We describe nonlinear properties of a GaInP photonic crystal Fabry-Perot resonator containing integrated reflectors. The device exhibits an extremely large static nonlinearity due to a thermal effect. Dynamical measurements were used to discriminate between the thermal and Kerr contributions to the nonlinearity. The high frequency nonlinear response is strictly due to the Kerr effect and the efficiency is similar to that obtained in self-phase modulation and four wave mixing experiments. The waveguide dispersion and the wavelength dependent integrated reflectors yield a series of transmission peaks with varying widths which determine the maximum speed at which the device can operate. Switching and wavelength conversion experiments with 92ps and 30ps wide pulses were demonstrated using pulse energies of a few pJ. The switching process is Kerr dominated with the fundamental response being essentially instantaneous so that the obtainable switching speed is strictly determined by the resonator structure.

We report GaInP photonic crystal Fabry-Perot resonators containing integrated reflectors. Efficient wavelength conversion of 30 ps pulses was demonstrated where the Kerr effect dominates and the device speed is limited by the resonator

Summary form only given. We describe nonlinear optical effects such as four wave mixing and parametric gain in GaInP photonic crystal waveguides working at the telecom wavelength range −1550 nm. The low linear and nonlinear losses allow highly efficient interactions leading to the demonstration of an optical parametric amplifier. The role of the slow light on the parametric interactions will be discussed.

We investigate Four-Wave-Mixing in dispersion-engineered Photonic Crystal Waveguide. For 100ps pulses, the instantaneous conversion efficiency is -24 dB and for single ps pulses we demonstrate a 3dB parametric gain for Watt level pump powers.

We describe dynamical four wave mixing (FWM) functionalities of an GaInP photonic crystal waveguide. A W1 waveguide was used to wavelength convert 100 ps pulses and for sampling a 10.56 Gbit/s data stream so as to time demultiplex it into 16 or 32 channels. In all cases, the extracted pulses at the idler wavelength are undistorted and have a high signal to noise ratio proving the high efficiency and the versatility of the FWM process in the GaInP PhC waveguides we used.

Efforts made by the community to improve the Photonic Crystal Waveguides against linear and nonlinear losses have made the promises of this technology possible. We discuss some of the major achievements, particularly the demonstration of optical solitons on-chip.

In order to achieve synchronization between chaotic lasers the coupling strength must typically exceed a certain threshold. Here, we show how this threshold can be significantly reduced by adding loss that is minimized when the coupled lasers are both phase locked and synchronized. A model is developed for this loss enhanced synchronization and the calculated results are in good agreement to those obtained experimentally with two coupled chaotic fiber lasers.

We report highly nonlinear GaInP photonic crystal waveguides. An extremely large hybrid nonlinearity was demonstrated in a static experiment as well as in a wavelength conversion scheme at 10 Gbit/s. Highly efficient four wave mixing was also demonstrated for either CW or pulsed pump signals. Photonic crystyals; Nonlinear optics; Nonlinear wave mixing

We report a large third order nonlinear response in an InGaP photonic crystal waveguide. The nonlinearity is enhanced by a resonance effect due to the waveguide end facet reflectivities and the large group index.

We report highly efficient four wave mixing in InGaP photonic crystal waveguides. Conversion efficiencies of -52.5dB for two ~1mW CW signals, and -38.8dB for a 1.4mW CW probe and a 14.4mW pulsed pump were demonstrated.

This paper present three methods for increasing the output brightness from fiber lasers. A highly efficient method for the generation of purely radially or azimuthally polarized light within a single multimode fiber laser is investigated. This method involves the introduction of strong losses to unwanted polarizations inside the fiber laser, by introducing intra-cavity spatially variable retarder and a thin film polarizer. Configurations for efficient phase locking and coherent addition in free space of two fiber lasers, each operating with a high order mode, is also presented. The results revealed that the efficiency of the coherent addition can exceed 90%. Lastly, a configuration is demonstrated in which coherent and spectral addition of a two-dimensional fiber laser array is performed.

We show that by coherently combining several solid state lasers it is possible to obtain a single frequency output. This is experimentally demonstrated by coherently combining four Nd:YAG lasers channels, each with a properly chosen cavity length, in order to suppress unwanted longitudinal modes and obtain a single frequency output. We also present a model that accurately predicts and supports out experimental results.

A new approach for the simultaneous coherent and spectral addition of a two-dimensional array of fiber lasers is presented. A combining efficiency of over 80% and a combined beam profile with M(2)=1.15 were experimentally obtained with an array of four fiber lasers. This approach can lead to significant upscaling in fiber laser additions.

Configurations for efficient free space coherent addition of four separate fiber lasers arranged in two dimensional array are presented. They include compact and robust interferometric combiners that can be inserted either inside or outside the cavity of the combined lasers system. The results reveal that over 85% combining efficiency can be obtained.

Phase locking, which is achieved by transferring some energy from one oscillator to the others, strongly depends on the coupling strength between the oscillators. Typically, the coupling strength must be above a certain threshold in order to achieve phase locking. Here we show how this threshold can be significantly reduced when phase-dependent losses are introduced into the oscillators. Specifically, the coupling strength can be reduced by at least an order of magnitude, thereby substantially decreasing the needed transfer of energy between oscillators. The resulting enhancement of phase locking does not only influence the laser research area, but also affects many other areas that involve coupled ensembles.

Efficient free-space configurations for phase locking and coherent addition of two fiber lasers, each operating with a high-order mode, are presented. Experimental results reveal that when the two fiber lasers are coupled, the polarization and modal distribution of one are imposed on the other. Coherent addition with a combining efficiency larger than 90% was achieved.

A new configuration for synchronizing two chaotic fiber lasers, which includes both coupling and losses, is presented. Experimental and calculated results reveal that the synchronization time can be significantly shorter than with configuration that have only coupling.

We present results on phase-locking dynamics of coupled lasers near threshold, and their dependence on spontaneous emission. Our experimental and analytical results clearly reveal that phase locking depends strongly on quantum noise when the coupled lasers oscillate near threshold.

Recent developments on the effect of coupling strength when coherently adding fiber lasers are presented. Analytical, numerical and experimental results reveal that coupling strength can be substantially reduced by choosing the proper configuration.