Optical Poling Reveals Hidden Molecular Restructuring in Multimode Fibers, Unlocking Ultra-Efficient Third-Order Nonlinearities
Optical poling is a well-established technique for inducing χ^{(2)} nonlinearity, yet its impact on silica's molecular structure remains unexplored. Here, we report the first direct observation of molecular restructuring in large-core graded-index multimode fibers (MMFs) induced by optical poling, transforming the silica tetrahedral ring network. Through coherent light beating, this process converts large rings of more than four SiO_4 tetrahedra into smaller ones, altering both linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities. Contrary to the assumption that poling efficiency stems solely from charge displacement, we show that structural modifications dominate, leading to record enhancements in third-order nonlinear processes, including geometric parametric instabilities (GPIs) and Kerr self-cleaning, despite a low modification of the Kerr coefficient. High-energy poling acts as an in situ annealing process, dynamically modulating the refractive index for unprecedented spatiotemporal light control. These findings provide fundamental insights into silica's molecular dynamics under intense optical fields and open avenues for ultra-efficient nonlinear optical devices, enabling next-generation fiber-based photonics for high-power lasers, broadband light generation, and all-optical signal processing.