Photon retention in coherently excited nitrogen ions

Yao, Jinping; Wang, Luojia; Chen, Jin‐Ming; Wan, Yong; Zhang, Zhihao; Zhang, Fangbo; Qiao, Lingling; Yu, Shupeng; Fu, Botao; Zhao, Zengxiu; Wu, Chengyin; Yakovlev, Vladislav V.; Yuan, Luqi; Chen, Xianfeng; Cheng, Ya

doi:10.1016/j.scib.2021.04.001

“…On the other hand, the mechanism is not only applicable to molecular nitrogen ions but also to a range of other molecular ions. The multi-level quantum platform prepared by ultrafast lasers provides an unprecedented opportunity to investigate ionic quantum optics in the strong-field regime such as multi-electron dynamics [36][37][38] , electron-nucleus correlation 39 and quantum coherent control 40 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultraviolet supercontinuum generation driven by ionic coherence in a strong laser field

Lei

¹

,

Yao

²

,

Zhao

³

et al. 2022

Self Cite

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Supercontinuum (SC) light sources hold versatile applications in many fields ranging from imaging microscopic structural dynamics to achieving frequency comb metrology. Although such broadband light sources are readily accessible in the visible and near infrared regime, the ultraviolet (UV) extension of SC spectrum is still challenging. Here, we demonstrate that the joint contribution of strong field ionization and quantum resonance leads to the unexpected UV continuum radiation spanning the 100 nm bandwidth in molecular nitrogen ions. Quantum coherences in a bunch of ionic levels are found to be created by dynamic Stark-assisted multiphoton resonances following tunneling ionization. We show that the dynamical evolution of the coherence-enhanced polarization wave gives rise to laser-assisted continuum emission inside the laser field and free-induction decay after the laser field, which jointly contribute to the SC generation together with fifth harmonics. As proof of principle, we also show the application of the SC radiation in the absorption spectroscopy. This work offers an alternative scheme for constructing exotic SC sources, and opens up the territory of ionic quantum optics in the strong-field regime.

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“…In the mean time, it holds unique potential for optical remote sensing since it can provide a coherent optical beam from the sky to the ground observer. Among the different kinds of air lasing effects, the lasing of 𝑁 2 + has obtained most of the attentions [16][17][18][19]. This is not only due to the abundance of N2 in air, but also to the fact that these lasing effects can be activated by the intense 800 nm femtosecond pulses delivered by Ti: Sapphire laser system [3,[20][21][22][23], which is the most widely available laser in the ultrafast optics labs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amplification of light pulses with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in nitrogen ions lasing

Mei¹,

Gao²,

Kailu³

et al. 2023

Preprint

0

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Nitrogen ions pumped by intense femtosecond laser pulses give rise to optical amplification in the ultraviolet range. Here, we demonstrated that a seed light pulse carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) can be significantly amplified in nitrogen plasma excited by a Gaussian femtosecond laser pulse. With the topological charge of ℓ = ±1, we observed an energy amplification of the seed light pulse by two orders of magnitude, while the amplified pulse carries the same OAM as the incident seed pulse. Moreover, we show that a spatial misalignment of the plasma amplifier with the OAM seed beam leads to an amplified emission of Gaussian mode without OAM, due to the special spatial profile of the OAM seed pulse that presents a donut-shaped intensity distribution. Utilizing this misalignment, we can implement an optical switch that toggles the output signal between Gaussian mode and OAM mode. This work not only certifies the phase transfer from the seed light to the amplified signal, but also highlights the important role of spatial overlap of the donut-shaped seed beam with the gain region of the nitrogen plasma for the achievement of OAM beam amplification.

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“…In the mean time, it holds unique potential for optical remote sensing since it can provide a coherent optical beam from the sky to the ground observer. Among the different kinds of air lasing effects, the lasing of 𝑁 2 + has obtained most of the attentions [16][17][18][19]. This is not only due to the abundance of N2 in air, but also to the fact that these lasing effects can be activated by the intense 800 nm femtosecond pulses delivered by Ti: Sapphire laser system [3,[20][21][22][23], which is the most widely available laser in the ultrafast optics labs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amplification of light pulses with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in nitrogen ions lasing

Mei¹,

Gao²,

Wang³

et al. 2023

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nitrogen ions pumped by intense femtosecond laser pulses give rise to optical amplification in the ultraviolet range. Here, we demonstrated that a seed light pulse carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) can be significantly amplified in nitrogen plasma excited by a Gaussian femtosecond laser pulse. With the topological charge of ℓ = ±1, we observed an energy amplification of the seed light pulse by two orders of magnitude, while the amplified pulse carries the same OAM as the incident seed pulse. Moreover, we show that a spatial misalignment of the plasma amplifier with the OAM seed beam leads to an amplified emission of Gaussian mode without OAM, due to the special spatial profile of the OAM seed pulse that presents a donut-shaped intensity distribution. Utilizing this misalignment, we can implement an optical switch that toggles the output signal between Gaussian mode and OAM mode. This work not only certifies the phase transfer from the seed light to the amplified signal, but also highlights the important role of spatial overlap of the donut-shaped seed beam with the gain region of the nitrogen plasma for the achievement of OAM beam amplification.

show abstract

Photon retention in coherently excited nitrogen ions

Cited by 16 publications

References 38 publications

Ultraviolet supercontinuum generation driven by ionic coherence in a strong laser field

Ultraviolet supercontinuum generation driven by ionic coherence in a strong laser field

Amplification of light pulses with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in nitrogen ions lasing

Amplification of light pulses with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in nitrogen ions lasing

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