arXiv subjects

Pierre Colman

Publications and source records attributed to Pierre Colman.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Filter shaping in integrated photonics using non-adiabatic control

We demonstrate that an array of integrated coupled waveguides can be designed to simultaneously perform the spectral filtering and routing of light. The framework that we present here operates in a regime opposite to the shortcut-to-adiabaticity techniques, but we show it nevertheless also only requires smooth, slow, and small, modulations of the array's parameters. Our design strategy rely on the analogy which exists between the temporal evolution of an Hamiltonian and the propagation of light in an array of coupled integrated waveguides, mimicking spatially in photonics phenomena analogue to the electronic transitions. Interestingly, the chromatic dispersion restores in photonics the correspondence between spatial propagation effect and wavelength dependence. Therefore our framework is able to fully reproduces temporal effects such as resonant transitions, making it suitable for filtering applications. As a design involving modulations, it shares similarities with Bragg-Gratings (BGs): but it adds some extra features that make it complementary in terms of applications and functionality. First it adds routing capability with the seamless management of multi-waveguide configuration. And secondly the framework we present requires only wavelength-scale modulations, order of magnitudes slower than for BGs. The effects we present here may not interfere with BGs geometry and functionality, and could even be combined with the latter.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Langevin model for soliton molecules in ultrafast fiber ring laser cavity: investigating experimentally the interplay between noise and inertia

The dynamics of soliton molecules in ultrafast fiber ring laser cavity is strongly influenced by noise. We show how a parsimonious Langevin model can be constructed from experimental data, resulting in a mathematical description that encompasses both the deterministic and stochastic properties of the evolution of the soliton molecules. In particular, we were able to probe the response dynamics of the soliton molecule to an external kick in a sub-critical approach, namely without the need to actually disturb the systems under investigation. Moreover, the noise experienced by the dissipative solitonic system, including its distribution and correlation, can now be also analyzed in details. Our strategy can be applied to any systems where the individual motion of its constitutive particles can be traced; the case of optical solitonic-system laser presented here serving as a proof-of-principle demonstration.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Conservation of a spectral asymmetry invariant in optical fiber four-wave mixing

The conservation of spectral asymmetry is a fundamental feature of the ideal four-wave mixing process as it exists in a medium combining quadratic chromatic dispersion and third-order nonlinearity. We test in this paper the robustness of this invariant in an experimental configuration where the excitation conditions of an optical fiber are sequentially updated, mimicking infinite propagation. This theoretical and experimental study reveals the high sensitivity of the asymmetry to very slight deviations from the ideal case, and we show that our idealized system behaves as an intermediate case between the ideal case of non-cascaded fourwave mixing and propagation in a system governed by the nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Analysis of Dispersive Fourier Transform dataset using Dynamic Mode Decomposition: evidence of multiple vibrational modes, and their interplay in a three-soliton molecule

We demonstrate that the Dynamic Mode Decomposition technique can effectively reduce the amount of noise in Dispersive Fourier Transform dataset; and allow for finer quantitative analysis of the experimental data. We therefore were able to demonstrate that the oscillation pattern of a soliton molecule actually results from the interplay of several elementary vibration modes.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Trajectory control in idealized four-wave mixing processes in optical fiber

The four-wave mixing process is a fundamental nonlinear interaction in Kerr media that can be described by a closed trajectory in the associated phase plane. We show here that it is possible to manipulate these trajectories and to connect two points that are not part of the same orbit. Our approach is based on a localized abrupt modification of the average power of the system. This mechanism is confirmed using different experimental realizations where iterative propagation in a short fiber segments mimics propagation in an idealized optical fiber.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Phase space topology of four-wave mixing reconstructed by a neural network

The dynamics of ideal four-wave mixing in optical fiber is reconstructed by taking advantage of the combination of experimental measurements with supervised machine learning strategies. The training data consist of power-dependent spectral phase and amplitude recorded at the output of a short segment of fiber. The neural network is able to accurately predict the nonlinear dynamics over tens of kilometers, and to retrieve the main features of the phase space topology including multiple Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence cycles and the system separatrix boundary.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Stimulated generation of deterministic platicon frequency microcombs

Dissipative Kerr soliton generation in chip-scale nonlinear resonators has recently observed remarkable advances, spanning from massively-parallel communications, self-referenced oscillators, to dual-comb spectroscopy. Often working in the anomalous dispersion regime, unique driving protocols and dispersion in these nonlinear resonators have been examined to achieve the soliton and soliton-like temporal pulse shapes and coherent frequency comb generation. The normal dispersion regime provides a complementary approach to bridge the nonlinear dynamical studies, including the possibility of square pulse formation with flat-top plateaus, or platicons. Here we report observations of square pulse formation in chip-scale frequency combs, through stimulated pumping at one free-spectral-range and in silicon nitride rings with +55 fs2/mm normal group velocity dispersion. Tuning of the platicon frequency comb via a varied sideband modulation frequency is examined in both spectral and temporal measurements. Determined by second-harmonic auto-correlation and cross-correlation, we observe bright square platicon pulse of 17 ps pulsewidth on a 19 GHz flat frequency comb. With auxiliary-laser-assisted thermal stabilization, we surpass the thermal bistable dragging and extend the mode-locking access to narrower 2 ps platicon pulse states, supported by nonlinear dynamical modeling and boundary limit discussions.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Ideal Four Wave Mixing Dynamics in a Nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger Equation Fibre System

Near-ideal four wave mixing dynamics are observed in a nonlinear Schr{\"o}dinger equation system using a new experimental technique associated with iterated sequential initial conditions in optical fiber. This novel approach mitigates against unwanted sideband generation and optical loss, extending the effective propagation distance by two orders of magnitude, allowing Kerr-driven coupling dynamics to be seen over 50 km of optical fiber using only one short fiber segment of 500 m. Our experiments reveal the full dynamical phase space topology in amplitude and phase, showing characteristic features of multiple Fermi-Pasta-Ulam recurrence cycles, stationary wave existence, and the system separatrix boundary. Experiments are shown to be in excellent quantitative agreement with numerical solutions of the canonical differential equation system describing the wave evolution.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Superlocalization reveals long-range synchronization of vibrating soliton molecules

We implement a super-localization method in the time domain that allows the observation of the external motion of soliton molecules in a fiber ring cavity laser with unprecedented accuracy. In particular, we demonstrate the synchronization of two oscillating soliton molecules separated by several nanoseconds, with inter-molecules oscillations following the same pattern as the intramolecular motion of the individual molecules. These experimental findings indicate an interplay between the different interaction mechanisms that coexist inside the laser cavity, despite their very different characteristic ranges, timescales, strengths, and physical origins.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2020

The temporal analogue of diffractive couplers

Based on the space-time duality of light, we numerically demonstrate that temporal dispersion grating couplers can generate from a single pulse an array of replicas of equal amplitude. The phase-only profile of the temporal grating is optimized by a genetic algorithm that takes into account the optoelectronic bandwidth limitations of the setup.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Silicon Waveguides for High-Speed Optical Transmissions and Parametric Conversion around 2 $\mu$m

We show that single mode Si waveguides efficiently sustain high-speed transmissions at 2 $\mu$m. We report the transmission of a 10 Gbit/s signal over 7 cm with a power penalty below 1 dB. Parametric conversion in the continuous wave regime is also demonstrated using the same waveguide structure with a conversion window over 70 nm and an efficiency as high as-25 dB that can be further increased in the pulsed pump regime.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2016

Ultrafast coherent dynamics of a photonic crystal all-optical switch

We present pump-probe measurements of an all-optical photonic crystal switch based on a nanocavity, resolving fast coherent temporal dynamics. The measurements demonstrate the importance of coherent effects typically neglected when considering nanocavity dynamics. In particular, we report the observation of an idler pulse. The measurements are in good agreement with a theoretical model that allows us to ascribe the observation to oscillations of the free carrier population in the nanocavity. The effect opens perspectives for the realization of new all-optical photonic crystal switches with unprecedented switching contrast.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2015

Giant anomalous self-steepening in photonic crystal waveguides

Self-steepening of optical pulses arises due the dispersive contribution of the $\chi^{(3)}(\omega)$ Kerr nonlinearity. In typical structures this response is on the order of a few femtoseconds with a fixed frequency response. In contrast, the effective $\chi^{(3)}$ Kerr nonlinearity in photonic crystal waveguides (PhCWGs) is largely determined by the geometrical parameters of the structure and is consequently tunable over a wide range. Here we show self-steepening based on group-velocity (group-index) modulation for the first time, giving rise to a new physical mechanism for generating this effect. Further, we demonstrate that periodic media such as PhCWGS can exhibit self-steepening coefficients two orders of magnitude larger than typical systems. At these magnitudes the self-steepening strongly affects the nonlinear pulse dynamics even for picosecond pulses. Due to interaction with additional higher-order nonlinearities in the semiconductor materials under consideration, we employ a generalized nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation numerical model to describe the impact of self-steepening on the temporal and spectral properties of the optical pulses in practical systems, including new figures of merit. These results provide a theoretical description for recent experimental results presented in [Scientific Reports 3, 1100 (2013) and Phys. Rev. A 87, 041802 (2013)]. More generally, these observations apply to all periodic media due to the rapid group-velocity variation characteristic of these structures.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Soliton dynamics in the multiphoton plasma regime

Solitary waves have consistently captured the imagination of scientists, ranging from fundamental breakthroughs in spectroscopy and metrology enabled by supercontinuum light, to gap solitons for dispersionless slow-light, and discrete spatial solitons in lattices, amongst others. Recent progress in strong-field atomic physics include impressive demonstrations of attosecond pulses and high-harmonic generation via photoionization of free-electrons in gases at extreme intensities of 1014 Wcm2. Here we report the first phase-resolved observations of femtosecond optical solitons in a semiconductor microchip, with multiphoton ionization at picojoule energies and 1010 Wcm2 intensities. The dramatic nonlinearity leads to picojoule observations of free-electron-induced blue-shift at 1016 cm3 carrier densities and self-chirped femtosecond soliton acceleration. Furthermore, we evidence the time-gated dynamics of soliton splitting on-chip, and the suppression of soliton recurrence due to fast free-electron dynamics. These observations in the highly dispersive slow-light media reveal a rich set of physics governing ultralow-power nonlinear photon-plasma dynamics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2012

Control of dispersion in photonic crystal waveguides using group symmetry theory

We demonstrate dispersion tailoring by coupling the even and the odd modes in a line-defect photonic crystal waveguide. Coupling is determined ab-initio using group theory analysis, rather than by trial and error optimisation of the design parameters. A family of dispersion curves is generated by controlling a single geometrical parameter. This concept is demonstrated experimentally on 1.5mm-long waveguides with very good agreement with theory.

physics.optics↗