Optical Kerr effect, in which input light intensity linearly alters the refractive index, has enabled the generation ofoptical solitons, supercontinuum spectra, and frequency combs, playing vital roles in the on-chip ...Optical Kerr effect, in which input light intensity linearly alters the refractive index, has enabled the generation ofoptical solitons, supercontinuum spectra, and frequency combs, playing vital roles in the on-chip devices, fibercommunications, and quantum manipulations. Especially, terahertz Kerr effect, featuring fascinating prospects in futurehigh-rate computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based technologies, encounters a great challenge due to therather low power density and feeble Kerr response. Here, we demonstrate a giant terahertz frequency Kerr nonlinearitymediated by stimulated phonon polaritons. Under the influences of the giant Kerr nonlinearity, the power-dependentrefractive index change would result in a frequency shift in the microcavity, which was experimentally demonstratedvia the measurement of the resonant mode of a chip-scale lithium niobate Fabry-Pérot microcavity. Attributed to theexistence of stimulated phonon polaritons, the nonlinear coefficient extracted from the frequency shifts is orders ofmagnitude larger than that of visible and infrared light, which is also theoretically demonstrated by nonlinear Huangequations. This work opens an avenue for many rich and fruitful terahertz Kerr effect based physical, chemical, andbiological systems that have terahertz fingerprints.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62205158 and 11974192)the Foundation of State Key Laboratory of laser Interaction with Matter(SKLLIM2101)the 111 Project(B23045).
文摘Optical Kerr effect, in which input light intensity linearly alters the refractive index, has enabled the generation ofoptical solitons, supercontinuum spectra, and frequency combs, playing vital roles in the on-chip devices, fibercommunications, and quantum manipulations. Especially, terahertz Kerr effect, featuring fascinating prospects in futurehigh-rate computing, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based technologies, encounters a great challenge due to therather low power density and feeble Kerr response. Here, we demonstrate a giant terahertz frequency Kerr nonlinearitymediated by stimulated phonon polaritons. Under the influences of the giant Kerr nonlinearity, the power-dependentrefractive index change would result in a frequency shift in the microcavity, which was experimentally demonstratedvia the measurement of the resonant mode of a chip-scale lithium niobate Fabry-Pérot microcavity. Attributed to theexistence of stimulated phonon polaritons, the nonlinear coefficient extracted from the frequency shifts is orders ofmagnitude larger than that of visible and infrared light, which is also theoretically demonstrated by nonlinear Huangequations. This work opens an avenue for many rich and fruitful terahertz Kerr effect based physical, chemical, andbiological systems that have terahertz fingerprints.
