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Professor Philip St.J. Russell, FRS

Director of the Russell Division – Photonic Crystal Fibres

Professor Philip Russell is a founding Director of the Max-Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), which began operations in January 2009. Since 2005 he has also held the Krupp Chair in Experimental Physics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. He obtained his D.Phil. degree in 1979 at the University of Oxford, spending three years as a Research Fellow at Oriel College, Oxford. In 1982 and 1983 he was a Humboldt Fellow at the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg (Germany), and from 1984 to 1986 he worked at the University of Nice (France) and the IBM TJ Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. From 1986 to 1996 he was based mainly at the University of Southampton, first of all in the Optical Fibre Group and then in the Optoelectronics Research Centre. From 1996 to 2005 he was professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Bath, where he established the Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials. His research interests currently focus on scientific applications of photonic crystal fibres and related structures. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and The Optical Society (OSA) and has won several international awards for his research including the 2000 OSA Joseph Fraunhofer Award/Robert M. Burley Prize, the 2005 Thomas Young Prize of the Institute for Physics (UK), the 2005 Körber Prize for European Science, the 2013 EPS Prize for Research into the Science of Light, the 2014 Berthold Leibinger Zukunftspreis and the 2015 IEEE Photonics Award. He was OSA's President in 2015, the International Year of Light.

2010

Emergence of Geometrical Optical Nonlinearities in Photonic Crystal Fiber Nanowires

Fabio Biancalana, Truong X. Tran, Sebastian Stark, Markus A. Schmidt, Philip St J. Russell

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 105 (9) 093904 (2010) | Journal

We demonstrate analytically and numerically that a subwavelength-core dielectric photonic nanowire embedded in a properly designed photonic crystal fiber cladding shows evidence of a previously unknown kind of nonlinearity (the magnitude of which is strongly dependent on the waveguide parameters) which acts on solitons so as to considerably reduce their Raman self-frequency shift. An explanation of the phenomenon in terms of indirect pulse negative chirping and broadening is given by using the moment method. Our conclusions are supported by detailed numerical simulations.

High index-contrast all-solid photonic crystal fibers by pressure-assisted melt infiltration of silica matrices

Ning Da, Lothar Wondraczek, Markus A. Schmidt, Nicolai Granzow, Philip St. J. Russell

JOURNAL OF NON-CRYSTALLINE SOLIDS 356 (35-36) 1829-1836 (2010) | Journal

All-solid photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) are created by pressure-assisted filling of low-melting-point chalcogenide and tellurite glasses into silica matrix fibers with channel diameters as small as 200 nm. Overcoming to a large extent the problem of viscosity and, thus, process incompatibility of silica and non-silicate optical glasses, the technique provides a unique way of producing waveguiding devices with high core-cladding index-contrast, high optical non-linearity and a transmission range that extends into the mid infrared. In this paper, as a prerequisite for waveguide production, the rheologic properties and controlled flow of highly-viscous liquids under geometrically confined conditions are considered, and deviations from Newtonian behavior are discussed. Because the filling process requires only very small quantities of filling material that do not come into contact with the environment, and because ultra-high cooling rates can be achieved, the technique enables the use of difficult-to-handle or reactive optical glasses. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding Raman-shifting multipeak states in photonic crystal fibers: two convergent approaches

Alexander Hause, Truong X. Tran, Fabio Biancalana, Alexander Podlipensky, Philip St J. Russell, Fedor Mitschke

OPTICS LETTERS 35 (13) 2167-2169 (2010)

In this Letter we give theoretical explanations for the recent observations of the excitation of Raman-shifting pulse pairs in solid-core photonic crystal fibers. The formation of these pairs is surprisingly common in the deep anomalous dispersion regime of a large variety of highly nonlinear optical fibers, away from zero group-velocity dispersion points. We have developed two different theoretical models, which agree very well in their conclusions. A qualitative and a quantitative explanation of pair formation is provided, and the existence of multipeak states is predicted. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Bio-sensing using recessed gold-filled capillary amperometric electrodes

A. Kacanovska, Z. Rong, M. Schmidt, P. St. J. Russell, P. Vadgama

ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 398 (4) 1687-1694 (2010) | Journal

A novel recessed electrode is reported for amperometric detection of hydrogen peroxide and via glucose oxidase for the detection of glucose. The electrode utilised electrodeposited platinum over a gold wire surface, which proved to be an effective peroxide-detecting surface. Compared with a traditional exposed electrode surface, the recessed tip facilitated an extended linear range for glucose from 4 to over 14 mM. Bio-fouling, as assessed by exposure to bovine serum albumin, was also significantly reduced. Though response time at the recess was increased, it was within an acceptable range for physiological monitoring. Moreover, the recess enabled precise measurement of the hydrogen peroxide diffusion coefficient; this was based on a bipartite expression for the transient amperometric current at the recessed structure following a step change in ambient hydrogen peroxide concentration. An important aspect of the diffusion measurement was the curve fitting routine used to map on to the theoretical response curve.

Multiple hydrodynamical shocks induced by the Raman effect in photonic crystal fibers

C. Conti, S. Stark, P. St. J. Russell, F. Biancalana

PHYSICAL REVIEW A 82 (1) 013838 (2010) | Journal

We theoretically predict the occurrence of multiple hydrodynamical-like shock phenomena in the propagation of ultrashort intense pulses in a suitably engineered photonic crystal fiber. The shocks are due to the Raman effect, which acts as a nonlocal term favoring their generation in the focusing regime. It is shown that the problem is mapped to shock formation in the presence of a slope and a gravity-like potential. The signature of multiple shocks in cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (XFROG) signals is unveiled.

Measurement of group-velocity dispersion of Bloch modes in photonic-crystal-fiber rocking filters

G. K. L. Wong, L. Zang, M. S. Kang, P. St. J. Russell

OPTICS LETTERS 35 (23) 3982-3984 (2010) | Journal

We use low-coherence interferometry to measure the group-velocity dispersion (GVD) of the fast and slow Bloch modes of structural rocking filters, produced by twisting a highly birefringent photonic crystal fiber to and fro while scanning a focused CO(2) laser beam along it. The GVD curves in the vicinity of the resonant wavelength differ dramatically from those of the unperturbed fiber, suggesting that rocking filters could be used in the optimization of, e.g., four-wave mixing and supercontinuum generation. Excellent agreement is obtained between theory and experiment. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Approaching the full octave: Noncollinear optical parametric chirped pulse amplification with two-color pumping

D. Herrmann, C. Homann, R. Tautz, M. Scharrer, P. St J. Russell, F. Krausz, L. Veisz, E. Riedle

OPTICS EXPRESS 18 (18) 18752-18762 (2010) | Journal

We present a new method to broaden the amplification range in optical parametric amplification toward the bandwidth needed for single cycle femtosecond pulses. Two-color pumping of independent stages is used to sequentially amplify the long and short wavelength parts of the ultrabroadband seed pulses. The concept is tested in two related experiments. With multi-mJ pumping pulses with a nearly octave spanning spectrum and an uncompressed energy of 3 mJ are generated at low repetition rate. The spectral phase varies slowly and continuously in the overlap region as shown with 100 kHz repetition rate. This should allow the compression to the Fourier limit of below 5 fs in the high energy system. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Direct Observation of Self-Similarity in Evolution of Transient Stimulated Raman Scattering in Gas-Filled Photonic Crystal Fibers

A. Nazarkin, A. Abdolvand, A. V. Chugreev, P. St. J. Russell

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 105 (17) 173902 (2010) | Journal

A unique characteristic of transient stimulated Raman scattering, in which the spatiotemporal evolution of the fields and the molecular excitation follow a universal self-similarity law, is observed in gas-filled photonic crystal fibers. As the input laser power is increased, the coupled system "optical fields + molecular excitation" goes through the same phases of time evolution but at a higher rate. Using the self-similarity law we are able to completely reconstruct the evolution of the pump and Stokes fields from one measurement.

Photochemistry in Photonic Crystal Fiber Nanoreactors

Jocelyn S. Y. Chen, Tijmen G. Euser, Nicola J. Farrer, Peter J. Sadler, Michael Scharrer, Philip St. J. Russell

CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL 16 (19) 5607-5612 (2010) | Journal

We report the use of a liquid-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) as a highly controlled photochemical reactor. Hollow-core PCFs have several major advantages over conventional sample cells: the sample volume per optical path length is very small (2.8 nL cm(-1) in the fiber used), long optical path lengths are possible as a result of very low intrinsic waveguide loss, and furthermore the light travels in a diffractionless single mode with a constant transverse intensity profile. As a proof of principle, the (very low) quantum yield of the photochemical conversion of vitamin Bp, cyanocobalamin (CNCbl) to hydroxocobalamin ([H(2)OCbl](+)) in aqueous solution was measured for several pH values from 2.5 to 7.5. The dynamics of the actively induced reaction were monitored in real-time by broadband absorption spectroscopy. The PCF nanoreactor required ten thousand times less sample volume compared to conventional techniques. Furthermore. the enhanced sensitivity and optical pump intensity implied that even systems with very small quantum yields can be measured very quickly in our experiments one thousand times faster than in a conventional cuvette.

Spatiotemporal evolution of femtosecond laser pulses guided in air-clad fused-silica nanoweb

C. Kreuzer, A. Podlipensky, P. St. J. Russell

OPTICS LETTERS 35 (16) 2816-2818 (2010)

We investigate nonlinear propagation and self-focusing of femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser pulses in an 800-nm-thick silica nanoweb fiber. Different dispersion regimes are accessible by launching TE- or TM-polarized light. Excitation in the anomalous dispersion regime (TM) results in pulse splitting and spectral broadening, which lead to supercontinuum generation, whereas, for normal dispersion (TE, excited close to a zero dispersion wavelength), self-phase modulation causes spectral broadening, which leads at higher power to beam collapse and the creation of a damage track. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Ultraviolet-enhanced supercontinuum generation in tapered photonic crystal fiber

S. P. Stark, A. Podlipensky, N. Y. Joly, P. St. J. Russell

JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS 27 (3) 592-598 (2010)

We investigate numerically and experimentally the propagation of visible sub-50 fs pulses in a tapered small core photonic crystal fiber. The fiber has anomalous dispersion between two closely spaced zero dispersion wavelengths at 509 and 640 nm, and the excitation wavelength was varied within this range. We find that the spectral evolution in the low power regime is dominated by higher-order soliton fission, soliton self-frequency shift, and dispersive wave generation. At higher powers, extremely wide spectral broadening of the input pulse occurs within the first few millimeters of fiber. The wavelength conversion into the blue and red spectral ranges is studied as a function of the input power and excitation wavelength. Conversions into the spectral range 300-470 nm at efficiencies as high as 40% are observed when pumping at 523 nm. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Highly Noninstantaneous Solitons in Liquid-Core Photonic Crystal Fibers

Claudio Conti, Markus A. Schmidt, Philip St J. Russell, Fabio Biancalana

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 105 (26) 263902 (2010) | Journal

The nonlinear propagation of pulses in liquid-filled photonic crystal fibers is considered. Because of the slow reorientational nonlinearity of some molecular liquids, the nonlinear modes propagating inside such structures can be approximated, for pulse durations much shorter than the molecular relaxation time, by temporally highly nonlocal solitons, analytical solutions of a linear Schrodinger equation. The physical relevance of these novel solitons is discussed.

Bridging visible and telecom wavelengths with a single-mode broadband photon pair source

C. Soeller, B. Brecht, P. J. Mosley, L. Y. Zang, A. Podlipensky, N. Y. Joly, P. St. J. Russell, C. Silberhorn

PHYSICAL REVIEW A 81 (3) 031801 (2010) | Journal

We present a spectrally decorrelated photon pair source bridging the visible and telecom wavelength regions. Tailored design and fabrication of a solid-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) lead to the emission of signal and idler photons into only a single spectral and spatial mode. Thus no narrowband filtering is necessary and the heralded generation of pure photon number states in ultrafast wave packets at telecom wavelengths becomes possible.

Precise balancing of viscous and radiation forces on a particle in liquid-filled photonic-bandgap fiber (vol 34, pg 3674, 2009)

T. G. Euser, M. K. Garbos, J. S. Y. Chen, P. St J. Russell

OPTICS LETTERS 35 (13) 2142-2142 (2010)

Dispersion of photonic Bloch modes in periodically twisted birefringent media

Leyun Zang, Myeong Soo Kang, Miroslav Kolesik, Michael Scharrer, Philip Russell

JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS 27 (9) 1742-1750 (2010)

We investigate the polarization evolution and dispersive properties of the eigenmodes of birefringent media with arbitrarily twisted axes of birefringence. Analytical and numerical methods based on a transfer matrix approach are developed and used to study specifically helically twisted structures and the Bloch modes of periodically twisted media, as represented in particular by structural "rocking" filters inscribed in highly birefringent photonic crystal fibers. The presence of periodically twisted birefringence axes causes the group velocity dispersion curves to separate strongly from each other in the vicinity of the anti-crossing wavelength, where the inter-polarization beat-length equals an integer multiple of the rocking period. The maximum separation between these curves and the bandwidth of the splitting depend on the amplitude of the rocking angle. We also show that suitably designed adiabatic transitions, formed by chirping the rocking period, allow a broadband conversion between a linearly polarized fiber eigenmode and a single Bloch mode of a uniform rocking filter. The widely controllable dispersive properties provided by rocking filters may be useful for manipulating the phase-matching conditions in nonlinear optical processes such as four-wave mixing, supercontinuum generation, and the generation of resonant radiation from solitons. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Plasmon resonances on gold nanowires directly drawn in a step-index fiber

H. K. Tyagi, H. W. Lee, P. Uebel, M. A. Schmidt, N. Joly, M. Scharrer, P. St. J. Russell

OPTICS LETTERS 35 (15) 2573-2575 (2010)

We report the successful production of high-quality gold wires, with diameters down to 260 nm, by direct fiber drawing from a gold-filled fused-silica cane. The stack-and-draw technique makes it straightforward to incorporate a conventional step-index core, adjacent to the gold wire, in the cane. In the drawn fiber, strong coupling of light from the glass core to SPP resonances on the gold wire is observed at specific well-defined wavelengths. Such embedded wires have many potential applications, for example, as nanoscale electrodes, in nonlinear optical plasmonics, and as near-field scanning optical microscope tips. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

Theory of Raman multipeak states in solid-core photonic crystal fibers

Truong X. Tran, Alexander Podlipensky, Philip St. J. Russell, Fabio Biancalana

JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS 27 (9) 1785-1791 (2010)

We provide a full theoretical understanding of the recent observations of excitation of Raman two-peak states in solid-core photonic crystal fibers. Based on a "gravity-like" potential approach we derive simple equations for the "magic" peak power ratio and the temporal separation between pulses forming these two-peak states. We develop a model to calculate the magic input power of the input pulse around which the phenomenon can be observed. We also predict the existence of exotic multipeak states that strongly violate the perturbative pulse splitting law, and we study their stability and excitation conditions. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

All-Optical Control of Gigahertz Acoustic Resonances by Forward Stimulated Interpolarization Scattering in a Photonic Crystal Fiber

M. S. Kang, A. Brenn, P. St. J. Russell

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 105 (15) 153901 (2010) | Journal

We report the observation of a novel nonlinear optoacoustic phenomenon, that we name forward stimulated interpolarization scattering. When two frequency-offset laser signals are colaunched into orthogonally polarized guided modes of a birefringent small-core (1.8 mu m diameter) photonic crystal fiber, a pattern of axially moving polarization fringes is produced, with a velocity and spacing that depends on the frequency offset. At values of frequency offset in the few-GHz range, the pattern of moving fringes can perfectly match the phase velocity and axial wavelength (3.9 mm) of the torsional-radial acoustic mode tightly guided in the core. An intense optoacoustic interaction ensues, leading to efficient nonlinear exchange of power from the higher frequency (pump) mode to the orthogonally polarized lower frequency (Stokes) mode. A full-vectorial theory is developed to explain the observations.

Pressure-controlled phase matching to third harmonic in Ar-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber

J. Nold, P. Hoelzer, N. Y. Joly, G. K. L. Wong, A. Nazarkin, A. Podlipensky, M. Scharrer, P. St J. Russell

OPTICS LETTERS 35 (17) 2922-2924 (2010)

We report tunable third-harmonic generation (THG) in an Ar-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fiber, pumped by broadband < 2 mu J, 30 fs pulses from an amplified Ti:sapphire laser system. The overall dispersion is precisely controlled by balancing the negative dielectric susceptibility of the waveguide against the positive susceptibility of the gas. We demonstrate THG to a higher-order guided mode and show that the phase-matched UV wavelength is tunable by adjusting the gas pressure. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

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