Mid-infrared nonlinear optics in thin-film lithium niobate on sapphire

Abstract

Periodically poled thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) waveguides have emerged as a leading platform for highly efficient frequency conversion in the near-infrared. However, the commonly used silica bottom-cladding results in high absorption loss at wavelengths beyond 2.5 µm. In this work, we demonstrate efficient frequency conversion in a TFLN-on-sapphire platform, which features high transparency up to 4.5 µm. In particular, we report generating mid-infrared light up to 3.66 µm via difference-frequency generation of a fixed 1 µm source and a tunable telecom source, with normalized efficiencies up to 200 % / W c m 2 . These results show TFLN-on-sapphire to be a promising platform for integrated nonlinear nanophotonics in the mid-infrared.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 16, 2021
Source ID
10.1364/optica.427428

Entities

People

  • Amir H. Safavi-Naeini
  • Carsten Langrock
  • David Heydari
  • Edwin Ng
  • Hideo Mabuchi
  • Hubert S. Stokowski
  • Jatadhari Mishra
  • M. M. Fejer
  • Marc Jankowski
  • Timothy P. McKenna

Organizations

  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • NTT, Inc.
  • National Center for Research Resources
  • National Science Foundation
  • Stanford University
  • United States Department of Energy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Integrated Circuit Design and Technology.
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.