Thermal stable nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction and Cherenkov radiation in PPKTP crystals

TL;DR

This paper experimentally investigates nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction and Cherenkov radiation in PPKTP crystals, revealing significantly enhanced thermal stability over PPLN, which benefits optical computing applications.

Contribution

It is the first study of NCR in PPKTP and demonstrates its superior thermal stability compared to PPLN, expanding the understanding of nonlinear diffraction in biaxial crystals.

Findings

PPKTP shows over ten times greater thermal stability than PPLN.

Experimental analysis under various conditions confirms the stability and potential of PPKTP for optical computing.

NCR phenomena in PPKTP are successfully observed and characterized.

Abstract

Nonlinear Raman-Nath diffraction (NRND) and nonlinear Cherenkov radiation (NCR) are significant nonlinear diffraction phenomena in optics. Previous studies have primarily focused on NRND and NCR in uniaxial crystals, particularly in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystals. However, research on these phenomena in biaxial crystals, such as periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (PPKTP), has been limited, and the study of NCR in PPKTP has not yet been undertaken.In this work, we experimentally investigated NRND and NCR phenomena in PPKTP crystals under varying incident angles, pump polarizations, poling periods, and crystal temperatures. Our findings indicate that PPKTP exhibits over ten times greater thermal stability compared to PPLN. This high thermal stability is promising for applications in parallel optical computing, as it helps reduce optical mode deviations and minimize bit error rates.