Effect of thickness variations of lithium niobate on insulator waveguide on the frequency spectrum of spontaneous parametric down-conversion

We study the effect of waveguide thickness variations on the frequency spectrum of spontaneous parametric downconversion in the periodically-poled lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI)waveguide.We analyze several variation models and our simulation results show that thickness variations in several nanometers can induce distinct effects on the central peak of the spectrum,such as narrowing,broadening,and splitting.We also prove that the effects of positive and negative variations can be canceled and thus lead to a variation-robust feature and an ultra-broad bandwidth.Our study may promote the development of on-chip photon sources in the LNOI platform,as well as opens up a way to engineer photon frequency state.

Waveguide-resonator coupling structure design in the lithium niobate on insulator forχ^((2))nonlinear applications

The microring resonator based on lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI)is a promising platform for broadband nonlinearity process because of its strong second-order nonlinear coefficients,the capability of dispersion engineering,etc.It is important to control the energy transmitted into the resonator at different wavelengths,as this becomes difficult for two bands across an octave.In this Letter,we study the effect of different pulley bus-resonator configurations on phase mismatching and mode field overlap.We achieve the control of energy transmission coefficients at different wavebands simultaneously and provide a general design methodology for coupled structures for broadband applications.This paper can contribute to quantum and classical optical broadband applications based on LNOI microring resonators.

Effect of dimension variation for second-harmonic generation in lithium niobate on insulator waveguide[Invited]

We study the effect of dimension variation for second-harmonic generation(SHG) in lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI)waveguides. Non-trivial SHG profiles in both type-0 and type-I quasi-phase matching are observed during the wavelength tuning of the fundamental light. Theoretical modeling shows that the SHG profile and efficiency can be greatly affected by the waveguide cross-section dimension variations, especially the thickness variations. In particular, our analysis shows that a thickness variation of tens of nanometers is in good agreement with the experimental results. Such investigations could be used to evaluate fabrication performance of LNOI-based nonlinear optical devices.

Polarization diversity two-dimensional grating coupler on x-cut lithium niobate on insulator

We propose and demonstrate a polarization diversity two-dimensional grating coupler based on the lithium niobate on insulator platform, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The optimization design, performance characteristics,and fabrication tolerance of the two-dimensional grating coupler are thoroughly analyzed utilizing the three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method. Experimentally,-7.2 d B of coupling efficiency is achieved with 1 d B bandwidth of64 nm. The polarization-dependent loss is about 0.4 d B around 1550 nm. Our work provides new polarization multiplexing approaches for the lithium niobate on insulator platform, paving the way for critical applications such as high-speed polarization multiplexed electro-optical modulators.

Thin-film lithium niobate dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator for a simple photonic system measuring Doppler frequency shift

In recent years,thin-film lithium niobate(TFLN)electro-optic(EO)modulators have developed rapidly and are the core solution for the next generation of microwave photonics(MWP)problems.We designed and fabricated a dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder modulator(DPMZM)based on TFLN,achieving a 3 dB electro-electro(EE)bandwidth of 29 GHz and a low drive voltage(Vπ=6 V).The device we manufactured is metal-encapsulated.It is noteworthy that we proposed a single-channel Doppler frequency shift(DFS)measurement system based on this device and conducted verification experiments.We coupled light from an external laser into the chip and passed it through each of the two sub-MZMs of the DPMZM.These lights were modulated by echo signals and reference signals.By measuring the frequency of the output signal,we can obtain a DFS value without directional ambiguity.The success of this experiment marks a key step in the practical application of TFLN modulators in MWP.

Ultra-compact lithium niobate photonic chip for high-capacity and energy-efficient wavelength-division-multiplexing transmitters

Recently,high-performance thin-film lithium niobate optical modulators have emerged that,together with advanced multiplexing technologies,are highly expected to satisfy the ever-growing demand for high-capacity optical interconnects utilizing multiple channels.Accordingly,in this study,a compact lithium-niobate-on-insulator(LNOI)photonic chip was adopted to establish four-channel wavelength-division-multiplexing(WDM)transmitters,comprising four optical modulators based on ultracompact 2×2 Fabry-Perot cavities and a four-channel WDM filter based on multimode waveguide gratings.The fabricated chip with four wavelength channels has a total footprint as compact as 0.3×2.8 mm^(2),and exhibits an excess loss of~0.8 dB as well as low inter-channel crosstalk of<–22 dB.Using this LNOI photonic chip,high-capacity data transmissions of 320 Gbps(4×80 Gbps)on-off-keying signals and 400 Gbps(4×100 Gbps)four-level pulse amplitude signals were successfully realized with the ultra-low power consumption of 11.9 fJ/bit.

Gigahertz-rate-switchable wavefront shaping through integration of metasurfaces with photonic integrated circuit

Achieving spatiotemporal control of light at high speeds presents immense possibilities for various applications in communication,computation,metrology,and sensing.The integration of subwavelength metasurfaces and optical waveguides offers a promising approach to manipulate light across multiple degrees of freedom at high speed in compact photonic integrated circuit(PIC)devices.Here,we demonstrate a gigahertz-rate-switchable wavefront shaping by integrating metasurface,lithium niobate on insulator photonic waveguides,and electrodes within a PIC device.As proofs of concept,we showcase the generation of a focus beam with reconfigurable arbitrary polarizations,switchable focusing with lateral focal positions and focal length,orbital angular momentum light beams as well as Bessel beams.Our measurements indicate modulation speeds of up to the gigahertz rate.This integrated platform offers a versatile and efficient means of controlling the light field at high speed within a compact system,paving the way for potential applications in optical communication,computation,sensing,and imaging.

On-chip erbium-doped lithium niobate microcavity laser

The commercialization of lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI) wafer has resulted in significant on-chip photonic integration application owing to its remarkable photonic,acousto-optic,electro-optic,and piezoelectric nature.In recent years,a variety of high-performance on-chip LNOI-based photonic devices have been realized.In this study,we developed a 1-mol% erbium-doped lithium niobate crystal and its LNOI on a silicon substrate and fabricated an erbium-doped LNOI microdisk with high quality factor(~1.05×105).C-band laser emission at ~1530 and ~1560 nm(linewidth 0.12 nm) from the high-Q erbium-doped LNOI microdisk was demonstrated with 974-and 1460-nm pumping,with the latter having better thermal stability.This microlaser would play an important role in the photonic integrated circuits of the lithium niobate platform.

On-chip erbium-doped lithium niobate waveguide amplifiers [Invited]

Lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI), as an emerging and promising optical integration platform, faces shortages of on-chip active devices including lasers and amplifiers. Here, we report the fabrication of on-chip erbium-doped LNOI waveguide amplifiers based on electron beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. A net internal gain of ~30 d B/cm in the communication band was achieved in the fabricated waveguide amplifiers under the pump of a974 nm continuous laser. This work develops new active devices on LNOI and may promote the development of LNOI integrated photonics.

Spectrally multiplexed and bright entangled photon pairs in a lithium niobate microresonator

On-chip bright quantum sources with multiplexing ability are extremely high in demand for integrated quantum networks with unprecedented scalability and complexity.Here,we demonstrate a bright and broadband biphoton quantum source with spectral multiplexing generated in a lithium niobate microresonator system.Without introducing the conventional domain poling,the on-chip microdisk produces photon pairs covering a broad bandwidth promised by natural phase matching in spontaneous parametric down conversion.Experimentally,the multiplexed photon pairs are characterized by 30 nm bandwidth limited by the filtering system,providing over 40 multiplexing channels with a 0.8 nm channel spacing.Meanwhile,the generation rate reaches 5.13 MHz/μW with a coincidence-to-accidental ratio up to 804,and the quantum source manifests a high purity with a heralded single photon correlation g^((2))_(H)(0)=0.0098±0.0021.Furthermore,the energy-time entanglement is demonstrated with an excellent interference visibility of 96.5%±2%.Such a quantum source at the telecommunication band paves the way for high-dimensional entanglement and future integrated quantum information systems.

Chip-scale spontaneous quasi-phase matched second harmonic generation in a micro-racetrack resonator

In this paper,we demonstrate efficient spontaneous quasi-phase matched(SQPM)second harmonic generation(SHG)in a microracetrack resonator on X-cut thin film lithium niobate.Our approach does not involve poling,but exploits the anisotropy of the crystals to allow the phase-matching condition to be fulfilled spontaneously as the TE-polarized light circulates in a specifically designed racetrack resonator.In experiment,normalized on-chip conversion efficiencies of 1.01×10-4/W and 0.43×10-4/W are achieved by 37th-order and 111th-order SQPM,respectively.The configurable SQPM will benefit the application of nonlinear frequency conversion and quantum source generation in chip-scale integrated photonics compatible with standard CMOS fabrication processes.

Experimental demonstration of TE/TM polarizationindependent frequency upconversion assisted by polarization coupling

Optical frequency conversion based on the second-order nonlinearity(χ^((2))) only occurs in anisotropic media(or at interfaces) and thus is intrinsically polarization-dependent. But for practical applications, polarization-insensitive or independent operation is highly sought after. Here, by leveraging polarization coupling and second-order nonlinearity, we experimentally demonstrate a paradigm of TE/TM polarization-independent frequency upconversion, i.e., sum frequency generation, in the periodically poled lithium niobate-on-insulator ridge waveguide. The cascading of quasi-phase-matched polarization coupling and nonlinear frequency conversion is exploited. With a proper transverse electric field, TE and TM mode fundamental waves can be frequency-upconverted with an equal efficiency in the frequency converter. The proposed method may find ready application in all-optical wavelength conversion and upconversion detection technologies.

Locally periodically poled LNOI ridge waveguide for second harmonic generation [Invited]

Periodically poled lithium niobate on insulator(LNOI) ridge waveguides are desirable for high-efficiency nonlinear frequency conversions, and the fabrication process of such waveguides is crucial for device performance. In this work, we report fabrication and characterization of locally periodically poled ridge waveguides. Ridge waveguides were fabricated by dry etching, and then the high-voltage pulses were applied to locally poled ridge waveguides. Second harmonic generation with normalized conversion efficiency of 435.5% W^(-1)·cm^(-2) was obtained in the periodically poled LNOI ridge waveguide,which was consistent with the triangular domain structure revealed by confocal microscopy.