Formation of optical supramolecular structures in a fibre laser by tailoring long-range soliton interactions

He W, Pang M, Yeh DH, Huang J, Menyuk CR, Russell PSJ (2019)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Journal

Nature Communications Nature Publishing Group: Nature Communications

Book Volume: 10

Article Number: 5756

Journal Issue: 1

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13746-6

Abstract

Self-assembly of fundamental elements through weak, long-range interactions plays a central role in both supramolecular DNA assembly and bottom-up synthesis of nanostructures. Optical solitons, analogous in many ways to particles, arise from the balance between nonlinearity and dispersion and have been studied in numerous optical systems. Although both short- and long-range interactions between optical solitons have attracted extensive interest for decades, stable soliton supramolecules, with multiple aspects of complexity and flexibility, have thus far escaped experimental observation due to the absence of techniques for enhancing and controlling the long-range inter-soliton forces. Here we report that long-range soliton interactions originating from optoacoustic effects and dispersive-wave radiations can be precisely tailored in a fibre laser cavity, enabling self-assembly of large numbers of optical solitons into highly-ordered supramolecular structures. We demonstrate several features of such optical structures, highlighting their potential applications in optical information storage and ultrafast laser-field manipulation.

Authors with CRIS profile

Wenbin He Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Professur) Dung-Han Yeh Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Professur) Jiapeng Huang Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Professur) Philip St. John Russell Lehrstuhl für Experimentalphysik (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Professur)

Involved external institutions

University of Maryland, Baltimore County US United States (USA) (US) Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

He, W., Pang, M., Yeh, D.-H., Huang, J., Menyuk, C.R., & Russell, P.S.J. (2019). Formation of optical supramolecular structures in a fibre laser by tailoring long-range soliton interactions. Nature Communications, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-13746-6

MLA:

He, Wenbin, et al. "Formation of optical supramolecular structures in a fibre laser by tailoring long-range soliton interactions." Nature Communications 10.1 (2019).

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