Search

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are a key component [1] for future telecommunication networks, where demands for greater bandwidth, network flexibility, low energy consumption and cost must all be met. The quest for all optical components has naturally targeted materials with extremely large nonlinearity, including chalcogenide glasses (ChG) [2] and semiconductors, such as silicon [3] and AlGaAs [4]. Yet issues such as immature fabrication technologies for ChG, and high linear and nonlinear losses for semiconductors, motivate the search for other materials. Here we present the first demonstration of nonlinear optics in integrated silica based glass waveguides using continuous wave (CW) light. We demonstrate four wave mixing (FWM), with low (7mW) CW pump power at a wavelength of 1550nm, in high index doped silica glass ring resonators capable of performing in photonic telecommunications networks as linear filters [5]. The high reliability, design flexibility, and manufacturability of our device raises the possibility of a new platform for future low cost nonlinear all optical PICs., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 32 references

International audience; Modulation instability is a fundamental process of nonlinear physics, leading to the unstable breakup of a constant amplitude solution of a particular physical system. There has been particular interest in studying modulation instability in the cubic nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) which models a wide range of nonlinear systems including superfluids, fiber optics, plasmas and Bose-Einstein condensates. Modulation instability in the NLSE is also a significant current area of study in the context of understanding the emergence of high amplitude or high intensity events that satisfy "rogue wave" statistical criteria. Here, exploiting recent advances in real time ultrafast optical metrology via an optical time lens system, we perform real-time measurements in an NLSE optical fibre system of the unstable breakup of a continuous wave field, simultaneously characterising emergent modulation instability breathers, and their associated statistics. Our results allow quantitative comparison between experiment, modelling, and theory, and we show very good agreement in both extracted intensity profiles and associated statistics.

We demonstrate sub-picosecond wavelength conversion in the C-band via four wave mixing in a 45cm long high index doped silica spiral waveguide. We achieve an on/off conversion efficiency (signal to idler) of +16.5dB as well as a parametric gain of +15dB for a peak pump power of 38W over a wavelength range of 100nm. Furthermore, we demonstrated a minimum gain of +5dB over a wavelength range as large as 200nm., Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 30 references

International audience; We report on the generation of Riemann waves in nonlinear optical Fiber. These propagation dynamics, associated with the shoaling of appropriately pre-chirped optical pulses, are investigated both numerically and experimentally.

Nonlinear photonic chips have succeeded in generating and processing signals all-optically with performance far superior to that possible electronically - particularly with respect to speed. Although silicon-on-insulator has been the leading platform for nonlinear optics, its high two-photon absorption at telecommunications wavelengths poses a fundamental limitation. This paper reviews some of the recent achievements in CMOS-compatible platforms for nonlinear optics, focusing on amorphous silicon and Hydex glass, highlighting their potential future impact as well as the challenges to achieving practical solutions for many key applications. These material systems have opened up many new capabilities such as on-chip optical frequency comb generation and ultrafast optical pulse generation and measurement., 8 pages, 10 figures 80 references. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1404.5610

We demonstrate a range of novel functions based on a high index doped silica glass CMOS compatible platform. This platform has promise for telecommunications and on-chip WDM optical interconnects for computing., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, 67 references, 1 table. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1404.5361

Ultrashort pulsed lasers, operating through the phenomenon of mode-locking, have played a significant role in many facets of our society for 50 years, for example in the way we exchange information, measure and diagnose diseases, process materials and in many other applications. The ability to phase-lock the modes of the high-quality resonators recently exploited to demonstrate optical combs, would allow mode-locked lasers to benefit from their high optical spectral quality in order to realize novel sources such as precision optical clocks for applications to metrology, telecommunications, microchip-computing, and many other areas. We demonstrate the first mode-locked laser based on a micro-cavity resonator. It operates via a new mode-locking method we termed Filter-Driven (FD) Four-Wave-Mixing, and is based on a CMOS-compatible high quality factor micro-ring resonator. It achieves stable self-starting oscillation with negligible amplitude noise at ultrahigh repetition rates, and spectral linewidths well below 130 kHz., Comment: 16 pages, 32 references, 5 figures

The anisotropic effective mass of electrons is directly measured using time-resolved THz- pump/THz-probe techniques in a n-doped InGaAs semiconductor thin film. A microscopic theory is used to attribute this anisotropy in the THz probe transmission to the nonparabolicity of the conduction band. Self-consistent light-matter coupling is shown to contribute significantly to the THz response.

Terahertz resonant nanoantennas have recently become a key tool to investigate otherwise inaccessible interactions of such long-wavelength radiation with nano-matter. Because of their high-aspect-ratio rod-shaped geometry, resonant nanoantennas suffer from severe loss, which ultimately limits their field localization performance. Here we show, via a quasi-analytical model, numerical simulations, and experimental evidence, that a proper tapering of such nanostructures relaxes their overall loss, leading to an augmented local field enhancement and a significantly reduced resonator mode volume. Our findings, which can also be extended to more complex geometries and higher frequencies, have profound implications for enhanced sensing and spectroscopy of nano-objects, as well as for designing more effective platforms for nanoscale long-wavelength cavity quantum electrodynamics.

Waveguides play a pivotal role in the full deployment of terahertz communication systems. Besides signal transporting, innovative terahertz waveguides are required to provide versatile signal-processing functionalities. Despite fundamental components, such as Bragg gratings, have been recently realized, they typically rely on complex hybridization, in turn making it extremely challenging to go beyond the most elementary functions. Here, we propose a universal approach, in which multiscale-structured Bragg gratings can be directly etched on metal-wires. Such an approach, in combination with diverse waveguide designs, allows for the realization of a unique platform with remarkable structural simplicity, yet featuring unprecedented signal-processing capabilities. As an example, we introduce a four-wire waveguide geometry, amenable to support the low-loss and low-dispersion propagation of polarization-division multiplexed terahertz signals. Furthermore, by engraving on the wires judiciously designed Bragg gratings based on multiscale structures, it is possible to independently manipulate two polarization-division multiplexed terahertz signals. This platform opens up new exciting perspectives for exploiting the polarization degree of freedom and ultimately boosting the capacity and spectral efficiency of future terahertz networks.

We report on the time-domain integration of terahertz pulses obtained via the tight confinement of the radiation in a tapered two-wire waveguide. Both simulation and experimental results prove the time integration capability of this structure.

We show the time-domain integration of terahertz pulses achieved in a sub-wavelength, tapered two-wire waveguide. Both simulation and experimental results prove the time integration functionality of this waveguide topology.

Exploiting a micro-cavity-based quantum frequency comb, we demonstrate the on-chip generation of high-dimensional entangled quantum states with a Hilbert-space dimensionality larger than 100, and introduce a coherent control approach relying on standard telecommunications components.

The on-chip generation of large and complex optical quantum states will enable low-cost and accessible advances for quantum technologies, such as secure communications and quantum computation. Integrated frequency combs are on-chip light sources with a broad spectrum of evenly-spaced frequency modes, commonly generated by four-wave mixing in optically-excited nonlinear micro-cavities, whose recent use for quantum state generation has provided a solution for scalable and multi-mode quantum light sources. Pulsed quantum frequency combs are of particular interest, since they allow the generation of single-frequency-mode photons, required for scaling state complexity towards, e.g., multi-photon states, and for quantum information applications. However, generation schemes for such pulsed combs have, to date, relied on micro-cavity excitation via lasers external to the sources, being neither versatile nor power-efficient, and impractical for scalable realizations of quantum technologies. Here, we introduce an actively-modulated, nested-cavity configuration that exploits the resonance pass-band characteristic of the micro-cavity to enable a mode-locked and energy-efficient excitation. We demonstrate that the scheme allows the generation of high-purity photons at large coincidence-to-accidental ratios (CAR). Furthermore, by increasing the repetition rate of the excitation field via harmonic mode-locking (i.e. driving the cavity modulation at harmonics of the fundamental repetition rate), we managed to increase the pair production rates (i.e. source efficiency), while maintaining a high CAR and photon purity. Our approach represents a significant step towards the realization of fully on-chip, stable, and versatile sources of pulsed quantum frequency combs, crucial for the development of accessible quantum technologies.

Exploiting a frequency-domain approach, we demonstrate the generation of high-dimensional entangled quantum states with a Hilbert-space dimensionality larger than 100 from an on-chip nonlinear microcavity, and introduce a coherent control platform using standard telecommunications components.

Significant progress in nonlinear and ultrafast optics has recently opened new and exciting opportunities for terahertz (THz) science and technology, which require the development of reliable THz sources, detectors, and supporting devices. In this work, we demonstrate the first solid-state technique for the coherent detection of ultra-broadband THz pulses (0.1-10 THz), relying on the electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation in a thin layer of ultraviolet fused silica. The proposed CMOS-compatible devices, which can be realized with standard microfabrication techniques, allow us to perform ultra-broadband detection with a high dynamic range by employing probe laser powers and bias voltages much lower than those used in gas-based techniques. Eventually, this may pave the way for the use of high-repetition-rate ultrafast lasers and commercially available electronics for the coherent detection of ultrashort THz pulses.

We present an analytical model describing the full electromagnetic propagation in a THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) system, from the THz pulses via Optical Rectification to the detection via Electro Optic-Sampling. While several investigations deal singularly with the many elements that constitute a THz-TDS, in our work we pay particular attention to the modelling of the time-frequency behaviour of all the stages which compose the experimental set-up. Therefore, our model considers the following main aspects: (i) pump beam focusing into the generation crystal; (ii) phase-matching inside both the generation and detection crystals; (iii) chromatic dispersion and absorption inside the crystals; (iv) Fabry-Perot effect; (v) diffraction outside, i.e. along the propagation, (vi) focalization and overlapping between THz and probe beams, (vii) electro-optic sampling. In order to validate our model, we report on the comparison between the simulations and the experimental data obtained from the same set-up, showing their good agreement.

Frequency conversion by means of Kerr nonlinearity is one of the most common and exploited nonlinear optical processes in the UV, visible, IR, and mid-IR spectral regions. Here we show that wave mixing of an optical field and a terahertz wave can be achieved in diamond, resulting in the frequency conversion of the terahertz radiation either by sum- or difference-frequency generation. In the latter case, we show that this process is phase matched and most efficient in a counterpropagating geometry.

We observe second harmonic generation via random quasi-phase-matching in a 2.0 micron periodically poled, 1-cm-long, z-cut lithium tantalate. Away from resonance, the harmonic output profiles exhibit a characteristic pattern stemming from a stochastic domain distribution and a quadratic growth with the fundamental excitation, as well as a broadband spectral response. The results are in good agreement with a simple model and numerical simulations in the undepleted regime, assuming an anisotropic spread of the random nonlinear component. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

We implement a simple and powerful approach to characterize the domain distribution in the bulk of quadratic ferroelectric crystals via far-field second-harmonic spectroscopy. The approach is demonstrated in a lithium tantalate sample with periodic electric field poling and random mark-to-space ratio.

We present our investigation on the THz space-time emission characteristic induced by the non-paraxial generation regime in highly localized THz generation via optical rectification on sub-wavelength areas.

Highly localized THz emission via optical rectification in thin nonlinear crystals is a promising method for subwavelength microscopy. We present here the peculiar THz spatio-temporal characteristics induced by the non-paraxial generation regime.

A highly localized THz source is a promising candidate for sub-wavelength microscopy, due to its superior radiation power throughput with respect to others near-field techniques. Here, we report on the spatial and the spectral near-field properties of our highly localized THz source.

We introduce and test a simple approach for the characterization of domain distribution in bulk quadratic ferroelectric crystals, such as periodically poled Lithium Tantalate with random mark-to space ratio.

We demonstrated broadband second-harmonic generation via random Quasi-Phase-Matching in periodically poled Lithium Tantalate.

We introduce and test a simple approach for the characterization of domain distribution in bulk quadratic ferroelectric crystals, specifically periodically poled Lithium Tantalate with random mark-to space ratio.

We report on the observation of Type I third-harmonic generation induced by a train of femtosecond laser pulses in nematic liquid crystals. We find that as the average power of the train is increased, the frequency conversion process is enhanced as a consequence of the tight confinement of the pulses into a nonlocal spatial soliton. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America

We demonstrate type I third harmonic generation enhanced by the tight localization of fs laser light in nonlocal spatial solitons excited in nematic liquid crystals.

We demonstrate a parametric interaction based on four wave mixing that can arrest the collapse and stabilize solitary propagation in a pure Kerr material by controlling the wavelength of the interacting beams.

We investigate four-wave mixing between terahertz and optical pulses in diamond. We observe the occurrence of sum and difference frequency generation, with the latter being phase-matched for terahertz pulses counter-propagating to the optical field.

The nonlinear interaction of terahertz (THz) pulses with optical fields in Kerr, gaseous media is a key ingredient for broadband THz detection schemes [1]. Terahertz field-induced second harmonic generation in solid-state media has also been considered for THz detection and as a tool e.g. for liquid dynamics investigations [2,3], while four-wave mixing has been addressed as a possible mechanism for THz generation [4,5]. © 2013 IEEE.

We experimentally observed and explained bulk second harmonic generation via random quasi-phase-matching, derived from a periodically poled lithium tantalate sample with a randomly patterned mark-to-space-ratio.