A liquid core waveguide as a refractometer is proposed. Microtunnels were created in standard optical fiber using tightly focused femtoscond laser inscription and chemical etching. A 1.2(h)x125(d) x500(l) mum micro-slot engraved along a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was used to construct liquid core waveguide by filling the slot with index matching oils. The device was used to measure refractive in...

Mid-infrared radiation near 2.8 mum was generated by difference-frequency generation in an 80-mm-long periodically poled Ti:LiNbO(3) channel waveguide by pump radiation near 1.55 mum (tunable external-cavity laser) and a signal radiation of 3.391 mum (HeNe laser). We obtained a normalized conversion efficiency of 105% W(-1) , which is to our knowledge the highest value ever reported.

We report on efficient generation of millijoule-level, kilohertz-repetition-rate few-cycle laser pulses with radial polarization by combining a gas-filled hollow-waveguide compression technique with a suitable polarization mode converter. Peak power levels >85  GW are routinely achieved, capable of reaching relativistic intensities >10(19)  W/cm2 with carrier-envelope-phase control, by employin...

Growth and planar-waveguide laser (PWL) performance of garnet-crystal-films are reported. Demonstration of 70% slope efficiency with >16.5W realized with Yb:YAG, along with the first Yb:GGG and Yb:YGG PWLs. Thickness and performance scaling will be discussed. OCIS codes: (310.0310) Thin films; (220.4610) Optical fabrication; (230.7390) Waveguides, planar; (130.0130) Integrated optics; (140.3380...