Optical Fiber Dispersion and Nonlinear Effects on Ultrashort Laser Pulses, Poster 12

The goal of this project is to transport laser pulses through an optical fiber for biomedical imaging. However, depending on the fiber core properties, distortion can destroy these pulses and render them unusable. Chromatic... [ view full abstract ]

The goal of this project is to transport laser pulses through an optical fiber for biomedical imaging. However, depending on the fiber core properties, distortion can destroy these pulses and render them unusable. Chromatic dispersion, in which the refractive index is wavelength-dependent and therefore different wavelengths travel through the fiber at different speeds, dominates in large-mode-area fibers. Single mode fibers are primarily affected by an intensity-dependent nonlinear refractive index. Because the light is confined to a smaller core, the intensity of the light is much greater in single mode fibers and nonlinear effects change the pulse shape proportional to the laser power. To investigate how different fibers affect the laser pulses in our experimental setup, we will study two different sizes and lengths of fibers and observe the changes they induce in the shape and length of the pulses. Large-mode-area fibers will be used to analyze the relationship between chromatic dispersion effects and the distance through which the pulses travel through the fiber. We will then compare these results to a computer simulation of dispersion. A single-mode-area fiber will also be tested to study the effect of the fiber nonlinearity on the pulse; we will compare this to a numerical model of nonlinear effects.