standing challenge in nonlinear optics is the maximization of nonlinear interactions between laser light and low-density media such as gases. The requirements for efficient nonlinear processes are high intensity [...]

Measurement temperatures by (some devises) are applied immediately after shut-down and may be corrected for the temperature drop that occurs in the interval between shut-down and measurement. This paper presents a new procedure for thermal modelling of the tool cutting used just after machining; when the tool is out off the chip in order to extrapolate the cutting temperature from the temperature measured when the tool is at stand still. A fin approximation is made in enhancing heat loss (by conduction and convection) to air stream is used. In the modelling we introduce an equivalent thermal network to estimate the cutting temperature as a function of specific energy. In another hand, a local modified element lumped conduction equation is used to predict the temperature gradient with time when the tool is being cooled, with initial and boundary conditions. These predictions provide a detailed view of the global heat transfer coefficient as a function of cutting speed because the heat loss for the tool in air stream is an order of magnitude larger than in normal environment. Finally we deduct the cutting temperature by inverse method.

We review the recent progress on the understanding of optical guidance mechanisms in hollow-core photonic crystal fibres, and on the quantum and nonlinear optical applications of photonic microcells based on this fibre form. Two classes of hollow-core photonic crystal fibre are identified: one guides via a photonic bandgap and the other guides by virtue of an inhibited coupling between core and cladding mode constituents. For the former fibre type, we explore how the bandgap is formed using a photonic analogue of the tight-binding model and how it is related to the anti-resonant reflection optical waveguide guidance. For the second type of fibre, which can guide over a broad wavelength range, we examine the nature of the inhibited coupling. We describe a technique for the fabrication of photonic microcells that can accommodate vacuum pressures, and we finish by showing the latest results on electromagnetically induced transparency in a rubidium filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibre, the CW-pumped hydrogen Raman laser and the generation of multi-octave spanning stimulated Raman scattering spectral combs.

Nanocomposites based on poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with untreated clay were prepared in one step by reactive melt extrusion. Chemical reactions took place between the polymer matrices, the inorganic clay particles, and three reactive agents, leading to the PVDF/PMMA/clay nanocomposites. The microstructure characterizations were carried out by differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). The mechanical behavior was investigated by tensile experiments, impact tests, and microhardness measurements. The morphological characterization was carried out by optical and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The decrease of the melting and crystallization temperatures of the PVDF with the increasing PMMA content is attributed to the interactions between the oxygen of the PMMA carbonyl group and the PVDF's hydrogen atom. WAXS analysis shows that there is neither an intercalation step nor total exfoliation in any composition. As the PMMA content increases, WAXS diagrams show either the PVDF α-crystallographic form, both, α- and β-forms, or only the β-form. For PMMA contents higher than 40 wt%, the materials became amorphous. The microhardness of the samples decrease for a PMMA content up to 20 wt%. The study by optical microscopy and AFM illustrates the significant effect in the presence of clay on the film's surface morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rubidium vapor is loaded into hypocycloidal core shaped Kagome hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) with the wall of its inner core coated with aluminosilicate ceramic (sol-gel). We show that the presence of Rb vapor is maintained for a longer duration when compared to uncoated Kagome HC-PCF. Rb vapor within the hollow-core of a sol-gel coated Kagome HC-PCF is preserved for over 500 h after the source of Rb is halted. And Rb vapor is detected in the sol-gel coated HC-PCF for more than 80 h after the background Rb vapor signal is no longer observed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We report on numerical and experimental results on macro bending losses in single-cell Kagome-lattice hollow-core photonic crystal fibers. Fibers with different cladding layer numbers have been investigated. Results show that a cladding with at least two rings produces a reduction in bend sensitivity by more than one order of magnitude relative to a single layer cladding. This result is an original way to confirm the main role played by the inhibiting coupling mechanism in such microstructured fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Argon micro-plasmas a few centimetres long are generated at low gas pressure (6 mbar) in hollow-core photonic crystal fibres with 100 µm core diameter, using microwave excitation (2.45 GHz) based on a surfatron, with no damage to the host structure. Electromagnetic simulations assist the design of the surfatron cavity, finding optimal conditions for discharge ignition and maintenance. The plasma characterization reveals an electron density in the range 8 × 1014–1015 cm−3 (estimated from a semi-empirical analysis of the power coupled to the plasma, along the axial-direction) and a gas temperature of 1100–1300 K at the centre of the fibre (measured by optical emission spectroscopy diagnostics), thus showing an impressive ionization degree of ∼10−2 for power densities of ∼0.1 MW cm−3. The micro-plasma dynamics is investigated using a self-consistent one-dimensional (radial) fluid model, describing the charged particle and the electron energy transport, the electromagnetic excitation and the gas heating. Model results are used to confirm the diagnostics, revealing an extreme plasma confinement and a steep temperature gradient that give rise to the main operation features of this novel compact UV source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We review the optical guidance properties of hollow-core photonic crystal fibers. We follow a historical perspective to introduce the two major optical guidance mechanisms that were identified as operating in these fibers: photonic bandgap guidance and inhibited coupling guidance. We then review the modal properties of these fibers and assess the transmission loss mechanisms in photonic bandgap guiding hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. We dedicate a section to a review of the technical basics of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber fabrication and photonic microcell assembly. We review some of the early results on the use of hollow-core photonic crystal fiber for laser guiding micro-sized particles, as well as the generation of stimulated Raman scattering, electromagnetically induced transparency and laser frequency stabilization when the fiber core is filled with a gas-phase material. We conclude this review with a non-exhaustive list of prospects where hollow-core photonic crystal fiber could play a central role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tightly confined light enables a variety of applications ranging from nonlinear light management to atomic manipulation. Photonic-crystal fibres (PCFs) can provide strong guidance in very small cores while simultaneously offering long interaction lengths. However, light confinement in waveguides is usually ultimately limited by diffraction, which tends to spread light away from the waveguiding core, despite its higher refractive index. It was recently demonstrated that such spreading fields can be trapped by a nanometre-scale slot inside a strongly guiding silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide. In this letter we demonstrate the concentration of optical energy within a subwavelength-scale air hole running down the length of a PCF core. The core resembles a submicrometre-diameter tube with a bore diameter of 200 nm or less. The high intensity in an air hole, coupled with long interaction lengths, promises a new class of experiments in light–matter interaction and nonlinear fibre optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the experimental observation of electromagnetically induced transparency in V and Λ energy level schemes using counterpropagating coupling and probe beam geometry. The observation was achieved using an acetylene photonic microcell. The conditions required for this observation are explored theoretically, and we show that the use of counterpropagating beams in electromagnetically induced transparency may have applications as a spectroscopic technique where velocity discrimination is desirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on a technique to pattern the shape of the core surround of a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. Different shapes are fabricated and a relationship between surface mode location and core surround thickness is experimentally observed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Optical feedback from the Fresnel reflection at the air-silica interface of a splice between a hollow core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF) and a conventional fiber can cause laser instability or damage. The reported solution consists of the preparation of angle cleaved fibers, spliced together using a filament fusion splicer. A reduction of 44 dB of the return loss is observed. The method will considerably reduce potential damage such as fiber fusion in case of a fiber laser. The method is also demonstrated to decrease the Fabry-Perot effect in setups such as saturable absorption when the spliced HC-PCF is used as a gas cell device. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]