No Arabic abstract
In materials that do not allow birefringent phase-matching or periodic poling we propose to use waveguides to exploit the tensor structure of the second order nonlinearity for quasi-phase matching of nonlinear interactions. In particular, we concentrate on curved waveguides in which the interplay between the propagation direction, electric field polarizations and the nonlinearity can change the strength and sign of the nonlinear interaction periodically to achieve quasi-phase matching.
The nonlinear optical response of materials is the foundation upon which applications such as frequency conversion, all-optical signal processing, molecular spectroscopy, and nonlinear microscopy are built. However, the utility of all such parametric nonlinear optical processes is hampered by phase-matching requirements. Quasi-phase-matching, birefringent phase matching, and higher-order-mode phase matching have all been developed to address this constraint, but the methods demonstrated to date suffer from the inconvenience of only being phase-matched for a single, specific arrangement of beams, typically co-propagating, resulting in cumbersome experimental configurations and large footprints for integrated devices. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that these phase-matching requirements may be satisfied in a parametric nonlinear optical process for multiple, if not all, configurations of input and output beams when using low-index media. Our measurement constitutes the first experimental observation of direction-independent phase matching for a medium sufficiently long for phase matching concerns to be relevant. We demonstrate four-wave mixing from spectrally distinct co- and counter-propagating pump and probe beams, the backward-generation of a nonlinear signal, and excitation by an out-of-plane probe beam. These results explicitly show that the unique properties of low-index media relax traditional phase-matching constraints, which can be exploited to facilitate nonlinear interactions and miniaturize nonlinear devices, thus adding to the established exceptional properties of low-index materials.
Supercontinuum generation in integrated photonic waveguides is a versatile source of broadband light, and the generated spectrum is largely determined by the phase-matching conditions. Here we show that quasi-phase-matching via periodic modulations of the waveguide structure provides a useful mechanism to control the evolution of ultrafast pulses and the supercontinuum spectrum. We experimentally demonstrate quasi-phase-matched supercontinuum to the TE20 and TE00 waveguide modes, which enhances the intensity of the SCG in specific spectral regions by as much as 20 dB. We utilize higher-order quasi-phase-matching (up to the 16th order) to enhance the intensity in numerous locations across the spectrum. Quasi-phase-matching adds a unique dimension to the design-space for SCG waveguides, allowing the spectrum to be engineered for specific applications.
High-quality crystals without inversion symmetry are the conventional platform to achieve optical frequency conversion via three wave-mixing. In bulk crystals, efficient wave-mixing relies on phase-matching configurations, while at the micro- and nano-scale it requires resonant mechanisms that enhance the nonlinear light-matter interaction. These strategies commonly result in wavelength-specific performances and narrowband applications. Disordered photonic materials, made up of a random assembly of optical nonlinear crystals, enable a broadband tunability in the random quasi-phase-matching (RQPM) regime and do not require high-quality materials. Here, we combine resonances and disorder by implementing RQPM in Mie-resonant spheres of a few microns realized by the bottom-up assembly of barium titanate nano-crystals. The measured second harmonic generation (SHG) reveals a combination of broadband and resonant wave mixing, in which Mie resonances drive and enhance the SHG, while the disorder keeps the phase-matching conditions relaxed. This new phase-matching regime can be described by a random walk in the SHG complex plane whose step lengths depend on the local field enhancement within the micro-sphere. Our nano-crystals assemblies provide new opportunities for tailored phase-matching at the micro-scale, beyond the coherence length of the bulk crystal. They can be adapted to achieve frequency conversion from the near-ultraviolet to the infrared ranges, they are low-cost and scalable to large surface areas.
Future quantum information networks operated on telecom channels require qubit transfer between different wavelengths while preserving quantum coherence and entanglement. Qubit transfer is a nonlinear optical process, but currently the types of atoms used for quantum information processing and storage are limited by the narrow bandwidth of up-conversion available. Here we present the first experimental demonstration of broadband and high-efficiency quasi-phase matching second harmonic generation (SHG) in a chip-scale periodically poled lithium niobate thin film. We achieve large bandwidth of up to 2 THz for SHG by satisfying quasi-phase matching and group-velocity matching simultaneously. Furthermore, by changing film thickness, the central wavelength of quasi-phase matching SHG bandwidth can be modulated from 2.70 um to 1.44 um. The reconfigurable quasi-phase matching lithium niobate thin film provides a significant on-chip integrated platform for photonics and quantum optics.
We study the Floquet edge states in arrays of periodically curved optical waveguides described by the modulated Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. Beyond the bulk-edge correspondence, our study explores the interplay between band topology and periodic modulations. By analysing the quasi-energy spectra and Zak phase, we reveal that, although topological and non-topological edge states can exist for the same parameters, emph{they can not appear in the same spectral gap}. In the high-frequency limit, we find analytically all boundaries between the different phases and study the coexistence of topological and non-topological edge states. In contrast to unmodulated systems, the edge states appear due to either band topology or modulation-induced defects. This means that periodic modulations may not only tune the parametric regions with nontrivial topology, but may also support novel edge states.