Nonlinear Holography Research Articles

Broadband infrared imaging governed by guided-mode resonance in dielectric metasurfaces

Nonlinear metasurfaces have experienced rapid growth recently due to their potential in various applications, including infrared imaging and spectroscopy. However, due to the low conversion efficiencies of metasurfaces, several strategies have been adopted to enhance their performances, including employing resonances at signal or nonlinear emission wavelengths. This strategy results in a narrow operational band of the nonlinear metasurfaces, which has bottlenecked many applications, including nonlinear holography, image encoding, and nonlinear metalenses. Here, we overcome this issue by introducing a new nonlinear imaging platform utilizing a pump beam to enhance signal conversion through four-wave mixing (FWM), whereby the metasurface is resonant at the pump wavelength rather than the signal or nonlinear emissions. As a result, we demonstrate broadband nonlinear imaging for arbitrary objects using metasurfaces. A silicon disk-on-slab metasurface is introduced with an excitable guided-mode resonance at the pump wavelength. This enabled direct conversion of a broad IR image ranging from >1000 to 4000 nm into visible. Importantly, adopting FWM substantially reduces the dependence on high-power signal inputs or resonant features at the signal beam of nonlinear imaging by utilizing the quadratic relationship between the pump beam intensity and the signal conversion efficiency. Our results, therefore, unlock the potential for broadband infrared imaging capabilities with metasurfaces, making a promising advancement for next-generation all-optical infrared imaging techniques with chip-scale photonic devices.

Large Field-of-View Nonlinear Holography in Lithium Niobate.

A nonlinear holographic technique is capable of processing optical information in the newly generated optical frequencies, enabling fascinating functions in laser display, security storage, and image recognition. One popular nonlinear hologram is based on a periodically poled lithium niobate (LN) crystal. However, due to the limitations of traditional fabrication techniques, the pixel size of the LN hologram is typically several micrometers, resulting in a limited field-of-voew (FOV) of several degrees. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an ultra-high-resolution LN hologram by using the laser poling technique. The minimal pixel size reaches 200 nm, and the FOV is extended above 120° in our experiments. The image distortions at large view angles are effectively suppressed through the Fourier transform. The FOV is further improved by combining multiple diffraction orders of SH fields. The ultimate FOV under our configuration is decided by a Fresnel transmission. Our results pave the way for expanding the applications of nonlinear holography to wide-view imaging and display.

Nonlinear photonic crystals for completely independent asymmetric holographic imaging.

Nonlinear photonic crystals (NPCs) are microstructures characterized by a spatially modulated second-order nonlinear coefficient that have been extensively used for the generation and beam-shaping of coherent light at new frequencies. NPCs for asymmetric optical transmission have a significant impact on novel and multifunction photonic devices. However, nonreciprocal NPCs capable of completely independent asymmetric holographic imaging for the opposite propagation directions have not been reported. Here, we propose a holographic combiner for a different independent image generation at the second-harmonic (SH) wavelength when illuminated from opposite sides of NPCs. The design of the holographic combiner is based on a 3D nonlinear detour phase holography and an orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing nonlinear holography. This work achieves completely independent asymmetric holographic imaging at the SH frequency by using NPCs, which may have potential applications in classical and quantum optical devices.

Nonlinear generation of an optical bottle beam in domain-engineered ferroelectric crystals.

Nonlinear wavefront shaping in periodically poled ferroelectric crystals has received great attention because it offers a convenient way to generate a structured light beam at new frequencies. In contrast to structurally uniform beams like Laguerre-Gaussian or Hermite-Gaussian modes, here we demonstrate the possibility to generate a spatially varied optical bottle beam via a frequency doubling process in a domain-engineered Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6 (SBN) crystal. The nonlinear holography method was employed to design the modulation pattern of the second-order nonlinear coefficient χ(2), and the femtosecond laser poling was used to imprint the χ(2) pattern into the SBN crystal via ferroelectric domain inversion. The second harmonic bottle beam with zero intensity in its center that is surrounded in all three dimensions by light was observed with the incidence of a fundamental Gaussian beam. These results are useful for nonlinear generation and control of structured light at new frequencies, which has important applications in nonlinear photonics and quantum optics.

Frequency-domain engineering of bright squeezed vacuum for continuous-variable quantum information.

Multimode bright squeezed vacuum is a non-classical state of light hosting a macroscopic photon number while offering promising capacity for encoding quantum information in its spectral degree of freedom. Here, we employ an accurate model for parametric down-conversion in the high-gain regime and use nonlinear holography to design quantum correlations of bright squeezed vacuum in the frequency domain. We propose the design of quantum correlations over two-dimensional lattice geometries that are all-optically controlled, paving the way toward continuous-variable cluster state generation on an ultrafast timescale. Specifically, we investigate the generation of a square cluster state in the frequency domain and calculate its covariance matrix and the quantum nullifier uncertainties, that exhibit squeezing below the vacuum noise level.

Multiplexing Linear and Nonlinear Bragg Diffractions through Volume Gratings Fabricated by Femtosecond Laser Writing in Lithium Niobate Crystal

The femtosecond-laser-writing technique provides a flexible method for fabrication of nonlinear photonic crystals in three dimensions, providing structures that enable efficient complex nonlinear wave interactions and modulation for applications including nonlinear holography, nonlinear beam shaping, and waveguide-integrated wavelength conversion. However, the tightly focused laser pulse inevitably causes structural modification and then changes the local refractive index, resulting in additional linear modulation of the interacting waves. Here, we use the same periodic distributions of the refractive index and the second-order nonlinear coefficient for grating arrays engineered in lithium niobate crystals by femtosecond laser writing to achieve polarization-dependent linear and nonlinear Bragg diffractions simultaneously. The experimental results show that the linear and nonlinear diffraction efficiencies range up to 31% and 2.9 × 10−5, respectively, for grating arrays with dimensions of 100 μm (x) × 100 μm (y) × 100 μm (z). This work paves the way toward the realization of the multiplexing of linear and nonlinear optical modulations in a single structure for potential applications that include multidimensional optical data storage and optical coding.

Direct generation of spatially entangled qudits using quantum nonlinear optical holography

Nonlinear holography shapes the amplitude and phase of generated new harmonics using nonlinear processes. Classical nonlinear holography influenced many fields in optics, from information storage, demultiplexing of spatial information, and all-optical control of accelerating beams. Here, we extend the concept of nonlinear holography to the quantum regime. We directly shape the spatial quantum correlations of entangled photon pairs in two-dimensional patterned nonlinear photonic crystals using spontaneous parametric down conversion, without any pump shaping. The generated signal-idler pair obeys a parity conservation law that is governed by the nonlinear crystal. Furthermore, the quantum states exhibit quantum correlations and violate the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality, thus enabling entanglement-based quantum key distribution. Our demonstration paves the way for controllable on-chip quantum optics schemes using the high-dimensional spatial degree of freedom.

A perspective on the manipulation of orbital angular momentum states in nonlinear optics

Orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has been widely investigated in optical manipulation, optical communications, optical storage, and precision measurement. In recent years, the studies of OAM are expanded to nonlinear and quantum optics, paving a way to high-quality nonlinear imaging, high-capacity quantum communication, and many other promising applications. In this Perspective, we first summarize the fundamental research on OAM in nonlinear optics. Then, we introduce its recent applications in nonlinear imaging (including nonlinear spiral imaging and OAM-multiplexing nonlinear holography) and high-dimensional quantum entanglement. In particular, we highlight the manipulations of OAM through various functional nonlinear photonic crystals. Finally, we discuss the further developments of OAM-based nonlinear and quantum techniques in the near future.

Giant Second Harmonic Generation from Membrane Metasurfaces.

Metasurfaces have emerged as a fascinating framework for nonlinear optics, which have advantages of a compact footprint and unprecedented flexibility in manipulating light. But their nonlinear responses are generally limited by the short interaction lengths with light. Therefore, further enhancement is highly desired for building high-efficiency nonlinear devices. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a record high second harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency of 2.0 × 10-4 using lithium niobate (LN) membrane metasurfaces. Benefiting from the large refractive index contrast in the vertical direction and high fabrication quality, distinct spectral resonances and tight field confinements in the LN layer were achieved. Strong SHG peaks resulting from pump resonances of the metasurfaces were observed. Our nonlinear efficiency is more than 2 orders of magnitude larger than previously reported LN metasurfaces. The results inspire a way to improve the efficiency of nonlinear metasurfaces for ultracompact nonlinear light sources in applications of nonlinear holography, Li-Fi, beam shaping, etc.

Nonlinear wavefront engineering with metasurface decorated quartz crystal.

In linear optical processes, compact and effective wavefront shaping techniques have been developed with the artificially engineered materials and devices in the past decades. Recently, wavefront shaping of light at newly generated frequencies was also demonstrated using nonlinear photonic crystals and metasurfaces. However, the nonlinear wave-shaping devices with both high nonlinear optical efficiency and high wave shaping efficiency are difficult to realize. To circumvent this constraint, we propose the idea of metasurface decorated optical crystal to take the best aspects of both traditional nonlinear crystals and photonic metasurfaces. In the proof-of-concept experiment, we show that a silicon nitride metasurface decorated quartz crystal can be used for the wavefront shaping of the second harmonic waves generated in quartz. With this crystal-metasurface hybrid platform, the nonlinear vortex beam generation and nonlinear holography were successfully demonstrated. The proposed methodology may have important applications in nonlinear structured light generation, super-resolution imaging, and optical information processing, etc.

Angle-Multiplexing Nonlinear Holography for Controllable Generations of Second-Harmonic Structured Light Beams

Nonlinear multiplexing holography emerges as a powerful tool to produce structured lights at new wavelengths. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate an angle-multiplexing nonlinear holography in an angular noncritical phase-matching configuration. In experiment, various types of structured light beams, such as vortex beam, Airy beam and Airy vortex beam, are simultaneously output at second-harmonic waves along different paths. Because of the large angular acceptance bandwidth of noncritical phase-matching, one can achieve high conversion efficiency of angle-multiplexing nonlinear holography. Our method has potentially applications in high-capacity holographic storage and security encryption.

Quasi-phase-matching-division multiplexing holography in a three-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystal

Nonlinear holography has recently emerged as a novel tool to reconstruct the encoded information at a new wavelength, which has important applications in optical display and optical encryption. However, this scheme still struggles with low conversion efficiency and ineffective multiplexing. In this work, we demonstrate a quasi-phase-matching (QPM) -division multiplexing holography in a three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear photonic crystal (NPC). 3D NPC works as a nonlinear hologram, in which multiple images are distributed into different Ewald spheres in reciprocal space. The reciprocal vectors locating in a given Ewald sphere are capable of fulfilling the complete QPM conditions for the high-efficiency reconstruction of the target image at the second-harmonic (SH) wave. One can easily switch the reconstructed SH images by changing the QPM condition. The multiplexing capacity is scalable with the period number of 3D NPC. Our work provides a promising strategy to achieve highly efficient nonlinear multiplexing holography for high-security and high-density storage of optical information.

Nonlinear Bicolor Holography Using Plasmonic Metasurfaces.

Nonlinear metasurface holography shows the great potential of metasurfaces to control the phase, amplitude, and polarization of light while simultaneously converting the frequency of the light. The possibility of tailoring the scattering properties of a coherent beam, as well as the scattering properties of nonlinear signals originating from the meta-atoms, facilitates a huge degree of freedom in beam shaping application. Recently, several approaches showed that virtual objects or any kind of optical information can be generated at a wavelength different from the laser input beam. Here, we demonstrate a single-layer nonlinear geometric-phase metasurface made of plasmonic nanostructures for a simultaneous second- and third-harmonic generation. Different from previous works, we demonstrate a two-color hologram with dissimilar types of nanostructures that generate the color information by different nonlinear optical processes. The amplitude ratio of both harmonic signals can be adapted depending on the nanostructures’ resonance as well as the power and the wavelength of the incident laser beam. The two-color holographic image is reconstructed in the Fourier space at visible wavelengths with equal amplitudes using a single near-infrared wavelength. Nonlinear holography using multiple nonlinear processes simultaneously provides an alternative path to holographic color display applications, enhanced optical encryption schemes, and multiplexed optical data storage.

High-dimensional orbital angular momentum multiplexing nonlinear holography

Nonlinear holography has been identified as a vital platform for optical multiplexing holography because of the appearance of new optical frequencies. However, due to nonlinear wave coupling in nonlinear optical processes, the nonlinear harmonic field is coupled with the input field, laying a fundamental barrier to independent control of the interacting fields for holography. We propose and experimentally demonstrate high-dimensional orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing nonlinear holography to overcome this problem. By dividing the wavefront of the fundamental wave into different orthogonal OAM channels, multiple OAM and polarization-dependent holographic images in both the fundamental wave and second-harmonic wave have been reconstructed independently in the spatial frequency domain through a type-II second harmonic generation process. Moreover, this method can be easily extended to cascaded χ2 nonlinear optical processes for multiplexing in more wavelength channels, leading to potential applications in multicasting in optical communications, multiwavelength display, multidimensional optical storage, anticounterfeiting, and optical encryption.

Three-dimensional nonlinear optical holograms

The three-dimensional holography technique offers an efficient and convenient tool for storing depth information of the object and provides more realistic images compared to the two-dimensional case, which has been widely used in the fields of optical tweezers, image encryption, and optical microscopy. However, such a three-dimensional nonlinear holography technique is still lacking in the field of nonlinear optics. Here, we demonstrate the realization of three-dimensional nonlinear optical holograms. Without loss of generality, a second-order nonlinearity is used in our experiment and the generated second harmonic with multiplane patterns at different depths is dynamically realized. This study opens up the field of three-dimensional spatial nonlinear harmonic manipulation and may have applications in all-optical wave-band three-dimensional optical imaging, parallel micromachining, holographic displays, and so on.

Multichannel nonlinear holography in a two-dimensional nonlinear photonic crystal

To manipulate the wave front of the harmonic wave, nonlinear photonic crystals (NPCs) have been employed in constructing nonlinear holography. Through designing a multi-channel ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{2}$ structure, nonlinear multiplexing holography is reported here in NPCs. We propose a multi-channel nonlinear holography in an orbital-angular-momentum- (OAM-)multiplexing NPC. In experiment, three images encoded in a single NPC are reconstructed in second-harmonic waves distinctively, when the necessary Fourier-domain OAM-matching conditions are met, respectively. Our method not only conceptually extends nonlinear holography, but also provides a multifunctional platform for high-capacity security storage.

Second-harmonic computer-generated holographic imaging through monolithic lithium niobate crystal by femtosecond laser micromachining.

The computer-generated holography technique is a powerful tool for three-dimensional display, beam shaping, optical tweezers, ultrashort pulse laser parallel processing, and optical encryption. We have realized nonlinear holography in ferroelectric crystals by utilizing spatial light modulators in our previous works. Here, we demonstrate an improved method to realize second-harmonic (SH) holographic imaging through a monolithic lithium niobate crystal based on binary computer-generated holograms (CGHs). The CGH patterns were encoded with the detour phase method and fabricated by femtosecond laser micromachining. By the use of the birefringence phase-matching process in the longitudinal direction, bright nonlinear holograms can be obtained in the far-field. The realization of SH holography through monolithic crystal opens wide possibilities in the field of high power laser nonlinear holographic imaging.

Nonlinear Wavefront Control by Geometric‐Phase Dielectric Metasurfaces: Influence of Mode Field and Rotational Symmetry

AbstractNonlinear Pancharatnam–Berry phase metasurfaces facilitate the nontrivial phase modulation for frequency conversion processes by leveraging photon‐spin dependent nonlinear geometric‐phases. However, plasmonic metasurfaces show some severe limitation for nonlinear frequency conversion due to the intrinsic high ohmic loss and low damage threshold of plasmonic nanostructures. Here, the nonlinear geometric‐phases associated with the third‐harmonic generation process occurring in all‐dielectric metasurfaces is studied systematically, which are composed of silicon nanofins with different in‐plane rotational symmetries. It is found that the wave coupling among different field components of the resonant fundamental field gives rise to the appearance of different nonlinear geometric‐phases of the generated third‐harmonic signals. The experimental observations of the nonlinear beam steering and nonlinear holography realized in this work by all‐dielectric geometric‐phase metasurfaces are well explained with the developed theory. This work offers a new physical picture to understand the nonlinear optical process occurring at nanoscale dielectric resonators and will help in the design of nonlinear metasurfaces with tailored phase properties.

Spin‐Controlled Nonlinear Harmonic Generations from Plasmonic Metasurfaces Coupled to Intersubband Transitions

AbstractMetasurfaces that generate nonlinear optical responses provide new degrees of freedom for applications such as nonlinear holography, wave mixing, and new frequencies generation. To extend the utility of flat nonlinear optics, metasurfaces providing both giant nonlinear response for efficient frequency mixing in subwavelength films and a single‐beam output with a local wavefront control need to be developed. Metasurfaces with giant nonlinear response have recently been realized using the concept of intersubband polaritons. Separately, nonlinear metasurfaces providing a single‐beam nonlinear output with a local wavefront control have been studied. However, a metasurface platform that possesses both of these properties has yet to be demonstrated. Herein, the first such platform is presented and its operation for three‐ and four‐wave mixing processes is demonstrated. This approach is based on using Pancharatnam–Berry phase control of local nonlinear response and on employing meta‐atoms with specific symmetries to enable generation of only a single nonlinear beam. Experimentally, 400 nm‐thick metasurfaces with a wavefront‐controlled single‐beam output are demonstrated for second‐ and third‐harmonic generation at pump wavelength of approximately 10 µm. Power conversion efficiencies of 7.6 × 10−4% and 3.6 × 10−4% are obtained for the two nonlinear processes, respectively, at peak pumping intensity of only 80 kW cm−2.

基于超构表面的非线性光学与量子光学

In recent years, metasurface has received extensive attention in the field of classical light control, and excellent results have been obtained. At the same time, the application of metasurface in nonlinear optics and quantum optics has also attracted more and more interest. The basic principles and applications of nonlinear metasurface and quantum metasurface were introduced, and the related reports in recent years were summarized, including the harmonic generation and enhancement, the relationship between harmonic generation and symmetry, the nonlinear phase control and holography, and the generation, measurement and manipulation of entangled photon based on metasurface. Finally, the potential application of metasurface in these two fields were prospected.