A continuum of bright and dark-pulse states in a photonic-crystal resonator

Abstract

Nonlinearity is a powerful determinant of physical systems. Controlling nonlinearity leads to interesting states of matter and new applications. In optics, diverse families of continuous and discrete states arise from balance of nonlinearity and group-velocity dispersion (GVD). Moreover, the dichotomy of states with locally enhanced or diminished field intensity depends critically on the relative sign of nonlinearity and either anomalous or normal GVD. Here, we introduce a resonator with unconditionally normal GVD and a single defect mode that supports both dark, reduced-intensity states and bright, enhanced-intensity states. We access and explore this dark-to-bright pulse continuum by phase-matching with a photonic-crystal resonator, which mediates the competition of nonlinearity and normal GVD. These stationary temporal states are coherent frequency combs, featuring highly designable spectra and ultralow noise repetition-frequency and intensity characteristics. The dark-to-bright continuum illuminates physical roles of Kerr nonlinearity, GVD, and laser propagation in a gapped nanophotonic medium.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 06, 2022
Source ID
10.1038/s41467-022-30774-x

Entities

People

  • Erwan Lucas
  • Jizhao Zang
  • Scott B. Papp
  • Su-Peng Yu

Organizations

  • Swiss National Science Foundation
  • United States Department of Defense

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy