No Arabic abstract
Nonreciprocal devices such as isolators and circulators are key enabling technologies for communication systems, both at microwave and optical frequencies. While nonreciprocal devices based on magnetic effects are available for free-space and fibre-optic communication systems, their on-chip integration has been challenging, primarily due to the concomitant high insertion loss, weak magneto-optical effects, and material incompatibility. We show that Kerr nonlinear resonators can be used to achieve all-passive, low-loss, bias-free, broadband nonreciprocal transmission and routing for applications in photonic systems such as chip-scale LIDAR. A multi-port nonlinear Fano resonator is used as an on-chip, all-optical router for frequency comb based distance measurement. Since time-reversal symmetry imposes stringent limitations on the operating power range and transmission of a single nonlinear resonator, we implement a cascaded Fano-Lorentzian resonator system that overcomes these limitations and significantly improves the insertion loss, bandwidth and non-reciprocal power range of current state-of-the-art devices. This work provides a platform-independent design for nonreciprocal transmission and routing that are ideally suited for photonic integration.
The ability of photonic crystal waveguides (PCWs) to confine and slow down light makes them an ideal component to enhance the performance of various photonic devices, such as optical modulators or sensors. However, the integration of PCWs in photonic applications poses design challenges, most notably, engineering the PCW mode dispersion and creating efficient coupling devices. Here, we solve these challenges with photonic inverse design, and experimentally demonstrate a slow-light PCW optical phased array (OPA) with a wide steering range. Even and odd mode PCWs are engineered for a group index of 25, over a bandwidth of 20nm and 12nm, respectively. Additionally, for both PCW designs, we create strip waveguide couplers and free-space vertical couplers. Finally, also relying on inverse design, the radiative losses of the PCW are engineered, allowing us to construct OPAs with a 20{deg} steering range in a 20nm bandwidth.
Microresonator Kerr frequency combs, which rely on third-order nonlinearity ($chi^{(3)}$), are of great interest for a wide range of applications including optical clocks, pulse shaping, spectroscopy, telecommunications, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and quantum information processing. Many of these applications require further spectral and temporal control of the generated frequency comb signal, which is typically accomplished using additional photonic elements with strong second-order nonlinearity ($chi^{(2)}$). To date these functionalities have largely been implemented as discrete off-chip components due to material limitations, which come at the expense of extra system complexity and increased optical losses. Here we demonstrate the generation, filtering and electro-optic modulation of a frequency comb on a single monolithic integrated chip, using a thin-film lithium niobate (LN) photonic platform that simultaneously possesses large $chi^{(2)}$ and $chi^{(3)}$ nonlinearities and low optical losses. We generate broadband Kerr frequency combs using a dispersion-engineered high quality factor LN microresonator, select a single comb line using an electrically programmable add-drop filter, and modulate the intensity of the selected line. Our results pave the way towards monolithic integrated frequency comb solutions for spectroscopy data communication, ranging and quantum photonics.
Optical metasurfaces have been heralded as the platform to integrate multiple functionalities in a compact form-factor, potentially replacing bulky components. A central stepping stone towards realizing this promise is the demonstration of multifunctionality under several constraints (e.g. at multiple incident wavelengths and/or angles) in a single device -- an achievement being hampered by design limitations inherent to single-layer planar geometries. Here, we propose a general framework for the inverse design of volumetric 3D metaoptics via topology optimization, showing that even few-wavelength thick devices can achieve high-efficiency multifunctionality. We embody our framework in multiple closely-spaced patterned layers of a low-index polymer. We experimentally demonstrate our approach with an inverse-designed 3d-printed light concentrator working at five different non-paraxial angles of incidence. Our framework paves the way towards realizing multifunctional ultra-compact 3D nanophotonic devices.
Nonlinear photonics based on integrated circuits has enabled applications such as parametric amplifiers, soliton frequency combs, supercontinua, and non-reciprocal devices. Ultralow optical loss and the capability for dispersion engineering are essential, which necessitate the use of multi-mode waveguides. Despite that rich interaction among different spatial waveguide eigenmodes can give rise to novel nonlinear phenomena, spatial mode interaction is typically undesired as it increases optical loss, perturbs local dispersion profile, and impedes soliton formation. Adiabatic bends, such as Euler bends whose curvature varies linearly with their path length, have been favoured to suppress spatial mode interaction. Adiabatic bends can essentially connect any two waveguide segments with adiabatic mode conversion, thus efficiently avoid mode mixing due to mode mismatch. However, previous works lack quantitative measurement data and analysis to fairly evaluate the adiabaticity, and are not based on photonic integrated circuits with tight optical confinement and optical losses of few dB/m. Here, we adapt, optimize, and implement Euler bends to build compact racetrack microresonators based on ultralow-loss, multi-mode, silicon nitride photonic integrated circuits. The racetrack microresonators feature a small footprint of only 0.21 mm^2 for 19.8 GHz FSR. We quantitatively investigate the suppression of spatial mode interaction in the racetrack microresonators with Euler bends. We show that the optical loss rate (15.5 MHz) is preserved, on par with the mode interaction strength (25 MHz). This results in an unperturbed microresonator dispersion profile. We further demonstrate single soliton of 19.8 GHz repetition rate. The optimized Euler bends and racetrack microresonators can be key building blocks for integrated nonlinear photonic systems, programmable processors and photonic quantum computing.
Waves that are perfectly confined in the continuous spectrum of radiating waves without interaction with them are known as bound states in the continuum (BICs). Despite recent discoveries of BICs in nanophotonics, full routing and control of BICs are yet to be explored. Here, we experimentally demonstrate BICs in a fundamentally new photonic architecture by patterning a low-refractive-index material on a high-refractive-index substrate, where dissipation to the substrate continuum is eliminated by engineering the geometric parameters. Pivotal BIC-based photonic components are demonstrated, including waveguides, microcavities, directional couplers, and modulators. Therefore, this work presents the critical step of photonic integrated circuits in the continuum, and enables the exploration of new single-crystal materials on an integrated photonic platform without the fabrication challenges of patterning the single-crystal materials. The demonstrated lithium niobate platform will facilitate development of functional photonic integrated circuits for optical communications, nonlinear optics at the single photon level as well as scalable photonic quantum information processors.