There is provided a device for performing an optical function, the device comprising one or more reflectionless potential wells in an array of waveguides; and one or more control solitons injected into the one or more reflectionless potential wells; wherein the one or more potential wells have potential well design parameters comprising a potential well number, and wherein the one or more control solitons have control soliton design parameters comprising a control soliton number and power; and wherein the optical function of the device is set by the potential well design parameters and the control soliton design parameters. There is also provided a method of manufacturing the device.

A supercontinuum source including a pump light source arranged to emit pump light and a nonlinear fiber having a core arranged to receive the pump light. The supercontinuum includes infrared wavelengths generated in the nonlinear fiber from the pump light. The nonlinear fiber has a dispersion profile including a zero dispersion wavelength, a positive peak value at a peak wavelength longer than the zero dispersion wavelength, a minimum value of dispersion at a minimum wavelength longer than the peak wavelength. The pump light is arranged to include substantial energy at one or more preferred pump wavelengths which are 10 nm longer than the zero dispersion wavelength or more. Also, a supercontinuum pump source including a nonlinear fiber having a core including a fluoride glass and having a core diameter smaller than 7 m, where the fiber has a numerical aperture of more than 0.26.

A system for stabilization of optical frequency combs (OFCs) includes a first laser source configured to provide a first frequency laser; an optical reference source configured to provide a reference laser, wherein the reference laser is a second frequency laser different from the first frequency laser; and an optical microresonator. The optical microresonator includes a microring configured to generate OFCs; and a first waveguide configured to couple the first frequency laser to the microring. The optical microresonator is configured to generate a passive Kerr-induced synchronization (KIS) of the OFCs to the reference laser.

An optical parametric oscillator (OPO) system comprises an optical waveguide including a hollow core containing a fluid, wherein the optical waveguide is configured to receive pump light and to convert the pump light into signal light and idler light via a third order non-linear optical effect. The OPO system further comprises an optical feedback arrangement for recycling at least a portion of the signal light and/or for recycling at least a portion of the idler light in an optical cavity that includes the optical waveguide. The OPO system may be used, in particular though not exclusively, in metrology, gas and solid-state spectroscopy, laser-assisted manufacturing, semiconductor technology, biomedicine, healthcare, and scientific laboratory use.

Photonic coupling mechanisms and techniques are described. In one example, a method includes writing a photonic wirebond to at least one optical waveguide to position the photonic wirebond at a first coupling position relative to a crystalline microresonator, injecting optical power into the at least one optical waveguide, determining a number of generated light modes within the crystalline microresonator, and performing a peak search to locate at least one soliton step corresponding to at least one of the generated light modes within the crystalline microresonator.

A radiation source includes: a hollow core optical fiber, a working medium; and a pulsed pump radiation source. The hollow core optical fiber has a body and has a hollow core. The working medium is disposed within the hollow core. The pulsed pump radiation source is arranged to produce pulsed pump radiation that is received by, and propagates through, the hollow core from an input end to an output end. One or more parameters of the pulsed pump radiation, the optical fiber and the working medium are configured to allow soliton self-compression of the pulsed pump radiation so as to change a spectrum of the pulsed pump radiation so as to form output radiation. In some embodiments, a length of the optical fiber is such that the output end substantially coincides with a position at which a temporal extent of the pulsed pump radiation is minimal.

There is provided an optical waveguide array device including a substrate, and at least one waveguide structure formed onto the substrate, wherein the at least one waveguide structure is fabricated at least in part from a material that exhibits one or more non-linear optical effects when in use, and an electrode arrangement configured to control the one or more non-linear optical effects and to extract at least one of accelerated electrons and positrons from the at least one waveguide structure. The optical waveguide array device is configured in use to separate photons input on the at least one waveguide structure using the one or more non-linear optical effects into their respective electrons and positrons, and to guide the respective electrons and positrons into their respective regions of the at least one waveguide structure to cause a matter-antimatter dipole to be formed within the at least one waveguide structure waveguide structure for imparting energy to at least one of the electrons and the positrons to cause acceleration thereof.

An optical parametric oscillator and method for generating coherent signal light involve a resonant optical cavity for coherent signal light, and in the cavity a non-parametric gain element for amplifying the coherent signal light to only partially compensate for passive optical roundtrip losses, thereby obtaining lower effective roundtrip losses. A parametric gain element is arranged in the cavity, for converting coherent pump light into coherent signal light through an instantaneous nonlinear optical interaction. The parametric oscillator has means for adjusting an intracavity optical power of the coherent pump light above a threshold value, where the parametric gain is balancing the effective roundtrip losses, thus inducing sustained oscillations of the signal light in the optical cavity. The non-parametric gain element is configured to have a limited non-parametric gain over a gain bandwidth of the parametric gain element, which is less than the passive optical roundtrip losses in the gain bandwidth.

A supercontinuum source including a pump light source arranged to emit pump light and a nonlinear fiber having a core arranged to receive the pump light. The supercontinuum includes infrared wavelengths generated in the nonlinear fiber from the pump light. The nonlinear fiber has a dispersion profile including a zero dispersion wavelength, a positive peak value at a peak wavelength longer than the zero dispersion wavelength, a minimum value of dispersion at a minimum wavelength longer than the peak wavelength. The pump light is arranged to include substantial energy at one or more preferred pump wavelengths which are 10 nm longer than the zero dispersion wavelength or more. Also, a supercontinuum pump source including a nonlinear fiber having a core including a fluoride glass and having a core diameter smaller than 7 m, where the fiber has a numerical aperture of more than 0.26.

According to the present invention there is provided optical assembly (1) comprising. a laser (2) which is operable to emit light: an optical wave guide (3) having an input (3a) and an output (3b). the input (3a) of the optical wave guide (3) being optically coupled to the laser (2) so that the laser (2) can input light to the wave guide (3): a resonator (5) which is optically coupled to the wave guide (3) between the input (3a) of the wave guide (3) and the output (3b) of the wave guide (3): and wherein the resonator (5) has a resonant frequency. and wherein the resonator (5) defines an optical path (11): and wherein the resonator (5) is configured so that said optical path (11) is a closed loop: and wherein the resonator (5) is configured to have a periodic change in optical characteristics along said optical path (11) so that the resonator (5) can provide a backreflection which is at the resonant frequency of the resonator: and wherein the periodic change in optical characteristics along said optical path (11) provide an amount of said backreflection, which will provide a first detuning range in which self-injection locking of the laser using said backreflection is achieved, and. a second detuning range wherein a multifrequency comb can be generated within the resonator (5): and wherein the first and second ranges at least partially overlap, so that both self-injection locking of the laser will occur and an optical resonator-based multifrequency comb is output from the wave guide (3), when the assembly (1) is in operation. There is further provided a corresponding method of providing a optical resonator-based frequency comb at an output of a waveguide, using said assembly (1).