Nonlinear diffraction from high-order Hermite-Gauss beams.

We investigate experimentally and theoretically the nonlinearly diffracted second harmonic light from the first-order Hermite-Gauss beam. We investigate the cases of loosely and tightly focused beams in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal in the temperature range near the birefringent phase matching. Unlike the case of fundamental Gaussian beam, the nonlinear diffracted beam is spatially structured.

Azimuthal and radial shaping of vortex beams generated in twisted nonlinear photonic crystals.

We experimentally demonstrate that the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of a second harmonic (SH) beam, generated within twisted nonlinear photonic crystals, depends both on the OAM of the input pump beam and on the quasi-angular momentum of the crystal. In addition, when the pump's radial index is zero, the radial index of the SH beam is equal to that of the nonlinear crystal. Furthermore, by mixing two noncollinear pump beams in this crystal, we generate, in addition to the SH beams, a new "virtual beam" having multiple values of OAM that are determined by the nonlinear process.

Twisting light by nonlinear photonic crystals.

We report the observation of nonlinear interactions in quadratic nonlinear crystals having a geometrically twisted susceptibility pattern. The quasi-angular-momentum of these crystals is imprinted on the interacting photons during the nonlinear process so that the total angular momentum is conserved. These crystals affect three basic physical quantities of the output photons: energy, translational momentum, and angular momentum.

Two-dimensional nonlinear beam shaping.

We develop a technique for two-dimensional arbitrary wavefront shaping in quadratic nonlinear crystals by using binary nonlinear computer generated holograms. The method is based on transverse illumination of a binary modulated nonlinear photonic crystal, where the phase matching is partially satisfied through the nonlinear Raman-Nath process. We demonstrate the method experimentally showing a conversion of a fundamental Gaussian beam pump light into three Hermite-Gaussian and three Laguerre-Gaussian beams in the second harmonic.

Experimental observation of self-accelerating beams in quadratic nonlinear media.

We present the experimental observation of 1D and 2D self-accelerating nonlinear beams in quadratic media, which are also the first nonlinear self-accelerating beams in any symmetric nonlinearity. Notably, we show that the intensity peaks of the first and second harmonics are asynchronous with respect to one another, but the coupled harmonics exhibit joint acceleration within the nonlinear medium. Finally, we demonstrate the impact of self-healing effects on the jointly accelerating first and second harmonics.

Nonlinear computer-generated holograms.

We propose a novel technique for arbitrary wavefront shaping in quadratic nonlinear crystals by introducing the concept of computer-generated holograms (CGHs) into the nonlinear optical regime. We demonstrate the method experimentally showing a conversion of a fundamental Gaussian beam pump light into the first three Hermite-Gaussian beams at the second harmonic in a stoichiometric lithium tantalate nonlinear crystal, and we characterize its efficiency dependence on the fundamental power and the crystal temperature. Nonlinear CGHs open new possibilities in the fields of nonlinear beam shaping, mode conversion, and beam steering.

Phase-matched nonlinear diffraction.

We report on a new (to our knowledge) configuration incorporating both birefringence and quasi-phase-matching, enabling efficient phase-matched nonlinear diffraction in one-dimensional periodically poled nonlinear crystals. We demonstrate the method experimentally, showing an efficient nonlinear diffraction to the first few orders in two types of crystals, MgO doped congruent lithium niobate and congruent lithium niobate, and characterize its efficiency dependence on the fundamental power, the propagation angle, and the crystal temperature. This configuration can increase efficiencies observed in nonlinear diffraction experiments, enables ferroelectric domain characterization by nonlinear microscopy, and can be used to determine the duty cycles of periodically poled nonlinear crystals.