Stress induced birefringence tuning in femtosecond laser fabricated waveguides in fused silica

Fiber-connectorized ultrafast-laser-inscribed K-band integrated optics beam combiner for the CHARA telescope array

A fiber-connectorized K-band integrated-optics two-telescope beam combiner was developed for long-baseline interferometry at the CHARA telescope array utilizing the ultrafast laser inscription (ULI) technique. Single-mode waveguide insertion losses were measured to be ∼1.1d B over the 2-2.3 µm window. The development of asymmetric directional couplers enabled the construction of a beam combiner that includes a 50:50 coupler for interferometric combination and two ∼75:25 couplers for photometric calibration. The visibility of the bare beam combiner was measured at 87% and then at 82% after fiber-connectorization by optimizing the input polarization. These results indicate that ULI technique can fabricate efficient fiber-connectorized K-band beam combiners for astronomical purposes.

Tailoring chiral optical properties by femtosecond laser direct writing in silica

An object that possesses chirality, that is, having its mirror image not overlayed on itself by rotation and translation, can provide a different optical response to a left- or right-handed circular polarized light. Chiral nanostructures may exhibit polarization-selective optical properties that can be controlled for micro-to-nano optical element engineering. An attractive way to induce such complex nanostructures in three-dimension in glass is femtosecond laser direct writing. However, the mechanism of femtosecond laser induced chirality remains to be unveiled due to complex physical and chemical processes occurring during the ultrashort light-matter interaction. Here, a phenomenological model is proposed and is built on two-layers phase shifters to account for this laser-induced optical chirality in an initially achiral material (silica glass). This model is based on the observation that femtosecond laser induced nanogratings own two principal contributions to its aggregate birefringent response: a form and a stress-related one. By refining this formalism, a multilayer approach is developed to imprint on demand optical rotation. Values up to +/-60° at 550 nm within an optimal 80 μm thickness in silica glass are possible, corresponding to the highest value in a glass to date. These results provide new insights of circular-optical control in micro-nano optical manufacturing and open new opportunities for photonics applications.

Ultralow birefringent glass waveguide fabricated by femtosecond laser direct writing

Optical waveguides prepared by femtosecond laser direct writing have birefringent properties, which can affect polarization encoding and entanglement on chips. Here, we first propose a shape-stress dual compensation fabrication scheme to decrease birefringence. Ultralow birefringent waveguides (1 × 10^-9) were obtained by controlling the cross sectional shape of the main waveguide and adjusting the position of the auxiliary lines. In addition, we prepared polarization-independent directional coupler and demonstrated the evolution of polarization-independent waveguide array with different polarized light. In the future, ultralow birefringent waveguides will be widely applied in polarization encoding and entangled quantum photonic integrated circuits.

Phase customization in photonic integrated circuits with trimmed waveguides

Accurate photon phase control on a chip is essential to improve the expandability and stability of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Here, we propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, on-chip static phase control method in which a modified line is added close to the normal waveguide with a lower-energy laser. By controlling the laser energy and the position and length of the modified line, the optical phase can be precisely controlled with low loss and a three-dimensional (3D) path. Customizable phase modulation ranging from 0 to 2π is performed with a precision of λ/70 in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The proposed method can customize high-precision control phases without changing the waveguide's original spatial path, which is expected to control the phase and solve the phase error correction problem during processing of large-scale 3D-path PICs.

On-chip beam rotators, adiabatic mode converters, and waveplates through low-loss waveguides with variable cross-sections

Photonics integrated circuitry would benefit considerably from the ability to arbitrarily control waveguide cross-sections with high precision and low loss, in order to provide more degrees of freedom in manipulating propagating light. Here, we report a new method for femtosecond laser writing of optical-fiber-compatible glass waveguides, namely spherical phase-induced multicore waveguide (SPIM-WG), which addresses this challenging task with three-dimensional on-chip light control. Fabricating in the heating regime with high scanning speed, precise deformation of cross-sections is still achievable along the waveguide, with shapes and sizes finely controllable of high resolution in both horizontal and vertical transversal directions. We observed that these waveguides have high refractive index contrast of 0.017, low propagation loss of 0.14 dB/cm, and very low coupling loss of 0.19 dB coupled from a single-mode fiber. SPIM-WG devices were easily fabricated that were able to perform on-chip beam rotation through varying angles, or manipulate the polarization state of propagating light for target wavelengths. We also demonstrated SPIM-WG mode converters that provide arbitrary adiabatic mode conversion with high efficiency between symmetric and asymmetric nonuniform modes; examples include circular, elliptical modes, and asymmetric modes from ppKTP (periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate) waveguides which are generally applied in frequency conversion and quantum light sources. Created inside optical glass, these waveguides and devices have the capability to operate across ultra-broad bands from visible to infrared wavelengths. The compatibility with optical fiber also paves the way toward packaged photonic integrated circuitry, which usually needs input and output fiber connections.

Femtosecond Laser-Fabricated Photonic Chips for Optical Communications: A Review

Integrated optics, having the unique properties of small size, low loss, high integration, and high scalability, is attracting considerable attention and has found many applications in optical communications, fulfilling the requirements for the ever-growing information rate and complexity in modern optical communication systems. Femtosecond laser fabrication is an acknowledged technique for producing integrated photonic devices with unique features, such as three-dimensional fabrication geometry, rapid prototyping, and single-step fabrication. Thus, plenty of femtosecond laser-fabricated on-chip devices have been manufactured to realize various optical communication functions, such as laser generation, laser amplification, laser modulation, frequency conversion, multi-dimensional multiplexing, and photonic wire bonding. In this paper, we review some of the most relevant research progress in femtosecond laser-fabricated photonic chips for optical communications, which may break new ground in this area. First, the basic principle of femtosecond laser fabrication and different types of laser-inscribed waveguides are briefly introduced. The devices are organized into two categories: active devices and passive devices. In the former category, waveguide lasers, amplifiers, electric-optic modulators, and frequency converters are reviewed, while in the latter, polarization multiplexers, mode multiplexers, and fan-in/fan-out devices are discussed. Later, photonic wire bonding is also introduced. Finally, conclusions and prospects in this field are also discussed.

Manipulating geometric and optical properties of laser-inscribed nanogratings with a conical phase front

The formation of volumetric nanogratings in fused silica by femtosecond laser pulses are shown to afford new opportunities for manipulating the physical shape and tailoring the optical properties of the modification zone by harnessing unconventional beam shapes. The nanograting assembly was observed to rigorously follow the beam elongation effects induced with conical-shaped phase fronts, permitting a scaling up of the writing volume. Detailed optical characterization of birefringence, dichroism, and scattering loss pointed to flexible new ways to tune the macroscopic optical properties, with advantages in decoupling the induced phase retardation from the modification thickness by controlling the conical phase front angle. Further insights into an unexpected asymmetric response from Gaussian beams modified with concave and convex phase fronts have been provided by nonlinear propagation simulations of the shaped-laser light.

Manipulation of femtosecond laser filamentation by a gaseous lattice

Manipulation of femtosecond laser filamentation is essential for many potential applications. We report the simulations of the manipulation of femtosecond laser filamentation by introducing a novel gaseous lattice medium with the alternating positive and negative refractive index distribution at different stages of filamentation. The results show that the filament length has greatly been extended and a multi-filament array can be formed by the gas lattice medium. It has been found that additional focusing and discrete diffraction provided by the gas lattice medium contribute to a new dynamic equilibrium in the filamentation. As a result, a varied cross-section pattern, higher field intensity, and electron density along the filamentation are obtained. Our approach provides a new way to manipulate filamentation for many practical photonic applications.

A Comparison between Nanogratings-Based and Stress-Engineered Waveplates Written by Femtosecond Laser in Silica

This paper compares anisotropic linear optical properties (linear birefringence, linear dichroism, degree of polarization) and performances (absorption coefficient, thermal stability) of two types of birefringent waveplates fabricated in silica glass by femtosecond laser direct writing. The first type of waveplate is based on birefringence induced by self-organized nanogratings imprinted in the glass. One the other hand, the second design is based on birefringence originating from the stress-field formed around the aforementioned nanogratings. In addition to the provided comparison, the manufacturing of stress-engineered half waveplates in the UV-Visible range, and with mm-size clear aperture and negligible excess losses, is reported. Such results contrast with waveplates made of nanogratings, as the later exhibit significantly higher scattering losses and depolarization effects in the UV-Visible range.

On-chip implementation of the probabilistic quantum optical state comparison amplifier

Propagation losses in transmission media limit the transmission distance of optical signals. In the case where the signal is made up of quantum optical states, conventional deterministic optical amplification schemes cannot be used to increase the transmission distance as the copying of an arbitrary and unknown quantum state is forbidden. One strategy that can offset propagation loss is the use of probabilistic, or non-deterministic, amplification schemes - an example of which is the state comparison amplifier. Here we report a state comparison amplifier implemented in a compact, fiber-coupled femtosecond laser-written waveguide chip as opposed to the large, bulk-optical components of previous designs. This pathfinder on-chip implementation of the quantum amplifier has resulted in several performance improvements: the polarization integrity of the written waveguides has resulted in improved visibility of the amplifier interferometers; the potential of substantially-reduced losses throughout the amplifier configuration; and a more compact and environmentally-stable amplifier which is scalable to more complex networks.

Laser-Inscribed Stress-Induced Birefringence of Sapphire

Birefringence of 3 × 10 - 3 is demonstrated inside cross-sectional regions of 100 μ m, inscribed by axially stretched Bessel-beam-like fs-laser pulses along the c-axis inside sapphire. A high birefringence and retardance of λ / 4 at mid-visible spectral range (green) can be achieved using stretched beams with axial extension of 30-40 μ m. Chosen conditions of laser-writing ensure that there are no formations of self-organized nano-gratings. This method can be adopted for creation of polarization optical elements and fabrication of spatially varying birefringent patterns for optical vortex generation.

On-chip rotated polarization directional coupler fabricated by femtosecond laser direct writing

We present a rotated polarization directional coupler (RPDC) on a photonic chip. We demonstrate a double-track approach to modify the distribution of the refractive index between adjacent tracks and form a single waveguide with an arbitrary birefringent optical axis. We construct a RPDC with the two axis-rotated waveguides coupled in a strong regime. The obtained extinction ratios on average are about 16 dB and 20 dB for the corresponding orthogonal polarizations. We perform reconstruction of the Stokes vector to test the projection performance of our RPDC, and observe the average fidelities up to 98.1% and 96.0% for the perfectly initialized states in 0° and 45° RPDCs, respectively.

High-birefringence direct UV-written waveguides for use as heralded single-photon sources at telecommunication wavelengths

Direct UV-written waveguides are fabricated in silica-on-silicon with birefringence of (4.9 ± 0.2) × 10^-4, much greater than previously reported in this platform. We show that these waveguides are suitable for the generation of heralded single photons at telecommunication wavelengths by spontaneous four-wave mixing. A pulsed pump field at 1060 nm generates pairs of photons in highly detuned, spectrally uncorrelated modes near 1550 nm and 800 nm. Waveguide-to-fiber coupling efficiencies of 78-91 % are achieved for all fields. Waveguide birefringence is controlled through dopant concentration of GeCl₄ and BCl₃ using the flame hydrolysis deposition process. The technology provides a route towards the scalability of silica-on-silicon integrated components for photonic quantum experiments.

Symmetric polarization-insensitive directional couplers fabricated by femtosecond laser writing

We study analytically the polarization behaviour of directional couplers composed of birefringent waveguides, showing that they can induce polarization transformations that depend on the specific input-output path considered. On the basis of this study, we propose and demonstrate experimentally, by femtosecond laser writing, directional couplers that yield a polarization-independent power splitting and, at the same time, preserve the polarization state of the propagating light. More in detail, we devise two different approaches to realize such devices: the first one is based on local birefringence engineering by additional refractive index modification tracks, while the second one exploits ultra-low birefringence waveguides (b = 1.2 × 10^-6), obtained by thermal annealing.

Femtosecond laser filaments for rapid and flexible writing of fiber Bragg grating

A new beam delivery method is introduced for controlling filament formation in optical fiber that enables point-by-point writing of 1^st order fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with single femtosecond laser pulses. Uniform filament tracks with azimuthal symmetry were formed fully through the 9.3 µm core waveguide by a modified immersion focusing method to eliminate astigmatism by the cylindrical fiber shape. Filament arrays were precisely assembled inside of single-mode fiber, generating strong FBG resonances in the telecommunication band. Laser exposure control within this unique thin-grating geometry were key to manipulating the relative strength of the Bragg and cladding mode resonances while also independently tailoring their spectral resolution and features. This filament-by-filament writing rapidly forms gratings with highly flexible pattern control to tune wavelength, or introduce optical defects, demonstrated by a π-shifted FBG having a sharp 25 pm resonance embedded within a broader Bragg peak.

Equivalence principle and quantum mechanics: quantum simulation with entangled photons

Einstein's equivalence principle (EP) states the complete physical equivalence of a gravitational field and corresponding inertial field in an accelerated reference frame. However, to what extent the EP remains valid in non-relativistic quantum mechanics is a controversial issue. To avoid violation of the EP, Bargmann's superselection rule forbids a coherent superposition of states with different masses. Here we suggest a quantum simulation of non-relativistic Schrödinger particle dynamics in non-inertial reference frames, which is based on the propagation of polarization-entangled photon pairs in curved and birefringent optical waveguides and Hong-Ou-Mandel quantum interference measurement. The photonic simulator can emulate superposition of mass states, which would lead to violation of the EP.

Laser-written polarizing directional coupler with reduced interaction length

Integrated optical waveguides, manufactured with femtosecond laser writing (FSLW) technology, enable precise control and manipulation of light in complicated photonic chips. However, due to the intrinsically low anisotropy of FSLW waveguides, polarizing integrated devices have had a relatively large footprint. In this Letter, we demonstrate an approach based on stress-induced anisotropy, allowing us to decrease the size of polarizing directional couplers down to 3.7 mm, almost an order of magnitude shorter than previously reported. The measured extinction ratios at the wavelength of 808 nm are 16 dB and 20 dB for the horizontal and vertical polarizations, respectively. We provide a possible theoretical model for the observed effects.

Geometrically-controlled polarisation processing in femtosecond-laser-written photonic circuits

Polarisation of light is a powerful and widely used degree of freedom to encode information, both in classical and quantum applications. In particular, quantum information technologies based on photons are being revolutionised by the use of integrated photonic circuits. It is therefore very important to be able to manipulate the polarisation of photons in such circuits. We experimentally demonstrate the fabrication by femtosecond laser micromachining of components such as polarisation insensitive and polarising directional couplers, operating at 1550 nm wavelength, where the two opposite behaviours are achieved just by controlling the geometric layout of the photonic circuits, being the waveguides fabricated with the same irradiation recipe. We expect to employ this approach in complex integrated photonic devices, capable of a full control of the photons polarisation for quantum cryptography, quantum computation and quantum teleportation experiments.

Hybrid laser written waveguides in fused silica for low loss and polarization independence

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) written with an ultrashort pulsed laser provide advantages in a range of applications, such as photon-based quantum information processing, where low insertion loss and low polarization dependence are critical concerns. Here we demonstrate the inscription of hybrid waveguides in fused silica at a pulse repetition rate of 1MHz that fulfill both these criteria. The mechanisms for propagation and coupling losses are identified and decoupled, with separate sections of the waveguide minimizing for each and an adiabatic mode conversion between the two. Moreover, differing sources of birefringence were revealed to be non-parallel for the waveguides, such that structures can be designed where these competing sources cancel to remove any polarization dependence.

Second harmonic generation via femtosecond laser fabrication of poled, quasi-phase-matched waveguides in fused silica

Second harmonic generation (SHG) is demonstrated in femtosecond laser written waveguides in fused silica through a combination of thermal poling and laser-based quasi-phase-matching (QPM) techniques. Quasi-phase-matching was controlled by the periodic erasure of induced nonlinearity through femtosecond laser erasure. A maximum SHG conversion efficiency of 6.6±0.5×10^-5%/W is reported for the fundamental wavelength of 1552.8 nm with a phase-matching bandwidth of 4.4 nm for a 10.0 mm long waveguide. For a shorter sample, an effective second-order nonlinearity of χ⁽²⁾=0.012±0.001  pm/V was measured. Chirped QPM structures for wider SHG bandwidths also were demonstrated. Such periodically poled waveguides are promising for introducing nonlinear optical components within the 3D passive optical circuits that can be flexibly formed in fused silica by femtosecond laser writing.

Parity violation in chiral structure creation under femtosecond laser irradiation in silica glass?

The paper addresses the creation of circular optical properties from a femtosecond laser light beam with a linear polarization in an achiral material (glass) under an orthogonal incidence. In this situation, all aspects of the experiment are achiral and therefore should not give rise to chiral property creation. From that observation, we propose an interpretation that involves the action of a light-induced torque on the matter carrying a light-induced dielectric moment. We found that a direct current (DC) electric field could be produced in the lattice by the femtosecond laser in our conditions and that a non-collinear dielectric moment is created by a nonlinear effect between the DC electric field and the stress field due to the transformation of the material. We reveal that it is possible to break the chiral symmetry of glass using an intense, ultrashort laser light pulse.

Thermal poling of femtosecond laser-written waveguides in fused silica

Thermal poling of femtosecond laser written waveguides was investigated using second-harmonic microscopy under three approaches: (1) pre-poling and (2) post-poling in which fused silica substrates were poled before or after waveguide formation, respectively, and (3) double poling in which poling was applied both before and after laser writing. Effective nonlinear waveguide interaction strength was assessed relative to the mode profile and the assessments demonstrated an erasure effect of 81% in pre-poling and an ion migration blocking effect of 26% in post-poling. Double poling was found to recover the nonlinearity over the modal zone, overcoming prior difficulties with combining laser processing and thermal poling, opening up a future avenue for creating active devices through femtosecond laser writing of nonlinear optical circuits in fused silica.

Stress-induced birefringence and fabrication of in-fiber polarization devices by controlled femtosecond laser irradiations

Optical birefringence was created in a single-mode fiber by introducing a series of symmetric cuboid stress rods on both sides of the fiber core along the fiber axis using a femtosecond laser. The stress-induced birefringence was estimated to be 2.4 × 10(-4) at the wavelength of 1550 nm. By adding the desired numbers of stressed rods, an in-fiber quarter waveplate was fabricated with a insertion loss of 0.19 dB. The stress-induced birefringence was further explored to fabricate in-fiber polarizers based on the polarization-dependent long-period fiber grating (LPFG) structure. A polarization extinction ratio of more than 20 dB was observed at the resonant wavelength of 1523.9 nm. The in-fiber polarization devices may be useful in optical communications and fiber optic sensing applications.

Femtosecond laser inscription of asymmetric directional couplers for in-fiber optical taps and fiber cladding photonics

Precise alignment of femtosecond laser tracks in standard single mode optical fiber is shown to enable controllable optical tapping of the fiber core waveguide light with fiber cladding photonic circuits. Asymmetric directional couplers are presented with tunable coupling ratios up to 62% and bandwidths up to 300 nm at telecommunication wavelengths. Real-time fiber monitoring during laser writing permitted a means of controlling the coupler length to compensate for micron-scale alignment errors and to facilitate tailored design of coupling ratio, spectral bandwidth and polarization properties. Laser induced waveguide birefringence was harnessed for polarization dependent coupling that led to the formation of in-fiber polarization-selective taps with 32 dB extinction ratio. This technology enables the interconnection of light propagating in pre-existing waveguides with laser-formed devices, thereby opening a new practical direction for the three-dimensional integration of optical devices in the cladding of optical fibers and planar lightwave circuits.

Science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems

We present the science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems, targeting an evolution in technology, that might lead to impacts and benefits reaching into most areas of society. This roadmap was developed within the framework of the European Graphene Flagship and outlines the main targets and research areas as best understood at the start of this ambitious project. We provide an overview of the key aspects of graphene and related materials (GRMs), ranging from fundamental research challenges to a variety of applications in a large number of sectors, highlighting the steps necessary to take GRMs from a state of raw potential to a point where they might revolutionize multiple industries. We also define an extensive list of acronyms in an effort to standardize the nomenclature in this emerging field.

Chemical-assisted femtosecond laser writing of lab-in-fibers

The lab-on-chip (LOC) platform has presented a powerful opportunity to improve functionalization, parallelization, and miniaturization on planar or multilevel geometries that has not been possible with fiber optic technology. A migration of such LOC devices into the optical fiber platform would therefore open the revolutionary prospect of creating novel lab-in-fiber (LIF) systems on the basis of an efficient optical transport highway for multifunctional sensing. For the LIF, the core optical waveguide inherently offers a facile means to interconnect numerous types of sensing elements along the optical fiber, presenting a radical opportunity for optimizing the packaging and densification of diverse components in convenient geometries beyond that available with conventional LOCs. In this paper, three-dimensional patterning inside the optical fiber by femtosecond laser writing, together with selective chemical etching, is presented as a powerful tool to form refractive index structures such as optical waveguides and gratings as well as to open buried microfluidic channels and optical resonators inside the flexible and robust glass fiber. In this approach, optically smooth surfaces (~12 nm rms) are introduced for the first time inside the fiber cladding that precisely conform to planar nanograting structures when formed by aberration-free focusing with an oil-immersion lens across the cylindrical fiber wall. This process has enabled optofluidic components to be precisely embedded within the fiber to be probed by either the single-mode fiber core waveguide or the laser-formed optical circuits. We establish cladding waveguides, X-couplers, fiber Bragg gratings, microholes, mirrors, optofluidic resonators, and microfluidic reservoirs that define the building blocks for facile interconnection of inline core-waveguide devices with cladding optofluidics. With these components, more advanced, integrated, and multiplexed fiber microsystems are presented demonstrating fluorescence detection, Fabry-Perot interferometric refractometry, and simultaneous sensing of refractive index, temperature, and bending strain. The flexible writing technique and multiplexed sensors described here open powerful prospects to migrate the benefits of LOCs into a more flexible and miniature LIF platform for highly functional and distributed sensing capabilities. The waveguide backbone of the LIF inherently provides an efficient exchange of information, combining sensing data that are attractive in telecom networks, smart catheters for medical procedures, compact sensors for security and defense, shape sensors, and low-cost health care products.

Strain-optic active control for quantum integrated photonics

We present a practical method for active phase control on a photonic chip that has immediate applications in quantum photonics. Our approach uses strain-optic modification of the refractive index of individual waveguides, effected by a millimeter-scale mechanical actuator. The resulting phase change of propagating optical fields is rapid and polarization-dependent, enabling quantum applications that require active control and polarization encoding. We demonstrate strain-optic control of non-classical states of light in silica, showing the generation of 2-photon polarisation N00N states by manipulating Hong-Ou-Mandel interference. We also demonstrate switching times of a few microseconds, which are sufficient for silica-based feed-forward control of photonic quantum states.

Rotated waveplates in integrated waveguide optics

Controlling and manipulating the polarization state of a light beam is crucial in applications ranging from optical sensing to optical communications, both in the classical and quantum regime, and ultimately whenever interference phenomena are to be exploited. In addition, many of these applications present severe requirements of phase stability and greatly benefit from a monolithic integrated-optics approach. However, integrated devices that allow arbitrary transformations of the polarization state are very difficult to produce with conventional lithographic technologies. Here we demonstrate waveguide-based optical waveplates, with arbitrarily rotated birefringence axis, fabricated by femtosecond laser pulses. To validate our approach, we exploit this component to realize a compact device for the quantum state tomography of two polarization-entangled photons. This work opens perspectives for integrated manipulation of polarization-encoded information with relevant applications ranging from integrated polarimetric sensing to quantum key distribution.

Integrated photonic circuits with arbitrary control over the light polarization state are important in quantum information applications. Corrielli et al. realize compact quantum state tomography of polarization-entangled photons using waveguide-integrated waveplates fabricated by femtosecond laser inscription.

Efficient design of polarization insensitive polymer optical waveguide devices considering stress-induced effects

We present an approach for the efficient design of polarization insensitive polymeric optical waveguide devices considering stress-induced effects. In this approach, the stresses induced in the waveguide during the fabrication process are estimated first using a more realistic model in the finite element analysis. Then we determine the perturbations in the material refractive indices caused by the stress-optic effect. It is observed that the stresses cause non-uniform optical anisotropy in the waveguide materials, which is then incorporated in the modal analysis considering a multilayer structure of waveguide. The approach is exploited in the design of a Bragg grating on strip waveguide. Excellent agreement between calculated and published experimental results confirms the feasibility of our approach in the accurate design of polarization insensitive polymer waveguide devices.

Arbitrary photonic wave plate operations on chip: realizing Hadamard, Pauli-X, and rotation gates for polarisation qubits

Chip-based photonic quantum computing is an emerging technology that promises much speedup over conventional computers at small integration volumes. Particular interest is thereby given to polarisation-encoded photonic qubits, and many protocols have been developed for this encoding. However, arbitrary wave plate operation on chip are not available so far, preventing from the implementation of integrated universal quantum computing algorithms. In our work we close this gap and present Hadamard, Pauli-X, and rotation gates of high fidelity for photonic polarisation qubits on chip by employing a reorientation of the optical axis of birefringent waveguides. The optical axis of the birefringent waveguide is rotated due to the impact of an artificial stress field created by an additional modification close to the waveguide. By adjusting this length of the defect along the waveguide, the retardation between ordinary and extraordinary field components is precisely tunable including half-wave plate and quarter-wave plate operations. Our approach demonstrates the full range control of orientation and strength of the induced birefringence and thus allows arbitrary wave plate operations without affecting the degree of polarisation or introducing additional losses to the waveguides. The implemented gates are tested with classical and quantum light.

Photonic coherent state transfer with Hamiltonian dynamics

We report the observation of near-perfect light wave transfer by emulating quantum state transfer on a lattice with Hamiltonian dynamics, i.e., time-dependent intersite couplings. The structure transferring a single waveguide excitation over 11 sites with a fidelity of 0.93 works for classical light as well as single photons. As our implementation of perfect quantum state transfer uses a photonic setting, we introduce polarization as a new degree of freedom to the transport protocol. We demonstrate rotation operations of up to 40° on polarization during state transfer.

Temperature-compensated fiber-optic 3D shape sensor based on femtosecond laser direct-written Bragg grating waveguides

Temperature-compensated 3D fiber shape sensing is demonstrated with femtosecond laser direct-written optical and Bragg grating waveguides that were distributed axially and radially inside a single coreless optical fiber. Efficient light coupling between the laser-written optical circuit elements and a standard single-mode fiber (SMF) was obtained for the first time by 3D laser writing of a 1 × 3 directional coupler to meet with the core waveguide in the fusion-spliced SMF. Simultaneous interrogation of nine Bragg gratings, distributed along three laterally offset waveguides, is presented through a single waveguide port at 1 kHz sampling rate to follow the Bragg wavelength shifts in real-time and thereby infer shape and temperature profile unambiguously along the fiber length. This distributed 3D strain and thermal sensor is freestanding, flexible, compact, lightweight and opens new directions for creating fiber cladding photonic devices for a wide range of applications from shape and thermal sensing to guidance of biomedical catheters and tools in minimally invasive surgery.

Waveguides fabricated by femtosecond laser exploiting both depressed cladding and stress-induced guiding core

We report on the fabrication of stress-induced optical channel waveguides and waveguide splitters with laser-depressed cladding by femtosecond laser. The laser beam was focused into neodymium doped phosphate glass by an objective producing a destructive filament. By moving the sample along an enclosed routine in the horizontal plane followed by a minor descent less than the filament length in the vertical direction, a cylinder with rarified periphery and densified center region was fabricated. Lining up the segments in partially overlapping sequence enabled waveguiding therein. The refractive-index contrast, near- and far-field mode distribution and confocal microscope fluorescence image of the waveguide were obtained. 1-to-2, 1-to-3 and 1-to-4 splitters were also machined with adjustable splitting ratio. Compared with traditional femtosecond laser writing methods, waveguides prepared by this approach showed controllable mode conduction, strong field confinement, large numerical aperture, low propagation loss and intact core region.

Highly polarized all-fiber thulium laser with femtosecond-laser-written fiber Bragg gratings

We demonstrate and characterize a highly linearly polarized (18.8 dB) narrow spectral emission (<80 pm) from an all-fiber Tm laser utilizing femtosecond-laser-written fiber Bragg gratings. Thermally-dependent anisotropic birefringence is observed in the FBG transmission, the effects of which enable both the generation and elimination of highly linearly polarized output. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed study of such thermal anisotropic birefringence in femtosecond-written FBGs.

Femtosecond laser writing of optical edge filters in fused silica optical waveguides

The positional alignment of femtosecond laser written Bragg grating waveguides within standard and coreless optical fiber has been exploited to vary symmetry and open strong optical coupling to a high density of asymmetric cladding modes. This coupling was further intensified with tight focusing of the laser pulses through an oil-immersion lens to control mode size against an asymmetric refractive index profile. By extending this Bragg grating waveguide writing into bulk fused silica glass, strong coupling to a continuum of radiation-like modes facilitated a significant broadening to over hundreds of nanometers bandwidth that blended into the narrow Bragg resonance to form into a strongly isolating (43 dB) optical edge filter. This Bragg resonance defined exceptionally steep edge slopes of 136 dB/nm and 185 dB/nm for unpolarized and linearly polarized light, respectively, that were tunable through the 1450 nm to 1550 nm telecommunication band.