BACKGROUND:  Rogue waves are abnormally large, steep waves that appear unexpectedly in the open ocean. These waves are rare, and occur much more commonly than predicted by conventional wave models. Although the formation of these extreme waves is not fully understood, it is widely believed that nonlinearity plays a central role. In the past, the study of rogue waves has focused on hydrodynamic studies and experiments. However, there are other physical systems that possess similar nonlinear characteristics and may also support rogue waves. UCLA researchers have discovered that rogue waves can arise in optics, and can be harnessed for applications.

INNOVATION:  Optical rogue waves arise during low-power optical supercontinuum generation, and are an extreme manifestation of supercontinuum noise. Even in less extreme form, noise plagues many supercontinuum sources, and limits their applications. Although, supercontinuum light has many applications in scientific research and technology, its amplitude and phase fluctuations often present a significant problem. By harnessing the phenomenon behind the formation of optical rogue waves, however, the UCLA researchers have identified a way to reduce supercontinuum fluctuations, dramatically increasing its intensity stability and phase coherence. This technology produces highly coherent, stable supercontinuum radiation with low input power. It also offers a means to produce short optical pulses starting with much longer pulses.

As optical rogue waves are closely related to oceanic rogue waves, there is also potential for an optical system to be used as a model for studying and predicting oceanic rogue waves, which are very difficult to observe and control directly.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS 

• Efficient white light source
• Means to generate stable, coherent white light
• High-contrast optical switch
• Study and predict extreme water waves in hydrodynamics

ADVANTAGES

• Supercontinuum light can be generated with much lower power requirements
• Provides for lower noise output that is more stable than current methods
• Improves performance of already established supercontinuum applications
• Currently the only physical system that can predict and generate rogue-like waves

Related Papers (Selected)

• "Optical rogue waves," D. R. Solli, C. Ropers, P. Koonath, and B. Jalali, Nature - Letters, vol. 450, pg. 1054-1058 (2007) - [more]

Reference: UCLA Case No. 2008-358