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Prof. Dr. Birgit Stiller

Professor

My fields of expertise are Brillouin scattering and optomechanics, nonlinear fiber optics and photonic circuits, as well as classical and quantum communications. The projects in my group span from nonlinear optics to quantum optics with a focus on light-sound interactions and waveguide optomechanics. We want to explore optoacoustic interaction experimentally at the classical and quantum level with suitably engineered microstructured fibres and nanowaveguides to manipulate, in this way, light states

2013

Observation of acoustically induced modulation instability in a Brillouin photonic crystal fiber laser

Birgit Stiller, Thibaut Sylvestre

OPTICS LETTERS 38 (9) 1570-1572 (2013) | Journal

We report the experimental observation of self-induced modulation instability (MI) in a Brillouin fiber laser made with a solid-core photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with strong anomalous dispersion. We identify this MI as the result of parametric amplification of optical sidebands generated by guided acoustic modes within the core of the PCF. It is further shown that MI leads to passive harmonic mode locking and to the generation of a picosecond pulse train at a repetition rate of 1.15 GHz which matches the acoustic frequency of the fundamental acoustic mode of the PCF. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America

Long-range and high-resolution distributed Brillouin fiber sensors

T. Sylvestre, M. W. Lee, D. M. Nguyen, Birgit Stiller, J.-C. Beugnot, H. Maillotte, J. Hauden, L. Thévenaz

Instrumentation Mesure Métrologie 13 (1-2) 31-45 (2013) | Journal

Brillouin-based distributed optical fiber sensors have been the subject of intense research in recent years because they offer a unique solution for continuous, real-time monitoring in civil engineering and petroleum industry. These sensors provide strain or temperature measurements with meter spatial resolution over several tens of kilometers. In this work we demonstrate two new Brillouin fiber sensors with enhanced performances based on advanced modulation formats from high-speed lightwave communications systems. We first report a Brillouin distributed sensor with enhanced centimeter resolution using a digital phase-shift keying technique. The second one uses a quadrature phase-shift keying modulator as a single-sideband modulator to balance the pump depletion and the fiber loss by the Brillouin gain. Combined with a specially-designed in-line bidirectional Erbium-doped fiber amplifier, we demonstrate that this technique allows for the achievement of long-range distributed sensing over 100 km.

Distributed Brillouin Fiber Sensor With Enhanced Sensitivity Based on Anti-Stokes Single-Sideband Suppressed-Carrier Modulation

Minh Duc Nguyen, Birgit Stiller, Min Won Lee, Jean-Charles Beugnot, Herve Maillotte, Alexandre Mottet, Jerome Hauden, Thibaut Sylvestre

IEEE PHOTONICS TECHNOLOGY LETTERS 25 (1) 94-96 (2013) | Journal

We demonstrate an alternative technique to reduce pump depletion and to<br> improve sensitivity in the long-range Brillouin optical time-domain<br> analysis (BOTDA) sensor. Our BOTDA system uses an anti-Stokes<br> single-sideband suppressed-carrier modulation technique that balances<br> the pump depletion due to fiber loss. With this technique, we show both<br> numerically and experimentally a great improvement compared to the dual<br> sideband standard technique.

Scientific career

  • since 2024 also W3 Full Professorship at Leibniz University Hannover
  • 04/2019 – Independent Max Planck Research Group Leader (centrally funded, selected in the competitive call 2017), Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany, Quantum Optoacoustic
  • 04/2021- 09/2022 Temporary W3 Full Professorship (Lehrstuhlvertretung), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Chair of Optics
  • 06/2015 – 02/2019 Research fellow, The University of Sydney, CUDOS, Australia, Nonlinear Optical Phononics (Prof. Benjamin Eggleton)
  • 10/2012 – 05/2015 Postdoctoral fellow, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Germany, Optical Communication and Quantum Communication (Prof. Gerd Leuchs)
  • 02/2012 – 09/2012Postdoctoral fellow, CNRS Institute FEMTO-ST, Besançon, France, Nonlinear Optics and Optoacoustics (Dr. Thibaut Sylvestre)

 

Academic education

  • 01/2009 – 01/2012 Doctoral thesis, CNRS Institute FEMTO-ST, Besançon, France, “Brillouin scattering in photonic crystal fibre: from fundamentals to fibre optic sensors”, (Dr. Thibaut Sylvestre, Dr. Hervé Maillotte)
  • 10/2003 – 12/2008 Master’s degree Mathematics / Physics / Education, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, Master thesis: „Fabrication of periodically poled LiNbO3 for nonlinear optical frequency conversion by quasi phase matching“ (Prof. Jan-Peter Meyn, Prof. Christine Silberhorn)

 

Selected awards, fellowships, services

  • 2024 - ERC Consolidator Grant
  • 2024 - Henriette Hertz Scout of the Humbold Foundation
  • 2024 - Photonics100 2025 List
  • 2022 Conference chair, Lorentz Workshop “Quantum Optics meets Acoustics”, Leiden, Netherlands (14-18 November 2021)
  • 2020 Editorial board New Journal of Physics
  • 2020 Fellow of the Max Planck School of Photonics
  • 2019-2021 Conference chair, “Workshop on Optomechanics and Brillouin scattering - WOMBAT 2021/2022”, Erlangen, Germany (16-18 June 2021 and 14-17 June 2022)
  • 2019 Conference chair, “Workshop on Optomechanics and Brillouin scattering - WOMBAT 2021”, Erlangen, Germany (planned for 16-18 June 2021)
  • 2019 Guest editor for APL Photonics for the Topical Issue “Optoacoustics - Advances in High-Frequency Optomechanics and Brillouin Scattering”
  • 2018 Co-Chair, “Nanophotonics 2018 – the next frontier”, Canberra, Australia
  • 2016 Co-Chair, “Quantum photonic connections conference”, Sydney, Australia
  • 2013 – 2015 Cusanuswerk career development program
  • 2011 Prix A’Doc 2011 of the Université Franche-Comté
  • 2009 – 2011 CNRS PhD Scholarship
  • 2009 Ohm-Preis 2008/2009 of the Physics department at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
  • 2004 – 2008 Scholarship Cusanuswerk
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