Bulk Lithium Niobate Crystal Research Articles

Полосковый резонатор СВЧ с объемным кристаллом: экспериментальные характеристики и определение эффективной диэлектрической проницаемости

The paper presents the results of an experimental study and modeling of the frequency characteristics of a resonator in the form of two strip vibrators, separated by a large gap and covered with a bulk lithium niobate crystal. A metal electrode with a floating potential is installed on the upper surface of the crystal. The frequency dependences of the scattering matrix coefficients of a stripline resonator were measured in the frequency range up to 3 GHz. Electrodynamic analysis was carried out in the COMSOL Multiphysics numerical simulation environment. A comparison was made of experimental and numerical results, which showed good qualitative agreement between the transmission coefficients and reflection coefficients. Resonant oscillations were obtained at two or three frequencies depending on the location and orientation of the crystal. It has been established that at the first resonant frequency the electrode acts as a screen. The absence of an electrode leads to the disappearance of resonance. The simulation carried out in COMSOL made it possible to estimate the effective dielectric constant of the resonator corresponding to the values of the resonant frequencies. The calculation of electromagnetic fields made it possible to establish the types of waves corresponding to resonant frequencies. Knowing the type of waves and estimating the relative dielectric constant made it possible to construct an algorithm for a refined iterative procedure for calculating the values of the resonant frequencies and the effective dielectric constant of the resonator. The possibility of using resonators as single-link bandpass filters with a passband of about 1%, insertion loss of –1.1 dB and minimal return loss of –28 dB at the center frequency is shown.

Optical parametric oscillator and amplifier providing tunable, narrowband nanosecond laser pulses in the mid-infrared with mJ pulse energy

We report on an all-solid-state light source for nanosecond (ns) laser pulses, with broad tunability in the mid-infrared, spectral bandwidth close to the Fourier transform limit, and pulse energy in the mJ regime. To this end, we extend a tunable, continuous wave (cw) singly resonant optical parametric oscillator by an optical parametric pre-amplifier with a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal and a power amplifier stage with two bulk lithium niobate crystals. We demonstrate pulse energies beyond 1 mJ in a tuning range between 3.3 and 3.8 upmu mathrm {m} center wavelength, with options for even larger output pulse energy and tuning range. The total conversion efficiency in the power amplifier reaches 20%. From measurements of absorption spectroscopy, we determine a very narrow linewidth of 108 MHz (full width at half maximum, FWHM), which is only a factor of 1.4 above the Fourier limit. We demonstrate the applicability and versatility of the laser system for nonlinear spectroscopy by resonantly enhanced third harmonic generation and sum frequency mixing in a gas sample of HCl molecules.

Third-order nonlinear phenomenon generated on the inner surface of bulk lithium niobate crystals with magnesium doping

Third-order nonlinear phenomenon generated on the inner surface of bulk lithium niobate crystals with magnesium doping

Integrated photonics on thin-film lithium niobate

Lithium niobate (LN), an outstanding and versatile material, has influenced our daily life for decades—from enabling high-speed optical communications that form the backbone of the Internet to realizing radio-frequency filtering used in our cell phones. This half-century-old material is currently embracing a revolution in thin-film LN integrated photonics. The successes of manufacturing wafer-scale, high-quality thin films of LN-on-insulator (LNOI) and breakthroughs in nanofabrication techniques have made high-performance integrated nanophotonic components possible. With rapid development in the past few years, some of these thin-film LN devices, such as optical modulators and nonlinear wavelength converters, have already outperformed their legacy counterparts realized in bulk LN crystals. Furthermore, the nanophotonic integration has enabled ultra-low-loss resonators in LN, which has unlocked many novel applications such as optical frequency combs and quantum transducers. In this review, we cover—from basic principles to the state of the art—the diverse aspects of integrated thin-film LN photonics, including the materials, basic passive components, and various active devices based on electro-optics, all-optical nonlinearities, and acousto-optics. We also identify challenges that this platform is currently facing and point out future opportunities. The field of integrated LNOI photonics is advancing rapidly and poised to make critical impacts on a broad range of applications in communication, signal processing, and quantum information.

Epitaxy of LiNbO3: Historical Challenges and Recent Success

High-quality epitaxial growth of thin film lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is highly desirable for optical and acoustic device applications. Despite decades of research, current state-of-the-art epitaxial techniques are limited by either the material quality or growth rates needed for practical devices. In this paper, we provide a short summary of the primary challenges of lithium niobate epitaxy followed by a brief historical review of lithium niobate epitaxy for prevalent epitaxial techniques. Available figures of merit for crystalline quality and optical transmission losses are given for each growth method. The highest crystalline quality lithium niobate thin film was recently grown by halide-based molecular beam epitaxy and is comparable to bulk lithium niobate crystals. However, these high-quality crystals are grown at slow rates that limit many practical applications. Given the many challenges that lithium niobate epitaxy imposes and the wide variety of methods that have unsuccessfully attempted to surmount these barriers, new approaches to lithium niobate epitaxy are required to meet the need for simultaneously high crystalline quality and sufficient thickness for devices not currently practical by existing techniques.

Efficient generation of a high-field terahertz pulse train in bulk lithium niobate crystals by optical rectification.

We demonstrate a highly efficient method for the generation of a high-field terahertz (THz) pulse train via optical rectification (OR) in congruent lithium niobate (LN) crystals driven by temporally shaped laser pulses. A narrowband THz pulse has been successfully achieved with sub-percent level conversion efficiency and multi MV/cm peak field at 0.26 THz. For the single-cycle THz generation, we achieved a THz pulse with 373-μJ energy in a LN crystal excited by a 100-mJ laser pulse at room temperature. The conversion efficiency is further improved to 0.77 % pumped by a 20-mJ laser pulse with a smaller pump beam size (6 mm in horizontal and 15 mm in vertical). This method holds great potential for generating mJ-level narrow-band THz pulse trains, which may have a major impact in mJ-scale applications like terahertz-based accelerators and light sources.

Efficient carrier-envelope phase tunable mid-infrared frequency combs based on CW-seeded optical parametric generation

We present an efficient method for generating frequency combs in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral range in bulk lithium niobate crystals as well as in waveguides. Our approach is simple and robust, since it is based on single-pass configuration of femtosecond Optical Parametric Generation (OPG) seeded by a telecom continuous-wave laser. Precise and fast tuning of the seed laser allows to rapidly change the offset frequency of the generated MIR comb independent of its repetition rate. The MIR comb offset frequency is inherently known, so its direct detection is not required. An additional degree of freedom that further complements the versatility of our light source is a unique way of repetition rate or mode spacing adjustments. This is achieved by our new concept of coherent multi-seeding that depending on the configuration allows for pulse train modulation and mode spacing, or repetition rate division by an integer number.

Parametric upconversion imaging and its applications

This paper provides an extensive survey of nonlinear parametric upconversion infrared (IR) imaging, from its origin to date. Upconversion imaging is a successful innovative technique for IR imaging in terms of sensitivity, speed, and noise performance. In this approach, the IR image is frequency upconverted to form a visible/near-IR image through parametric three-wave mixing followed by detection using a silicon-based detector or camera. In 1968, Midwinter first demonstrated upconversion imaging from short-wave-IR (1.6 μm) to visible (484 nm) wavelength using a bulk lithium niobate crystal. This technique quickly gained interest, and several other groups demonstrated upconversion imaging further into the mid- and far-IR with significantly improved quantum efficiency. Although a few excellent reviews on upconversion imaging were published in the early 1970s, the rapid progress in recent years merits an updated comprehensive review. The topic includes linear imaging, nonlinear optics, and laser science and has shown diverse applications. The scope of this article is to provide in-depth knowledge of upconversion imaging theory. An overview of different phase matching conditions for the parametric process and the sensitivity of the upconversion detection system are discussed. Furthermore, different design considerations and optimization schemes are outlined for application-specific upconversion imaging. The article comprises a historical perspective of the technique, its most recent technological advances, specific outstanding issues, and some cutting-edge applications of upconversion in IR imaging.

Scalable terahertz generation by large-area optical rectification at 80 TW laser power.

We demonstrate high-energy terahertz generation from a large-aperture (75-mm diameter) lithium niobate wafer by using a femtosecond laser with energy up to 2 J. This scheme utilizes optical rectification in a bulk lithium niobate crystal, where most terahertz energy is emitted from a thin layer of the rear surface. Despite its simple setup, this scheme can yield 0.19 mJ of terahertz energy with laser-to-terahertz conversion efficiencies of ∼10-4, about 3 times better than ZnTe when pumped at 800 nm. The experimental setup is upscalable for multimillijoule terahertz generation with petawatt laser pumping.

Coupled wave equation study of non-collinear phase-matching second harmonic generation and nonlinear Cherenkov radiation generated on the surface of bulk lithium niobate crystals doped with magnesium medium

In this article, on the basis of our previous research on bandwidth of non-collinear phase-matching second harmonic generation (SHG) and nonlinear Cherenkov radiation (NCR) generated on the boundary of bulk nonlinear crystal, we demonstrated theoretically the coupled wave equation of SHG generated by a Gaussian beam on the boundary of 5%/mol MgO:LiNbO3. Using the Fourier-transform technique, we solved this coupled wave equation. The results can explain theoretically the generation mechanism of two different experimental phenomena which corresponded to non-collinear phase-matching SHG under anomalous-dispersion-like dispersion condition and nonlinear NCR under normal dispersion condition, respectively. The theoretical results show a good agreement with the experimental data. This work can provide theoretical fundamental for more complicated research on the boundary of nonlinear media.

Upconversion imaging using short-wave infrared picosecond pulses.

To the best of our knowledge, we present the first demonstration of short-wavelength infrared image upconversion that employs intense picosecond signal and pump beams. We use a fiber laser that emits a signal beam at 1877nm and a pump beam at 1550 nm-both with a pulse width of 1ps and a pulse repetition rate of 21.7MHz. Due to synchronization of high peak-power pulses, efficient upconversion is achieved in a single-pass setup that employs a bulk lithium niobate crystal. Optimizing the temporal overlap of the pulses for high upconversion efficiency enables us to exploit a relatively large pump beam diameter to upconvert a wider range of signal spatial frequencies in the crystal. The 1877nm signal is converted into 849 nm-enabling an image to be acquired by a silicon CCD camera. The measured size of the smallest resolvable element of this imaging system is consistent with the value predicted by an improved model that considers the combined image blurring effect due to finite pump beam size, thick nonlinear crystal, and polychromatic infrared illumination.

Influence of iron doping on spatial soliton formation and fixing in lithium niobate crystals

We analyse the feasibility of using iron-doping in lithium niobate in order to stabilize and permanently fix light-induced integrated structures. General 3D optical interconnections were realized in bulk lithium niobate crystals by means of soliton waveguides exploiting the enhanced photorefractive properties obtainable using specific iron doping. We report an enhancement of the photorefractive properties in doped crystals that can be considered for permanently fixing the integrated circuits. This work opens new directions for realizing permanent self-assembled and self-aligned integrated electro-optic devices and photonic circuits.

Terahertz generation by optical rectification in lithium niobate crystal using a shadow mask

A simple approach to generate high energy, frequency and bandwidth tunable multicycle THz pulses by optical rectification (OR) of spatially shaped femtosecond laser pulses in the lithium niobate (LN) crystal is proposed and demonstrated. A one dimensional binary shadow mask is used as a laser beam shaper. By building the mask's image in the bulk LN crystal with various demagnifications, the frequency of THz generation was tuned in the range of 0.3 - 1.2 THz. There exist also an opportunity to tune the bandwidth of THz generation from 20 GHz to approximately 1 THz by changing the optical beam size on the crystal. The energy spectral density of narrowband THz generation is almost independent of the bandwidth and is typically 0.18 μJ/THz for ~1 W pump power at 1 kHz repetition rate.

Ultrafast and Octave-Spanning Optical Nonlinearities from Strongly Phase-Mismatched Quadratic Interactions

Cascaded nonlinearities have attracted much interest, but ultrafast applications have been seriously hampered by the simultaneous requirements of being near phase matching and having ultrafast femtosecond response times. Here we show that in strongly phase-mismatched nonlinear frequency conversion crystals the pump pulse can experience a large and extremely broadband self-defocusing cascaded Kerr-like nonlinearity. The large cascaded nonlinearity is ensured through interaction with the largest quadratic tensor element in the crystal, and the strong phase mismatch ensures an ultrafast nonlinear response with an octave-spanning bandwidth. We verify this experimentally by showing few-cycle soliton compression with noncritical cascaded second-harmonic generation: Energetic 47 fs infrared pulses are compressed in a just 1-mm long bulk lithium niobate crystal to 17 fs (under 4 optical cycles) with 80% efficiency, and upon further propagation an octave-spanning supercontinuum is observed. Such ultrafast cascading is expected to occur for a broad range of pump wavelengths spanning the near- and mid-IR using standard nonlinear crystals.

Ultrathin membranes in x-cut lithium niobate

Ion-beam enhanced etching is used to pattern a bulk lithium niobate crystal with ultrathin membranes. By the implementation of an air gap beneath the membrane, high index contrast is achieved. A buried amorphous layer, created by irradiation with He ions, is removed by means of wet chemical etching in hydro-fluoric acid. Membranes having thicknesses down to 200 nm are fabricated. The etched air gaps and the membranes exhibit a uniform thickness over the entire etched area, and their widths can be purposefully adjusted over a wide range by choosing appropriate ion energies and fluences as well as annealing conditions.

Cherenkov phase matched THz-wave generation with surfing configuration for bulk Lithium Nobate crystal

We demonstrated a Cherenkov phase matched THz-wave generation with surfing configuration for bulk lithium niobate crystal. THz-wave output was enhanced about 50 times by suppressing phase mismatching for THz-wave propagation direction. The suppression was achieved by combining two pumping waves with dual wavelength with finite angle, and THz-frequency was controllable by changing the angle within 2.5 degrees range. Higher frequency THz-wave generation at around 4.0 THz was successfully obtained by the method.