@article{KurzkeKietheHeueretal.2017, author = {Kurzke, Henning and Kiethe, Jan and Heuer, Axel and Jechow, Andreas}, title = {Frequency doubling of incoherent light from a superluminescent diode in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide crystal}, series = {Laser physics letters}, volume = {14}, journal = {Laser physics letters}, publisher = {IOP Publ.}, address = {Bristol}, issn = {1612-2011}, doi = {10.1088/1612-202X/aa6889}, pages = {5}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The amplified spontaneous emission from a superluminescent diode was frequency doubled in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide crystal. The temporally incoherent radiation of such a superluminescent diode is characterized by a relatively broad spectral bandwidth and thermal-like photon statistics, as the measured degree of second order coherence, g((2))(0)= 1.9 +/- 0.1, indicates. Despite the non-optimized scenario in the spectral domain, we achieve six orders of magnitude higher conversion efficiency than previously reported with truly incoherent light. This is possible by using single spatial mode radiation and quasi phase matched material with a waveguide architecture. This work is a principle step towards efficient frequency conversion of temporally incoherent radiation in one spatial mode to access wavelengths where no radiation from superluminescent diodes is available, especially with tailored quasi phase matched crystals. The frequency doubled light might find application in imaging, metrology and quantum optics experiments.}, language = {en} } @article{JechowSeefeldtKurzkeetal.2013, author = {Jechow, Andreas and Seefeldt, Michael and Kurzke, Henning and Heuer, Axel and Menzel, Ralf}, title = {Enhanced two-photon excited fluorescence from imaging agents using true thermal light}, series = {Nature photonics}, volume = {7}, journal = {Nature photonics}, number = {12}, publisher = {Nature Publ. Group}, address = {London}, issn = {1749-4885}, doi = {10.1038/NPHOTON.2013.271}, pages = {973 -- 976}, year = {2013}, abstract = {Two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) is a standard technique in modern microscopy(1), but is still affected by photodamage to the probe. It has been proposed that TPEF can be enhanced using entangled photons(2,3), but this has proven challenging. Recently, it was shown that some features of entangled photons can be mimicked with thermal light, which finds application in ghost imaging(4), subwavelength lithography(5) and metrology(6). Here, we use true thermal light from a superluminescent diode to demonstrate TPEF that is enhanced compared to coherent light, using two common fluorophores and luminescent quantum dots, which suit applications in imaging and microscopy. We find that the TPEF rate is directly proportional to the measured(7) degree of second-order coherence, as predicted by theory. Our results show that photon bunching in thermal light can be exploited in two-photon microscopy, with the photon statistic providing a new degree of freedom.}, language = {en} }