Nonlinear optics with full three-dimensional illumination
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: We investigate the nonlinear optical process of third-harmonic generation in the thus far unexplored regime of focusing the pump light from a full solid angle, where the nonlinear process is dominantly driven by a standing dipole-wave. We elucidate the influence of the focal volume and the pump intensity on the number of frequency-tripled photons by varying the solid angle from which the pump light is focused, finding good agreement between the experiments and numerical calculations. As a consequence of focusing the pump light to volumes much smaller than a wavelength cubed the Gouy phase does not limit the yield of frequency-converted photons. This is in stark contrast to the paraxial regime. We believe that our findings are generic to many other nonlinear optical processes when the pump light is focused from a full solid angle.
Source: Optica
Authors: Rojiar Penjweini, Markus Weber, Markus Sondermann, Robert W. Boyd, Gerd Leuchs
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,208
OpenAlex ID: W2956930615