Shaping of light beams by 3D direct laser writing on facets of nonlinear crystals

We demonstrate experimentally spatial-mode conversions of light beams generated in a quadratic nonlinear process by micron-scale structures placed on the facets of nonlinear crystals. These structures were printed on the crystal facets using a three-dimensional (3D) direct laser writing system. The functional structures were designed to modify the phase of the beam at specific wavelengths, thereby enabling conversion of a fundamental Gaussian laser beam into different high-order Hermite-Gaussian modes, Laguerre-Gaussian modes, and zeroth-order Bessel beams of the second harmonic. This facet functionalization opens exciting new opportunities for robust and compact beam shaping in a nonlinear interaction without compromising the conversion efficiency. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America