A combination of loss properties of Periodic Segmented Waveguides and second order wavelength conversion processes is shown to exhibit features which allow to realize an adjustable optical power limiter using classical integrated optics technologies. Results of numerical simulations are presented to confirm the viability of the proposed approach using input and output power levels in the range ...

We study the limiting-amplification capability of a saturated Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (SOA) followed by an optical band-pass filter. We experimentally demonstrate that this simple optical circuit can be effectively exploited to realize a low-power optical limiter for amplitude-modulated pulse trains at multi-GHz repetition rate. We report very large amplitude-modulation-reduction factor...

The increased utilization of high power laser sources has rendered great challenges for designing effi cient optical limiting (OL) materials to protect human eyes and various delicate optical devices. An ideal optical limiter should greatly attenuate an intense laser beam while exhibiting high transmittance for low-input optical intensity. [ 1 ] Up to now, numerous organic and inorganic materia...

We numerically investigate counter-propagating beams in a one-dimensionally, periodic structure with non-instantaneous Kerr nonlinearity for the design of efficient optical limiters. The performance of the Photonic Band Gap optical limiter with different response times is compared with the instantaneous case. Dynamic range and the cutoff intensity can be improved over a range of relaxation times.

We have constructed an optical power limiter based on nonlinear induced scattering in a cell containing crushed glass and a mixture of acetone and carbon disulfide. For 30-ps-long laser pulses the transmitted energy saturates at a value of 6 microJ. We also present the results of a theoretical modeling study that shows how the operating characteristics of such a device can be optimized.

Experiments measuring the transmission of 5 nanosecond (FWHM), 532 nm pulses through an optical limiter using two different nonlinear materials at two separate focal planes show by far the highest dynamic-range measured to date. This cascaded focus, f/5 optical limiter combines self focusing and consequent nonlinear scattering in CS2, with reverse saturable absorption in lead-phthalocyanine (Pb...

We report experimental results of using an f/5 , cascaded-focus optical geometry for a high-dynamic-range optical limiter. The device consists of a 2-cm-thick CS(2) cell at the first focus and a reverse saturable-absorber dye in a thin cell (0.1 mm) at the second focus. The strong self-focusing in the CS(2) that is due to the ac Kerr effect and electrostriction keeps the energy at the second ce...