Erlangen 2018 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 30: Optomechanics II

Q 30.4: Talk

Tuesday, March 6, 2018, 14:45–15:00, K 0.023

Fresnel-Reflection-Free Self-Aligning Nanospike Interface between a Step-Index Fibre and a Hollow-Core Photonic-Crystal-Fibre Gas Cell — •Riccardo Pennetta, Shangran Xie, Frances Lenahan, Manoj K. Mridha, David Novoa, and Philip St.J. Russell — Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Staudtstrasse 2, 91058 Erlangen, Germany

The development of low-loss hollow-core photonic crystal fibres has opened new opportunities for investigating intense light-gas interactions over distances thousands of times longer than the Rayleigh length. In these experimental configurations, macroscopic gas cells or vacuum chambers are typically employed and laser light is launched into the system through windows using standard optical components. While effective, the resulting systems are bulky and sensitive to external perturbations, which is a crucial issue especially at high power levels, since even tiny misalignments can increase the overlap between the incident beam and the fibre microstructure. Here, we report a fully integrated interface delivering efficient, reflection-free, single-mode, and optomechanically self-aligned coupling between a step-index fibre and a gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibre. Based on adiabatic evolution of the light field along a tapered silica nanospike, the device offers a universal solution for interfacing solid and hollow-core fibres. It can be sealed to allow operation either in ultra-high vacuum or at high pressure. As an example, stimulated Raman scattering and molecular modulation of light are demonstrated in a H2-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber using the device.