Heterodyne phase-sensitive dispersion spectrometer (HPSDS) retrieves the concentration of gas samples by measuring the refractive index fluctuations near the molecular resonance. Compared to previous HPSDS studies focusing on pure intensity modulation, it is attractive to investigate the performance of HPSDS sensor based on a distributed feedback (DFB) laser under conditions where frequency modulation is much higher than intensity modulation. In this work, we report the implementation of a near-infrared HPSDS for methane detection based on the direct modulation of a DFB laser. The performance of our HPSDS is assessed using the characteristic absorption peak of methane near 1653.7 nm. Long-time measurements show that our HPSDS has a detection limit (MDL) of 1.22 ppm at standard atmospheric pressure and room temperature. In the same experimental conditions, we have experimentally compared HPSDS to wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) to evaluate the dynamical range, long-term stability, and precision limits of the two methods.

Microbottle resonators (MBR) have attracted research interest for studying nonlinear optical interactions in last two decades, due to the ultra-tight optical confinement in spaces of three dimensions. In this paper, silica MBRs exhibiting rich resonant modes with ultra-high quality factor up to $3.73 \times {10^8}$ are demonstrated, based on which a portable and robust packaged platform with a tapered fiber coupling is established. Such a packaged platform effectively avoids external perturbations such as air flow and tiny mechanical vibrations, which supports our experimental demonstration of nonlinear scattering effects including four-wave mixing (FWM), simulated Raman scattering, and simulated Brillouin scattering. As a result, Raman-assisted FWM and Brillouin-assisted FWM are observed due to the strong field enhancement in the MBR. In a further investigation, a Kerr frequency comb with broad bandwidth of ∼200 nm and a Raman-assisted comb with a bandwidth up to ∼50 nm is achieved, correspondingly. Our works show the versatility of MBR for fundamental research and may open a new route to the development of practical applications in frequency conversion, spectroscopy and communications.

Backward stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical microcavities has been widely used in nonlinear optics and microwave photonics. Compared with glass material microcavity, magnesium fluoride crystal microcavity has the advantages of small absorption coefficient, fewer defects and larger nonlinear coefficient, moreover, it usually has a narrow gain bandwidth of tens of megahertz. Here, we design a high precision machining system to produce ultra-smooth surface magnesium fluoride crystal disk cavities with a diameter of about 5 mm, Q value exceeding 10⁸, FSR matching material Brillouin gain. By simply modulating the pump wavelength and coupling power, we observe SBS phenomena with a 13.47 GHz Brillouin frequency shift near 1.55µm and cascaded stimulated Brillouin lasers (SBL) of up to 12 orders. In addition, the Brillouin-Kerr optical frequency comb in this device is demonstrated, observing nearly 300 comb lines spanning across a spectral window of 250 nm. Our research provides a way to fabricate high-Q crystal microcavities and demonstrates the potential of these devices in applications such as microwave sources and nonlinear optics.

Optical microresonators supported whispering gallery modes (WGMs) are one of the most cost-effective platforms for optical frequency comb generated due to their advantages of ultra-high quality ( Q ) factor and ultra-low mode volume. In this paper, we report a portable and robust packaged silica spherical microcavity by melting the end of a standard single-mode fiber with ultra-high Q factor up to ${10}^8$ , and theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a broadband optical frequency comb (OFC) generation including Kerr OFC and stimulated Raman comb. Kerr OFCs are separated by one, two, eight and twelve free spectral ranges corresponding to 1.4, 2.8, 11.2, and 16.8 nm, respectively. The transition between Kerr OFC and stimulated Raman comb is achieved by changing the pump laser power and the detuning frequency resulting from gain competition between modulation instability and Raman gain. Benefitting from the dispersion control and ultra-high Q factor persistence in our packaged microcavity, OFC can be adjusted continuously covering from S-band to C-band, L-band and U-band. We also explain these results by numerical simulations using a model framework combined with the Lugiato-Lefever equation and Raman response function.

The hyperspectral full polarization imaging system (HFPIS) based on spatial modulation and liquid crystal tunable filter (LCTF) can modulate the polarization information of the target into the interferogram by means of interference imaging. It has the advantage of rapid imaging of the hyperspectral full polarization information from the target, and has good real time imaging and practicality. Through the spectroscopic imaging mode of a Savart prism, the corresponding interference optical path and imaging system are designed, including a beam expander, spatial modulator, LCTF, focusing system, and imaging sensor. This system can extract the different information from the target and demodulate it so as to obtain the hyperspectral polarization image. The experiment shows that the HFPIS can reveal the texture, contour, and other details of the target in the fog, and has obvious advantages over the traditional intensity imaging methods.