Second harmonic generation via femtosecond laser fabrication of poled, quasi-phase-matched waveguides in fused silica.

Abstract

Second harmonic generation (SHG) is demonstrated in femtosecond laser written waveguides in fused silica through a combination of thermal poling and laser-based quasi-phase-matching (QPM) techniques. Quasi-phase-matching was controlled by the periodic erasure of induced nonlinearity through femtosecond laser erasure. A maximum SHG conversion efficiency of 6.6±0.5×10-5%/W is reported for the fundamental wavelength of 1552.8 nm with a phase-matching bandwidth of 4.4 nm for a 10.0 mm long waveguide. For a shorter sample, an effective second-order nonlinearity of χ(2)=0.012±0.001 pm/V was measured. Chirped QPM structures for wider SHG bandwidths also were demonstrated. Such periodically poled waveguides are promising for introducing nonlinear optical components within the 3D passive optical circuits that can be flexibly formed in fused silica by femtosecond laser writing.