U.S.-Denmark Cooperative Research: Optical Beams and Short Pulses in Nonlinear Media and in Nonlinear Periodic Structures

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

0226872 Brio This award supports the PI and graduate students from the University of Arizona in a collaboration with Mads Sorenson of the Department of Informatics and Mathematical Modeling at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby. The research will focus on two physical problems. One is the study of integrated photonic devices; a second is the propagation of ultra short pulses and beams in nonlinear media, including air. The problem of femtosecond light pulses in bulk media is a challenging computational problem because the high intensity of the laser pulse can cause optical breakdown of the material leading to highly nonlinear response. Recently developed efficient parallel algorithms will be applied to the problem of modeling ultra short pulses in nonlinear media. For the study of short pulse dynamics in photonic crystal fibers, theoretical calculations will be done to investigate supercontinuuum generation, soliton self-frequency shift, and third-harmonic generation. The combined effort of the US and Danish groups is expected to provide a much needed theoretical and numerical component to the important technologies associated with applications of ultra short pulse phenomena. The topic area has the potential to produce revolutionary advances in the fields of communications, medicine, energy efficiency, defense, and manufacturing.