{"title":"Thorium-doped strontium fluoride crystal: a unique candidate for a solid nuclear optical clock material.","authors":"Qiaorui Gong, Lin Li, Shanming Li, Shulong Zhang, Siliang Tao, Guoliang Deng, Peixiong Zhang, Chengchun Zhao, Yin Hang, Shining Zhu, Longsheng Ma","doi":"10.1364/OL.558637","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.558637","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thorium-doped vacuum ultraviolet transparent crystals have attracted widespread attention to be used in the solid-state nuclear optical clock because of their advantages such as frequency stability, miniaturization, and spaceborne ability. However, the doping efficiency, doping loss, and doping uniformity of these existing crystals are still not ideal. Herein, a candidate with unique advantages in the cultivation of solid-state nuclear clock material, i.e., Th:SrF<sub>2</sub> crystal, is introduced for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. It not only has a segregation coefficient close to 1, which can achieve highly efficient and uniform doping of Th, but also ensures a high transmittance (∼69% at 149 nm) while achieving extremely high doping concentration (<sup>232</sup>Th > 6 × 10<sup>20</sup> cm<sup>-3</sup>). In addition, the Th:SrF<sub>2</sub> crystal would not be irradiated-colored under strong α radiation, which is expected to ensure its transmission performance in the nuclear transition band is not severely affected by <sup>229</sup>Th radiation damage. The discovery of this crystal would greatly promote the development of solid-state nuclear clock materials.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2290-2293"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754056","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tunable topological edge states based on anomalous scattering.","authors":"Chengxi Yang, Jianfei Li, Jialin Liu, Jingfeng Yao, Ying Wang, Zhongxiang Zhou, Chengxun Yuan","doi":"10.1364/OL.555560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.555560","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The present work combines traditional dielectric materials with metal foils to form composite scatterers and constructs a two-dimensional square lattice photonic crystal, from which its band topology is achieved. Photonic bandgap (PBG) arises from local Mie scattering resonances between adjacent structures, analogous to the role of atomic energy levels in a crystal. The energy levels of the composite scatterers can be controlled by rotation, thus manipulating the PBG and topological properties. Topological phase transition is realized by altering the rotation angle of the composite scatterers in the unit cell. A programmable topological insulator with a single-chip control system (SCCS) is developed to verify numerical results. This design not only achieves tunable topological edge states (TES) but also enables arbitrary coding.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2354-2357"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optics lettersPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1364/OL.555329
Brian Topper, Allen Benton, Rylan Terry, Michael Pettes, John Ballato, Joe Kolis, Liang Dong
{"title":"Yb:Lu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> single-crystal fiber: spectroscopy, amplification, and lasing.","authors":"Brian Topper, Allen Benton, Rylan Terry, Michael Pettes, John Ballato, Joe Kolis, Liang Dong","doi":"10.1364/OL.555329","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.555329","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For the first time, to our knowledge, a lutetium oxide (Lu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>) single-crystal fiber (SCF) laser is demonstrated. The laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) technique was used to pull Yb-doped Lu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> SCFs between 10 and 50 mm long and with diameters between 150 and 225 <i>μ</i>m. Spectroscopic properties are first reported in detail, as the two-site nature of the host demands careful attention. Short 10 mm long, unclad fibers were used as amplifier media in a single pass copropagating configuration. Then, a 50 mm long 0.1%Yb:Lu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> SCF with a 180 <i>μ</i>m diameter was configured to lase by butt-coupling mirrors on the ends and pumping at 976 nm. Lasing occurred at the 1033 nm peak of Yb, and a maximum output of around 300 mW is reported. The results indicate there is no, at least obvious, fundamental reason that should deter future interest in Lu<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> as a SCF platform, which has been considered to have high potential for power scaling based on its beneficial intrinsic properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2278-2281"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optics lettersPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1364/OL.553553
Yongsop Hwang
{"title":"Estimation of refractive index profile of a GeO<sub>2</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub> graded-index fiber from the elemental composition.","authors":"Yongsop Hwang","doi":"10.1364/OL.553553","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.553553","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We propose methods for the estimation of the refractive index profile of a GeO<sub>2</sub>-SiO<sub>2</sub> graded-index fiber (GIF) from its elemental composition. We measured the mole fraction of GeO<sub>2</sub> as a function of radial position in a commercially available GIF, Thorlabs GIF625, using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Its refractive index profiles were also measured at multiple wavelengths. We found that the GeO<sub>2</sub> mole fractions estimated from the measured refractive index profiles show a discrepancy with the elemental composition obtained from the EDS/EPMA measurement. Two empirical approaches are proposed to bridge the elemental composition and the index profiles over the discrepancy: (1) effective mole fraction approach and (2) density parameter approach. Using these approaches, we provide index profile parameters at important wavelengths from visible to infrared near 2.0 µm so that the index profile can be generated for applications of the GIF. The proposed approaches can be applied to other binary glass system GIFs.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2219-2222"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143753759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optics lettersPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1364/OL.549737
Jun Hu, Wenrui Wang, Xueqian Bai, Biying Zhou, Ruoqi Wang, Haojie Wu, Lingyun Ye, Kaichen Song
{"title":"High-sensitivity measurement of low-frequency vibration signals based on an optoelectronic oscillator with an intra-loop Michelson interferometer.","authors":"Jun Hu, Wenrui Wang, Xueqian Bai, Biying Zhou, Ruoqi Wang, Haojie Wu, Lingyun Ye, Kaichen Song","doi":"10.1364/OL.549737","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.549737","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A high-sensitivity demodulation method for the vibration-induced frequency shift of an optoelectronic oscillator (OEO) using an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated. This is achieved by separating the optical carrier (OC) and the first-order sideband, directing them into the reference and sensing arms of a Michelson interferometer (MI), respectively. Additionally, since the system sensitivity depends on the optical frequency rather than the oscillating frequency, high-sensitivity vibration sensing can be achieved at OEO oscillating frequencies as low as 80 MHz. Experimental results indicate that for low-frequency vibration signals in the range of 200-800 Hz, the system achieves a vibration amplitude sensitivity of up to 1.77 GHz/cm and a minimum detectable vibration amplitude of 5.1 pm, representing the best result within our current knowledge for low-frequency vibration demodulation using OEO.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2195-2198"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143753864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integrated high-Q cascaded Fabry-Perot resonators based on lithium niobate Sagnac loop reflectors.","authors":"Qian Qiao, Jintian Lin, Renhong Gao, Jianglin Guan, Chuntao Li, Guanghui Zhao, Xinzhi Zheng, Minghui Li, Qifeng Hou, Xiaochao Luo, Yingnuo Qiu, Lingling Qiao, Min Wang, Ya Cheng","doi":"10.1364/OL.553883","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.553883","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We demonstrated an integrated high-Q cascaded Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator on lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) implemented by multi-Sagnac loop reflectors, which was fabricated by femtosecond laser photolithography-assisted chemo-mechanical polishing (CMP). Compared with the resonator that comprised only two Sagnac loop reflectors (SLRs), there is a significant Q factor enhancement in the cascaded resonator formed by multi-SLRs. The loaded Q factor of the cascaded resonator was measured to be 1.16 × 10<sup>6</sup>, a five-fold improvement compared to the state of the art on the same material platform.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2370-2373"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143753937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optics lettersPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1364/OL.543109
Jun Guo, Zheng Tan, Kexiang Mou, Li Wang, Yinan Hu, Xianping Sun, Xin Zhou
{"title":"Atomic coherence-assisted wide tunable range laser frequency offset locking using four-wave mixing.","authors":"Jun Guo, Zheng Tan, Kexiang Mou, Li Wang, Yinan Hu, Xianping Sun, Xin Zhou","doi":"10.1364/OL.543109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.543109","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this Letter, we present a widely tunable laser frequency offset locking technique based on four-wave mixing (FWM). The Raman-amplified probe light and newly generated conjugate light exhibit high signal amplitude and ultra-narrow spectral characteristics, which contribute to robust laser frequency stabilization. The laser frequency can be selectively locked to the Stokes or anti-Stokes frequency of the four-wave mixing spectrum, maintaining a fixed frequency difference relative to the pump light that corresponds to the atomic ground state hyperfine splitting. By adjusting the detuning of the pump light frequency, a wide tuning range of several GHz can be achieved. Compared to the frequency modulation spectroscopy method, the modulation transfer technique in a double-lambda atomic system provides an atomic coherence-enhanced error signal with a larger peak-to-peak amplitude and a steeper zero-crossing gradient, resulting in significantly improved laser frequency stabilization performance. This method can enhance the performance of atomic sensors, such as improving the stability of the Raman light for atomic interferometers and increasing the laser stability of highly sensitive atomic magnetometers.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2366-2369"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143753991","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Polarization-entangled photon pairs from lithium niobate metasurfaces.","authors":"Quanrui Mo, Chaoxin Shi, Xinding Zhang, Jianjun Zhang, Jihua Zhang","doi":"10.1364/OL.559126","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.559126","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Flat optics has emerged as a promising platform for ultrathin polarization-entangled sources via spontaneous parametric downconversion in subwavelength-thick nonlinear films or metasurfaces. However, previous schemes typically required multiplexing two films or two meta-structures with different orientations. Here, we propose a nonlinear metasurface composed of a single silica grating atop a lithium niobate film to generate polarization-entangled photon pairs. By engineering the angular dispersion of metasurface resonances, adjusting the pump frequency, and leveraging the polarization correlated transverse phase matching, the |HH〉 and |VV〉 states are simultaneously enhanced by over 2000 times, while the |HV〉 and |VH〉 states remain similar when compared to the pure film. Therefore, the degree of polarization entanglement is significantly improved. Furthermore, by tuning the pump polarization and film orientation, and applying spatial filtering, the concurrence of the two-photon state is optimized to near one, meaning maximal entanglement. Such an ultrathin and spatial-separated-entangled photon-pair source will be useful in realizing miniaturized quantum photonic systems for various applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2294-2297"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spectral stripe-based large-range chromatic confocal displacement system with nanometer uncertainty.","authors":"Yuehua Li, Ziheng Zhang, Tiejun Li, Wei Bian, Zhi Niu, Xiaohong Liu, Jingbo Zhou","doi":"10.1364/OL.553869","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.553869","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We present a novel, to the best of our knowledge, design of a chromatic confocal displacement system (CCDS) based on spectral stripe. In this system, confocal light collected by the dispersive lens is shaped by a Powell lens and then diffracted onto a detector in the form of a thin straight stripe. The displacement variant is converted into the change of stripe positions on the detector. Unlike the spectral profile or the diffractive spot, the spectral stripe significantly increases the pixel number for analysis and effectively suppresses random noises. Simulation and experiment results show that the positional uncertainty of the spectral stripe is dramatically reduced and reaches less than 1‰ pixel. Measurement uncertainty is less than 14.3 nm within the whole measuring range of 4 mm. It provides a new way for developing large range CCDS with nanometer uncertainty.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2251-2254"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optics lettersPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1364/OL.555001
Jungwoo Lee, Min-Suk Kwon
{"title":"Titanium dioxide-assisted metal focusing grating couplers for thin-film lithium niobate waveguides.","authors":"Jungwoo Lee, Min-Suk Kwon","doi":"10.1364/OL.555001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.555001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN)-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) demand efficient, compact, and simply realizable grating couplers for optimal performance. This work introduces titanium dioxide (TiO<sub>2</sub>)-assisted metal focusing grating couplers (TMFGCs) as a promising solution. The TMFGCs leverage a simplified fabrication process based on metal gratings. Moreover, they achieve a smaller footprint compared to previous one-dimensional metal grating couplers (GCs). Theoretical simulations predict a 1.3 dB enhancement in coupling efficiency (CE) due to the integrated TiO<sub>2</sub> structure. Experimental results demonstrate a maximum coupling efficiency of -4.88 dB, with the potential to reach -4.07 dB through refined fabrication techniques. The TMFGCs offer a simple yet effective approach to efficient light coupling in TFLN-based PICs.</p>","PeriodicalId":19540,"journal":{"name":"Optics letters","volume":"50 7","pages":"2133-2136"},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}