Paper detail

Frequency conversion of abruptly autofocusing waves

Abruptly autofocusing waves and associated ring-Airy (RA) beams are attracting increasing interest owing to their fascinating properties such as their ability of abruptly autofocusing to small F-number. Optical frequency conversion via nonlinear interactions can further expand their applications to new area, yet are rarely studied. In this work, we report the frequency conversion of RA beams via sum-frequency generation using perfect flattop and common Gauss beams as the pump beams. The nonlinear transformation of the spatial complex amplitude of the signal and associated influences on autofocusing behavior, under different conditions of interaction location (i.e., original, autofocusing, and Fourier planes) and pump structure, were systematically studied and experimentally investigated. This proof-of principle demonstration provides a general guideline to build the frequency interface for abruptly autofocusing waves and a reference for relevant studies involving nonlinear transformation of abruptly autofocusing waves.