Ultrafast nonlinear optical properties of thin-solid DNA film and their application as a saturable absorber in femtosecond mode-locked fiber laser

Abstract

A new extraordinary application of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) thin-solid-film was experimentally explored in the field of ultrafast nonlinear photonics. Optical transmission was investigated in both linear and nonlinear regimes for two types of DNA thin-solid-films made from DNA in aqueous solution and DNA-cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMA) in an organic solvent. Z-scan measurements revealed a high third-order nonlinearity with n2 exceeding 10−9 at a wavelength of 1570 nm, for a nonlinarity about five orders of magnitude larger than that of silica. We also demonstrated ultrafast saturable absorption (SA) with a modulation depth of 0.43%. DNA thin solid films were successfully deposited on a side-polished optical fiber, providing an efficient evanescent wave interaction. We built an organic-inorganic hybrid all-fiber ring laser using DNA film as an ultrafast SA and using Erbium-doped fiber as an efficient optical gain medium. Stable transform-limited femtosecond soliton pulses were generated with full width half maxima of 417 fs for DNA and 323 fs for DNA-CTMA thin-solid-film SAs. The average output power was 4.20 mW for DNA and 5.46 mW for DNA-CTMA. Detailed conditions for DNA solid film preparation, dispersion control in the laser cavity and subsequent characteristics of soliton pulses are discussed, to confirm unique nonlinear optical applications of DNA thin-solid-film.

Non-linear optical measurement of the twist elastic constant in thermotropic and DNA lyotropic chiral nematics

“…The largest values have been obtained very recently by investigating DNA in thin solid films 38 . The values reported for n 2 are in the range 10 −13 –10 −11  cm 2 /W, that is at least three orders of magnitude smaller than the one we report here.…”

Utilizing the Organizational Power of DNA Scaffolds for New Nanophotonic Applications

“…Based on these properties, research has developed around exploiting DNA films as optical memory materials and optical amplifiers . For example, DNA films show favorable characteristics as a saturable absorber, a material whose absorbance decreases at higher light power, and as such have been used to passively mode‐lock a fiber laser cavity . Another successful application of DNA films is as an electron blocking layer in organic light‐emitting diodes .…”

The miraculous dynamism of the Qur’an: An example of a modern reading reveals a DNA designation

“…DNA as a biopolymer material exhibits a new organic alternatives to current inorganic functional materials for electronics and optoelectronics applications (Kwon et al 2012;Bauer 2014;Khazaeinezhad et al 2017). I can summarize some of these applications as follows.…”

“…shown, from some verses having scientific signs (Chaabani 2006;2013;2018) The structures of DNA and clay minerals were both revealed mainly thanks to X-ray diffraction principle applied according to X-ray crystallography techniques developed particularly from about 1920 to 1953 (e.g., see Watson and Crick 1953;Larson and Wherry 1925;Endell et al 1933). Researchers have continued to investigate the different proprieties of these two elements and their utility until nowadays (e.g., Khazaeinezhad, R. et al 2017, Schakenraad et al 2017Schoonheydt and Johnston 2011;Krupskaya et al 2017).…”