Nonlinear optics in germanium mid-infrared fiber material: Detuning oscillations in femtosecond mid-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

Germanium optical fibers hold great promise in extending semiconductor photonics into the fundamentally important mid-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The demonstration of nonlinear response in fabricated Ge fiber samples is a key step in the development of mid-infrared fiber materials. Here we report the observation of detuning oscillations in a germanium fiber in the mid-infrared region using femtosecond dispersed pump-probe spectroscopy. Detuning oscillations are observed in the frequency-resolved response when mid-infrared pump and probe pulses are overlapped in a fiber segment. The oscillations arise from the nonlinear frequency resolved nonlinear (χ(3)) response in the germanium semiconductor. Our work represents the first observation of coherent oscillations in the emerging field of germanium mid-infrared fiber optics.