Periodically poled LiNbO3 crystals from 1D and 2D to 3D

Abstract

A periodically-poled LiNbO3 (PPLN) crystal features space-dependent second-order nonlinear coefficients, which is one of the most important materials to effectively control nonlinear optical interactions through quasi-phase matching (QPM). By using electric-field poling method, 1D and 2D PPLN crystals have been successfully fabricated for laser frequency conversion, quantum light sources, nonlinear beam shaping and nonlinear optical imaging. Recently, femtosecond laser engineering technique is utilized to prepare 3D domain structures inside LiNbO3 crystal, which provides a promising platform to control nonlinear interacting waves in 3D configuration. After 40 years of developments, PPLN crystals still have exciting prospects in fundamental researches and practical applications for integrated photonic chip, quantum information processing, and so on.