A nonlinear interface for phase transduction

Abstract

Broadband nonlinear frequency conversion mixes multiple input frequencies, complicating the transfer of programmed spectral phase between widely separated spectral bands. Here we identify and experimentally realize a quasi-linear phase-transduction regime enabled by broad phase-matching acceptance and effective localization of the complex frequency-mixing response. This selectivity can arise from coherent interference without narrowing the pump spectrum. We implement this regime through dispersive four-wave mixing in an argon-filled hollow-capillary fiber, transferring spectral phase from 1032-nm near-infrared signals to 344-nm ultraviolet idlers. Transient-grating frequency-resolved optical gating reveals frequency-inverted, phase-conjugating transfer of quadratic dispersion, localized phase steps, and low-frequency sinusoidal modulation. After correction for the modeled pump-induced phase background, the quadratic and step responses exhibit approximately linear point-by-point correlations. With increasing pump chirp, the transferred phase steps become more sharply preserved, and the fitted phase-transfer gains approach unity, consistent with enhanced effective localization. These results demonstrate quasi-linear spectral-phase transduction in a co-propagating broadband nonlinear interaction without spatially separating its spectral components.