Self-phase modulation

Self-phase modulation (SPM) is a nonlinear optical effect of light–matter interaction. An ultrashort pulse of light, when travelling in a medium, will induce a varying refractive index of the medium due to the optical Kerr effect.[1] This variation in refractive index will produce a phase shift in the pulse, leading to a change of the pulse's frequency spectrum.

Self-phase modulation is an important effect in optical systems that use short, intense pulses of light, such as lasers and optical fiber communications systems.[2]

Self-phase modulation has also been reported for nonlinear sound waves propagating in biological thin films, where the phase modulation results from varying elastic properties of the lipid films.[3]

  1. ^ Vaziri, M R R (2015). "Comment on "Nonlinear refraction measurements of materials using the moiré deflectometry"". Optics Communications. 357: 200–201. Bibcode:2015OptCo.357..200R. doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2014.09.017.
  2. ^ Stolen, R.; Lin, C. (April 1978). "Self-phase-modulation in silica optical fibers". Phys. Rev. A. 17 (4): 1448–1453. Bibcode:1978PhRvA..17.1448S. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.17.1448.
  3. ^ Shrivastava, Shamit; Schneider, Matthias (18 June 2014). "Evidence for two dimensional solitary sound wave in a lipid controlled interface and its implications for biological signalling". Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 11 (97): 20140098. doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.0098. PMC 4078894. PMID 24942845.