Ultra-compact synthesis of space-time wave packets

Abstract

Space-time wave packets (STWPs) are pulsed fields in which a strictly prescribed association between the spatial and temporal frequencies yields surprising and useful behavior. However, STWPs to date have been synthesized using bulky free-space optical systems that require precise alignment. We describe a compact system that makes use of a novel optical component: a chirped volume Bragg grating that is rotated by 45 degrees with respect to the plane-parallel device facets. By virtue of this grating's unique structure, cascaded gratings resolve and recombine the spectrum without free-space propagation or collimation. We produce STWPs by placing a phase plate that spatially modulates the resolved spectrum between such cascaded gratings, with a device volume of 25x25x8 mm3, which is orders of magnitude smaller than previous arrangements.

arXiv comment5 pages, 5 figures

References in corpus (13)

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• Diffraction-free space-time beams
• Free-space propagation of spatio-temporal optical vortices (STOVs)
• Photonic toroidal vortex
• Observation of Toroidal Pulses of Light
• Second-harmonic generation and the conservation of spatiotemporal orbital angular momentum of light
• Anomalous refraction of optical space-time wave packets
• Space-time wave packets localized in all dimensions
• Ultrashort Tilted-Pulse-Front Pulses and Nonparaxial Tilted-Phase-Front Beams
• Gaussian beams diffracting in time
• Self-healing of space-time light sheets
• Spatiotemporal diffraction-free pulsed beams in free-space of the Airy and Bessel type
• Rotated chirped volume Bragg gratings for compact spectral analysis