Complete polarization control for a nanofiber waveguide using the scattering properties.

We report on a protocol to achieve full control of the polarization in a nanofiber. The protocol relies on monitoring the light scattered out from a nanofiber by means of two optical systems with 45° camera angle difference. We study the disturbance of the nanofiber refractive index on the radiation of embedded scatterers, and we propose an explanation for the observed reduced scattering contrast of the nanofiber.

Imaging light scattered by a subwavelength nanofiber, from near field to far field.

We present a direct experimental investigation of the optical field distribution around a suspended tapered optical nanofiber by means of a fluorescent scanning probe. Using a 100 nm diameter fluorescent bead as a probe of the field intensity, we study interferences made by a nanofiber (400 nm diameter) scattering a plane wave (568 nm wavelength). Our scanning fluorescence near-field microscope maps the optical field over 36 μm, with λ/5 resolution, from contact with the surface of the nanofiber to a few micrometers away.

Toward a compact fibered squeezing parametric source.

In this work, we investigate three different compact fibered systems generating vacuum squeezing that involve optical cavities limited by the end surface of a fiber and by a curved mirror and containing a thin parametric crystal. These systems have the advantage to couple squeezed states directly to a fiber, allowing the user to benefit from the flexibility of fibers in the use of squeezing. Three types of fibers are investigated: standard single-mode fibers, photonic-crystal large-mode-area single-mode fibers, and short multimode fibers taped to a single-mode fiber.