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Ultrafast Oscilloscope

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Researchers at Cornell University have discovered a new method that uses an ultrafast optical oscilloscope can plot the waveform of an ultrashort-lived optical signal with a resolution of less than a trillionth of a second.

"We can make measurements of very short optical phenomena. The signal can be very weak, and it doesn't have to be repetitive," said Alexander Gaeta, Cornell professor of applied and engineering physics.

According to Gaeta, applications include analyzing intermittent glitches in fiber-optic communications and observing such fast-moving events as chemical reactions or laser fusion.Hi-Speed-Oscillo.jpg


The ultrafast optical oscilloscope. Photo courtesy of Alex Gaeta Lab, Cornell University.

Other members of the research team include, Michal Lipson, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Mark Foster, a postdoctoral researcher.

The innovation converts "time to frequency" using a process called four-wave mixing, in which two beams of light, referred to as the signal and the pump, are combined in a narrow channel – in this case a silicon waveguide on a chip, 300- by 750-nm in cross section. The narrow space forces the two beams to exchange energy, and a copy of the signal at a new wavelength emerges. The wavelength of the copy depends on the wavelength of the pump, and for this application the wavelength of the pump changes linearly in time.

The pump pulse is generated by a laser that outputs a broad band of wavelengths, and sent through a 50-meter length of optical fiber. Each wavelength of light travels at a slightly different speed in the fiber, so the pump pulse stretches into a stream in which wavelength varies continuously over time. In the four-wave mixing chip the stream is combined with the waveform to be analyzed, which varies in intensity over time. What emerges is a pulse in which each tiny moment of the input waveform is represented by a different wavelength of light, and the intensity, or brightness, of the light at that wavelength corresponds to the intensity of the input wave at that moment.

The result is fed into a spectrometer, which produces a graph of the intensity of light at each wavelength, and that graph corresponds to the original temporal waveform.

Lipson's research group is developing a dispersive waveguide on a chip that will replace the 50 m of fiber, as well as a spectrometer on a chip, Gaeta said, so that the entire device eventually can be fabricated on a single chip.

The work is supported by DARPA, the National Science Foundation and the New York Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research.

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For more information, visit: www.cornell.edu


Published: November 2008
Glossary
optical fiber
Optical fiber is a thin, flexible, transparent strand or filament made of glass or plastic used for transmitting light signals over long distances with minimal loss of signal quality. It serves as a medium for conveying information in the form of light pulses, typically in the realm of telecommunications, networking, and data transmission. The core of an optical fiber is the central region through which light travels. It is surrounded by a cladding layer that has a lower refractive index than...
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
spectrometer
A kind of spectrograph in which some form of detector, other than a photographic film, is used to measure the distribution of radiation in a particular wavelength region.
Alexander GaetaCommunicationsCornell UniversitydefenseDefense Advanced Research Projects Agencyenergyfiber opticsMark FosterMichal LipsonNational Science FoundationNew York Office of ScienceNews & Featuresoptical fiberoptical phenomenaphotonicsSpectrometerspectroscopyTechnology and Academic ResearchUltrafast Optical Oscilloscopeultrashort-lived optical signalLasers

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