A laser system and method include a self-referencing shaper. A self-referencing pulse shaper is provided in an embodiment. Another aspect of a laser system includes at least one beam splitter splitting a reference beam from a working beam and a test beam, a delay optic delaying a reference laser beam, an active shaper, an interferometer, and a programmable controller. In another aspect, a method includes splitting an input laser pulse into a reference pulse and a shaping pulse, controlling phase and amplitude of the shaping pulse with an adjustable pulse shaper, creating an optical delay of the reference pulse, comparing a test pulse and the reference pulse after the controlling and delay, the laser system characterizing the input laser pulse and monitoring the laser system's own dispersion in a self-referenced manner, and correcting an output working laser pulse by adjusting the pulse shaper based on the comparing step.

A system and method is provided for imaging and/or spectroscopy involving generation of a first signal field and a first idler field, illumination of the object with the first idler field, generation of second signal field and a second idler field, combination of the first and second idler fields, such that the two fields are indistinguishable, combination of the first and second signal fields, such that the two fields interfere, first measurement of the interfered signal field by a detection means, one or more additional measurements of the interfered signal field, wherein for each additional measurement a different phase shift is generated in the setup, and wherein all measurements are carried out within the stability time of the setup, and calculation of a phase function.

According to various embodiments, an all-optical thresholder device is disclosed. The all-optical thresholder device includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) coupled to a Mach-Zehnder coupler (MZC). The MZI includes at least one microring resonator (MRR) and a first tunable element, where the MRR further includes a second tunable element. The MZC includes a third tunable element. The first, second, and third tunable elements are configured to control biases of the all-optical thresholder device to achieve a desired power transfer function.

This disclosure is directed at a method and device capable of producing polarization entangled photon pairs and accomplishing polarization insensitive wavelength conversion. The device includes a double displacement interferometer, the interferometer of which contains an input beam displacing section including a plurality of orthogonally oriented optical beam displacing elements; a wavelength conversion section including a plurality of orthogonally oriented non-linear optical wavelength converters; an output beam recombination section including a plurality of orthogonally oriented optical beam displacing elements.

An optoelectronic circuit used with signal light comprises photonic devices disposed on a platform. The photonic devices are configured to condition the signal light and are fabricated with an optical characteristic being electronically tunable. A fabricated performance of the optical characteristic can be varied from a target performance due to a difference (e.g., alteration, change, error, or discrepancy) in the process used to fabricate the device. A ground bus, a power bus, and banks of electronic components are disposed on the platform in electrical communication with the photonic devices. The electronic components in a given bank are selectively configurable to tune the optical characteristic of the associated device so a variance can be diminished between the fabrication and target performances of the device's optical characteristic due to the difference in the fabrication process.

Systems and methods for activation in an optical circuit in accordance with embodiments of the invention are illustrated. One embodiment includes an optical activation circuit, wherein the circuit comprises a directional coupler, an optical-to-electrical conversion circuit, a time delay element, a nonlinear signal conditioner, and a phase shifter. The directional coupler receives an optical input and provides a first portion to the optical-to-electrical conversion circuit and a second portion to the time delay element, the time delay element provides a delayed signal to the phase shifter, and the optical-to-electrical conversion circuit converts an optical signal from the directional coupler to an electrical signal used to activate the phase shifter to shift the phase of the delayed signal.

A method for performing an operation on an input signal includes receiving, by a multi-mode waveguide, the input signal imposed on laser light. The received input signal imposed on the laser light is propagated through the waveguide a plurality of times in a plurality of modes, the modes interfering each time they propagate through the waveguide to generate an interference pattern of the plurality of modes. Portions of the interference pattern of the plurality of modes are nonlinearly activated each time those modes propagate through the multi-mode waveguide. Portions of the activated interference pattern of the plurality of modes are output to an optical detector array in parallel with one another each time those modes propagate through the multi-mode waveguide.

A diffractive optical element, such as a holographic plasma lens, can be made by direction two laser beams so that they overlap in a nonlinear material, to form an interference pattern in the nonlinear material. The interference pattern can modify the index of refraction in the nonlinear material to produce the diffractive optical element. The interference pattern can modify the distribution of plasma for the nonlinear material, which can adjust the index of refraction. A third laser beam can be directed through the diffractive optical element to modify the third laser beam, such as to focus, defocus, or collimate the third laser beam.

A method for performing an operation on an input signal includes receiving, by a multi-mode waveguide, the input signal imposed on laser light. The received input signal imposed on the laser light is propagated through the waveguide a plurality of times in a plurality of modes, the modes interfering each time they propagate through the waveguide to generate an interference pattern of the plurality of modes. Portions of the interference pattern of the plurality of modes are nonlinearly activated each time those modes propagate through the multi-mode waveguide. Portions of the activated interference pattern of the plurality of modes are output to an optical detector array in parallel with one another each time those modes propagate through the multi-mode waveguide.

Reconfigurable nonlinear frequency conversion waveguide chip based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer coupled micro-ring, the method is based on the integration of waveguide components of phase-adjustable Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI) and micro-ring resonators. The chip is illustrated by FIG. 1. The MZI couples light and photons into and output of the micro-ring resonator and controls the micorings' quality factor thus optimize the nonlinear frequency conversion processes inside the ring by the phase-modulator inside the MZI. The micro-ring resonator enables the nonlinear optical generation of new frequency light beams and quantum light sources based on the second-order or third-order nonlinear optical process. Other optical waveguide components in region I and III of FIG. 1 are linear optical circuits for power splitting of pump beams and post-process of generated light beams or photons.