Control of ultrafast pulses in hydrogen-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber by Raman coherence

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how Raman coherence in hydrogen-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber can be used to control ultrashort pulse dynamics, including soliton compression and dispersive wave emission, in challenging spectral regions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for controlling ultrashort pulses via Raman coherence in gas-filled photonic fibers, combining experimental and numerical analysis.

Findings

Dispersive wave emission at ~300 nm with oscillating frequency.

Controlled soliton self-compression through Raman coherence.

Effective manipulation of ultrashort pulses in deep UV regions.

Abstract

We present the results of an experimental and numerical investigation into temporally non-local coherent interactions between ultrashort pulses, mediated by Raman coherence, in gas-filled kagom\'{e}-style hollow-core photonic crystal fiber. A pump pulse first set up the Raman coherence, creating a refractive index grating in the gas that travels at the group velocity of the pump pulse. Varying the arrival time of a second probe pulse allows high degree of control over its evolution as it propagates along the fiber, in particular soliton self-compression and dispersive wave (DW) emission. In the experiments reported, a DW is emitted at ~300 nm, with a central frequency that oscillates with the pump-probe delay. The results demonstrate that strong Raman coherence created in broadband guiding gas-filled kagom\'e-PCF can be used to control the dynamics of ultrashort probe pulses, even in difficult-to-access spectral regions such as the deep and vacuum ultraviolet.