Temporal Bragg gratings: broadband reconfigurable parametric amplifiers

Abstract

This paper introduces temporal Bragg gratings as a new class of broadband, reconfigurable parametric amplifiers. We present a comprehensive investigation of power amplification in these structures, where a spatially periodic refractive index profile is modulated in time at frequencies near the Bragg condition. Through systematic numerical simulations, we explore the impact of modulation location (high-index vs. low-index layers), modulation frequency relative to the Bragg frequency, and modulation amplitude on the gain spectrum and field dynamics. We demonstrate that both high-index and low-index layer modulations can produce significant parametric amplification, with high-index modulation yielding higher gain for comparable modulation depths. The amplification is frequency-agile, with gain peaks tunable across a broad spectral range, and exhibits strong asymmetry between sub-Bragg and supra-Bragg regimes, the former requires substantially stronger modulation for comparable gain. In the extreme sub-Bragg limit, the system transitions from discrete sideband amplification to a broadband gain continuum at high frequencies, explained by multi-phase-matching of parametric processes. These results provide a unified framework for designing dynamically reconfigurable optical amplifiers, tunable frequency converters, and broadband light sources using temporally modulated photonic crystals, offering new pathways toward active, agile, and integrable photonic devices.

More information

Identifiers

ORCID for Sajjad Taravati: orcid.org/0000-0003-3992-0050

Catalogue record

Export record

Altmetrics