Optical component (10) for modulating light field (1) incident thereon, particularly amplitude and/or phase in dependency on intensity (I) thereof, includes stack (11) of refractive layers (12, 13) on substrate (14), made of materials having third-order nonlinearity, and having alternatingly varying refractive indices (n), including linear contribution (n.sub.0) and non-linear contribution (n.sub.2), and determining reflectance and transmittance spectra of the optical component, wherein refractive layers (12, 13) are configured such that reflectance and transmittance of the optical component have a Kerr effect based dependency on intensity (I) of the incident light field with n=n.sub.0+I.Math.n.sub.2, and refractive layers (12, 13) are made of at least one of dielectric and semiconductor layers, wherein non-linear contribution (n.sub.2) is below 10.sup.−12 cm.sup.2/W. A resonator device including the optical component, a method of modulating a light field using the optical component and a method of manufacturing the optical component are described.

A broadband light source device for creating broadband light pulses includes a hollow-core fiber and a pump laser source device. The hollow-core fiber is configured to create the broadband light pulses by an optical non-linear broadening of pump laser pulses. The hollow-core fiber includes a filling gas, an axial hollow light guiding fiber core configured to support core modes of a guided light field, and an inner fiber structure surrounding the fiber core and configured to support transverse wall modes of the guided light field. The pump laser source device is configured to create and provide the pump laser pulses at an input side of the hollow-core fiber. The transverse wall modes include a fundamental transverse wall mode and second and higher order transverse wall modes.

A broadband light source device for creating broadband light pulses includes a hollow-core fiber and a pump laser source device. The hollow-core fiber is configured to create the broadband light pulses by an optical non-linear broadening of pump laser pulses. The hollow-core fiber includes a filling gas, an axial hollow light guiding fiber core configured to support core modes of a guided light field, and an inner fiber structure surrounding the fiber core and configured to support transverse wall modes of the guided light field. The pump laser source device is configured to create and provide the pump laser pulses at an input side of the hollow-core fiber. The transverse wall modes include a fundamental transverse wall mode and second and higher order transverse wall modes.

A bismuth and magnesium co-doped lithium niobate crystal includes Li.sub.2CO.sub.3, Nb.sub.2O.sub.5, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3 and MgO, wherein the molar ratio of [Li] and [Nb] is 0.90-1.00, the molar percentage of Bi.sub.2O.sub.3 in the mixture is 0.25-0.80%, and the molar percentage of MgO in the mixture is 3.0-7.0%. The bismuth and magnesium co-doped lithium niobate crystal has enhanced photorefraction, improved photorefractive sensitivity, shortened holographic grating saturation writing time, and the photorefractive diffraction efficiency can reach up to 17%. The response time is only 170 ms, when the holographic storage experiment is carried out using 488 nm continuous laser. Therefore, this crystal can be used in the field of holographic imaging.

A wavelength conversion apparatus using a nonlinear optical medium having a periodically poled structure is operated at an optimal temperature in a stable manner. The wavelength conversion apparatus includes a wavelength converter using a nonlinear optical medium and a controller for controlling temperature of the wavelength converter. The wavelength conversion apparatus further includes a first optical branch coupler for branching part of output light from the wavelength converter, and first and second wavelength separation filters for separating and outputting, from part of the output light, each of two light components generated by parametric fluorescence in the wavelength converter. The controller controls the temperature of the wavelength converter on the basis of difference in light intensity of the two light components.

A crystal is of a non-centrosymmetric structure and belongs to the −43 m point group of the cubic crystal system. M denotes an alkaline earth metal, which can be Ba, Ca, or Sr, and RE denotes a rare earth element, which can be Y, La, Gd, or Yb. The growth method of the M.sub.3RE(PO.sub.4).sub.3 crystal comprises steps as follows: (1) polycrystalline material synthesis: MCO.sub.3, RE.sub.2O.sub.3, and phosphorous compound are used as raw materials and blended according to the stoichiometric proportions; then, the phosphorous compound is further added to be excessive; the raw materials are sintered twice to obtain the M.sub.3RE(PO.sub.4).sub.3 polycrystalline material; (2) polycrystalline material melting; (3) Czochralski crystal growth. The M.sub.3RE(PO.sub.4).sub.3 crystal prepared by the invention is a high-quality single crystal.

A continuously tunable radio frequency (RF) sensor system is provided. The system includes a pump laser system that includes first and second pump lasers, at least one frequency modulator to modulate frequencies of first and second laser light from the pump lasers to first and second select frequencies, a switch system to selectively pass one of the first and second laser light, an amplifier to amplify the passed laser light, a frequency doubler to double the frequency of the amplified laser light to generate pump light. A laser source lock system is in communication with the pump laser system to ensure a frequency of the pump light is referenced to atoms in a vapor cell and provide a probe light. The pump light and probe light are transmitted through the vapor cell. A detector measures the probe light that passed through the vapor cell.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for detecting atmospheric NO at signal levels capable of distinguishing the NO isotopologues. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatus for a single photon LIF sensor that pumps a vibronic transition near 215 nm and observes the resulting red shifted fluorescence from about 255 to about 267 nm. Embodiments of the present system uses a NO-LIF measurement fiber-amplified laser apparatus capable of: generating laser linewidth that is sufficiently narrow to resolve the Doppler broadened NO spectrum at room temperature and thereby achieve high signal levels and distinguish the NO isotopologues; generating laser repetition rate sufficient to enable single-photon counting of the fluorescence signal; and having size, weight and environmental robustness allowing for integration onto airborne platforms.

According to some aspects, a transmissive and all-dielectric optical component/limiter with great cutoff efficiency using Vanadium Dioxide (VO.sub.2) as the active component is disclosed. In some embodiments, Vanadium dioxide is used for an optical limiter due to the large contrast in optical constants upon undergoing the semiconductor to metal phase transition. When triggered optically, this transition occurs within 60 fs, making the device suitable for an ultrafast laser environment. In addition, the phase transition threshold is tunable by applying stress or doping; therefore, the device cutoff intensity can be adjusted to fulfill specific requirements.

A broadband light source device for creating broadband light pulses includes a hollow-core fiber and a pump laser source device. The hollow-core fiber is configured to create the broadband light pulses by an optical non-linear broadening of pump laser pulses. The hollow-core fiber includes a filling gas, an axial hollow light guiding fiber core configured to support core modes of a guided light field, and an inner fiber structure surrounding the fiber core and configured to support transverse wall modes of the guided light field. The pump laser source device is configured to create and provide the pump laser pulses at an input side of the hollow-core fiber. The transverse wall modes include a fundamental transverse wall mode and second and higher order transverse wall modes.