Difference Frequency Generation Process Research Articles

Optical Frequency Down-Conversion With Bandwidth Compression Based on Counter-Propagating Phase Matching

Optical quantum network plays an important role in large scale quantum communication. However, different components for photon generation, transmission, storage and manipulation in network usually cannot interact directly due to the wavelength and bandwidth differences, and thus interfaces are needed to overcome such problems. We propose an optical interface for frequency down-conversion and bandwidth compression based on the counter-propagating quasi-phase-matching difference frequency generation process in the periodically-poled lithium niobate on insulator waveguide. We prove that a separable spectral transfer function can be obtained only by choosing proper pump bandwidth, thus relaxing the limitation of material, dispersion, and working wavelength as a result of the counter-propagation phase-matching configuration. With numerical simulations, we show that our design results in a nearly separable transfer function with the Schmidt number very close to 1. With proper pump bandwidth, an photon at central wavelength of 550 nm with a bandwidth ranging from 50 GHz to 5 THz can be converted to a photon at central wavelength of 1,545 nm with a much narrower bandwidth of 33 GHz.

Terahertz waves generation using the isomorphs of PPKTP crystal: a theoretical investigation

Highly efficient terahertz (THz) wave sources based on the difference frequency generation (DFG) process in nonlinear optical crystals plays an important role for the applications of THz waves. In order to find more novel nonlinear crystals, here, we theoretically investigate the generation of THz waves using the isomorphs of periodically poled KTiOPO4 (PPKTP), including periodically poled RTP, KTA, RTA and CTA. By solving the cascaded difference frequency coupled wave equations, it is found that the intensities of the THz wave generated from the cascaded difference frequency processes are improved by 5.27, 2.87, 2.82, 3.03, and 2.76 times from the non-cascaded cases for KTP, RTP, KTA, RTA and CTA, respectively. The effects of the crystal absorption, the phase mismatch, and the pump intensity are also analyzed in detail. This study might help to provide a stronger THz radiation source based on nonlinear crystals.

Observation of frequency-uncorrelated photon pairs generated by counter-propagating spontaneous parametric down-conversion

We report the generation of frequency-uncorrelated photon pairs from counter-propagating spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a periodically-poled KTP waveguide. The joint spectral intensity of photon pairs is characterized by measuring the corresponding stimulated process, namely, the difference frequency generation process. The experimental result shows a clear uncorrelated joint spectrum, where the backward-propagating photon has a narrow bandwidth of 7.46 GHz and the forward-propagating one has a bandwidth of 0.23 THz like the pump light. The heralded single-photon purity estimated through Schmidt decomposition is as high as 0.996, showing a perspective for ultra-purity and narrow-band single-photon generation. Such unique feature results from the backward-wave quasi-phase-matching condition and does not has a strict limitation on the material and working wavelength, thus fascinating its application in photonic quantum technologies.

A bright source of telecom single photons based on quantum frequency conversion

On-demand indistinguishable single-photon sources are essential for quantum networking and communication. Semiconductor quantum dots are among the most promising candidates, but their typical emission wavelength renders them unsuitable for use in fiber networks. Here, we present quantum frequency conversion of near-infrared photons from a bright quantum dot to the telecommunication C-band, allowing integration with existing fiber architectures. We use a custom-built, tunable 2400 nm seed laser to convert single photons from 942 nm to 1550 nm in a difference-frequency generation process. We achieve an end-to-end conversion efficiency of ≃35%, demonstrate count rates approaching 1 MHz at 1550 nm with g(2)(0)=0.043(1), and achieve Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) visibilities of 60%. We expect this scheme to be preferable to quantum dot sources directly emitting at telecom wavelengths for fiber-based quantum networking.

Highly-Efficient Pulsed Mid-Infrared Generation Based on Intracavity Difference Frequency Mixing

We demonstrated highly-efficient pulsed mid-infrared generation based on intracavity difference frequency mixing inside a continuous-wave (CW) PPLN optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The near-infrared pulsed fiber source was located at 1120 nm with variable pulse width and repetition rate. The pump source of OPO was a CW linearly-polarized high-power 1060 nm fiber laser. The 1120 nm and 1060 nm pump beams were simultaneously incident into the OPO cavity. The 1060 nm pump beam built parametric oscillation firstly and generated high-power resonant signal beam inside the cavity. By controlling the PPLN temperature properly, the phase-matched difference frequency generation (DFG) occurred between the signal beam and 1120 nm pulsed pump beam in the PPLN crystal. Finally, the pulsed 1120 nm pump beam was successfully transformed to 3593 nm mid-infrared radiation at every power level and temporal characteristic. Both the slope efficiency and pump-to-idler conversion efficiency of the intracavity DFG process reached over 20%. In addition, the pulse shape of newly generated 3593 nm idler beam was basically the same as 1120 nm pump beam. The experimental results exhibited huge potential in frequency down conversion of low-power laser sources with special temporal characteristics.

Tunable optical second-order Volterra nonlinear filter using wave mixing and delays to equalize a 10-20 Gbaud 4-APSK channel.

We experimentally demonstrate a tunable optical second-order Volterra filter using wave mixing and delays. Wave mixing is performed in a periodically poled lithium niobate waveguide with the cascaded sum-frequency generation and difference-frequency generation processes. Compared to conventional optical tapped delay line structures, second-order taps are added through the wave mixing of two signal copies. We measure the frequency response of the filter by sending a frequency-swept sinusoidal wave as the input. The tap weights are tuned with a liquid-crystal-on-silicon waveshaper for different filter configurations. With the additional second-order taps, the filter is able to perform a nonlinear function. As an example, we demonstrate the compensation of a nonlinearly distorted 10-20 Gbaud 4-amplitude and phase shift keying signal.

Upconversion detection of 1.25 Gb/s mid-infrared telecommunications using a silicon avalanche photodiode.

With an ever-increasing interest in secure and reliable free-space optical communication, upconversion detectors enabled through nonlinear optical processes are an attractive route to transmitting data as a mid-infrared signal. This spectral region is known to have a higher transmissivity through the atmosphere. In this work, we present an upconversion scheme for detection in the silicon absorption band using magnesium-oxide doped periodically poled lithium niobate to generate 21 mW of a 3.4 µm signal from commercial laser sources using a difference frequency generation process. Following a further nonlinear frequency conversion, via sum-frequency generation, the resulting signal at 809 nm is detected. We achieve >50 µW of signal and bit error rates of 10-7 from a single-pass nonlinear conversion for both the transmitter and receiver systems without the need for additional optical amplifiers at the receiving end. The error rates due to potentially reduced laser powers at the receiver end are investigated and laser noise transfer through our system is discussed.

Highly Efficient Mid-Infrared Generation from Low-Power Single-Frequency Fiber Laser Using Phase-Matched Intracavity Difference Frequency Mixing

In this paper, we demonstrated efficient mid-infrared generation using a low-power 1064 nm single-frequency (SF) fiber laser based on phase-matched intracavity difference frequency generation (DFG) in a continuous-wave (CW) periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN)-based optical parametric oscillator (OPO). This is the first time that the frequency down conversion of a low-power SF light source has been achieved using intracavity difference frequency mixing. A high power 1018 nm fiber laser was firstly used for building the parametric oscillation and providing the high power resonant signal wave. To realize an efficient DFG process between the SF pump wave and the intracavity signal wave, the temperature of periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal was properly adjusted to satisfy the phase-matching conditions. Finally, the low-power 1064 nm SF pump wave was successfully converted to a 3.7 μm mid-infrared wave with a conversion efficiency of 21.6%. The conversion efficiency, to the best of our knowledge, is the highest for SF lasers in DFG processes. Meanwhile, taking advantage of SF laser pumping, a narrow linewidth of 271 pm (5.9 GHz) in the mid-infrared region was achieved without adding any etalons or devices in the cavity.

A mid-infrared diagnostic for benzene using a tunable difference-frequency-generation laser

Benzene is a very important molecule in a variety of industrial, environmental, and chemical systems. In combustion, benzene plays an essential role in the formation and growth of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and soot. In this work, a new laser-based diagnostic is presented to make quantitative, interference-free, and sensitive measurements of benzene in the mid-infrared (MIR) region. The diagnostic is based on a widely tunable difference-frequency-generation (DFG) laser system. We developed this laser source to emit in the MIR between 666.54 cm−1 and 790.76 cm−1 as a result of the DFG process between an external-cavity quantum-cascade-laser and a CO2 gas laser in a nonlinear, orientation-patterned GaAs crystal. Benzene measurements were carried out at the peak (673.94 cm−1) of the Q-branch of the ν11 vibrational band of benzene. The absorption cross-section of benzene was measured over a range of pressures (4.44 mbar to 1.158 bar) at room temperature. The temperature dependence of the absorption cross-section was studied behind reflected shock waves over 553–1473 K. The diagnostic was demonstrated in a high-temperature reactive experiment of benzene formation from propargyl radicals. The new diagnostic will prove highly beneficial for high-temperature studies of benzene formation and consumption kinetics.

Two-way single-photon-level frequency conversion between 852 nm and 1560 nm for connecting cesium D2 line with the telecom C-band.

A compact setup for two-way single-photon-level frequency conversion between 852 nm and 1560 nm has been implemented with the same periodically-poled magnesium-oxide-doped lithium niobate (PPMgO:LN) bulk crystals for connecting cesium D2 line (852 nm) to telecom C-band. By single-pass mixing a strong continuous-wave pump laser at 1878 nm and the single-photon-level periodical signal pulses in a 50-mm-long PPMgO:LN bulk crystal, the conversion efficiency of ∼ 1.7% (∼ 1.9%) for 852-nm to 1560-nm down-conversion (1560-nm to 852-nm up-conversion) have been achieved. We analyzed noise photons induced by the strong pump laser beam, including the spontaneous Raman scattering (SRS) and the spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) photons, and the photons generated in the cascaded nonlinear processes. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) has been improved remarkably by using the narrow-band filters and changing polarization of the noise photons in the difference frequency generation (DFG) process. With further improvement of the conversion efficiency by employing PPMgO:LN waveguide, instead of bulk crystal, our study may provide the basics for cyclic photon conversion in quantum network.

An improved hybrid OTDM-WDM transmission system for effective nonlinearity mitigation utilizing Ti:PPLN waveguide based OPC module

An efficient modified hybrid OTDM-WDM multicast transmission system incorporating an optical phase conjugation (OPC) module for more effective nonlinearity mitigation using Ti:PPLN waveguide has been simulated and analyzed. Ti:PPLN waveguide, being a χ2 medium does not result in the generation of χ3 nonlinearities when OPC is operated on it. Difference Frequency Generation (DFG) process has been used to conduct OPC in Ti:PPLN waveguide and appreciable conversion efficiency of 3.49 dB has been obtained. Due to effective mitigation of nonlinearities and dispersion compensation caused by the conjunction of DFG induced OPC module and DCF during signal transmission, the receiver channels recorded maximum Q factors of around 25 and 26 respectively for first and eighth channel.

Genuine quadripartite quantum steering generated by an optical parametric oscillation cascaded with a sum-frequency process

Quantum steering is the essential resource for quantum information processing. In this letter, a scheme is proposed to generate genuine quadripartite Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering by an optical parametric oscillation cascaded with a sum-frequency process. Idler beam is generated by a difference frequency generation process between pump and injected signal in an optical superlattice. Then, a sum-frequency beam is produced by the cascaded sum-frequency process between pump and idler beams in the same optical superlattice by the quasi-phase-matching technique. The genuine quadripartite EPR steering among pump, signal, idler, and sum-frequency beams is confirmed in this scheme by applying a criteria for genuine multipartite EPR steering. The variation properties of the EPR steering with pump and nonlinear coupling coefficients are also discussed.

Backward terahertz difference frequency generation via modal phase-matching in a planar LiNbO3 waveguide.

The backward difference frequency generation process is used to produce narrowband terahertz radiation via modal phase-matching in a SiO2-LiNbO3-air planar waveguide. The TM0 pump mode, TE0 signal mode, and TE0 or TE2 idler modes are selected to satisfy the backward difference frequency generation phase-matching condition, thus allowing narrowband (i.e., <100GHz linewidth) terahertz radiation generation in the spectral range of 2.4-3.2 THz. To date, this is the first investigation of terahertz radiation generation in a waveguide via the modal phase-matched backward difference frequency generation process.

5 Gbaud QPSK coherent transmission in the mid-infrared

We experimentally demonstrate a high-speed mid-infrared (MIR) transmission system with a 5 Gbaud quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modulation over free space optical (FSO) link. The MIR system operates through homemade robust and compact MIR transmitter and receiver devices, which has the ability to achieve wavelength conversion between C-band and MIR based on difference frequency generation (DFG) process. The wavelength and power of MIR signal generated from MIR transmitter are 3.57 dBm and 3594 nm, and the C-band signal regenerated from MIR receiver are −26.12 dBm and 1550.116 nm. Both the constellation diagrams and eye diagrams of regenerated C-band signal are clear when the input power of C-band receiver is higher than −40 dBm. Compared with the back to back (BTB) transmission system, the power penalty of the MIR transmission system is less than 2.8 dB measured at bit error ratio (BER) of 1×10−7. It can be concluded from the experimental results that the MIR transmission system supports high-speed data rate, variable wavelength and high-order modulation format, and has the potential to be applied to FSO communications or satellite communications in atmospheric environments.

Picosecond synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator based on chirped quasi-phase matching

We investigate and model a picosecond synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on an aperiodically poled lithium niobate (APPLN) nonlinear crystal with a chirped quasi-phase matching (QPM) grating. We observe remarkable spectral features with an asymmetric OPO spectrum consisting of a main peak with lower sidelobes. Depending on the sign of the QPM chirp rate, the sidelobes are located either on the red or on the blue side of the main peak. Meanwhile, sidebands develop in the depleted pump spectrum. We attribute these features to cascaded sum-/difference-frequency generation processes, which are quasi-phase matched at different positions in the APPLN crystal. A terahertz-generation cascading effect is also observed and characterized at high pump power.

Frequency downconversion of low-power Raman laser using intracavity difference frequency mixing

We report efficient frequency downconversion of a continuous-wave low-power Raman laser using intracavity difference frequency mixing in a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN)-adopted optical parametric oscillator (OPO). The Raman laser was obtained using a 1060-nm fiber laser and 137-m passive fiber. Its central wavelength was fixed at 1111 nm with the power ranging from 320 mW to 5.984 W. The 1060- and 1111-nm pump beams were incident into the OPO at the same time. The high-power 1060-nm pump beam built parametric oscillation first, and the difference frequency generation (DFG) occurred between the low-power Raman laser and intracavity signal laser. The PPLN temperature was properly controlled at 45°C to ensure both the OPO and DFG processes synchronously satisfy phase matching conditions. Benefiting from intracavity high signal power, the Raman laser was successfully converted to the 3560-nm midinfrared radiation under every investigated pump power level. The maximum 3560-nm idler power reached 1.026 W, indicating a 17.4% pump-to-idler slope efficiency and about 15% optical-to-optical conversion efficiency. The comparative experiments also verified that the phase matching conditions were satisfied maximally at 45°C.

Generation and Stabilization of Continuous-Wave THz Emission From a Bi-Color VECSEL

We present a laser system for the generation and stabilization of continuous wave emission at 1.9 THz. The system is based on difference frequency generation (DFG) from a bi-color vertical external cavity surface emitting laser (VECSEL). The intracavity DFG process enables THz generation with milliwatt power level at room temperature with a clear quadratic dependence red on the intracavity power. The two colors are spectrally selected via an intracavity etalon while the laser cavity geometry is engineered to minimize mode competition between the two colors via spatial hole burning, improving the stability of the THz emission. The intensity noise of the THz output is further reduced by 16 dB/Hz with an active stabilization scheme. The origin of residual fluctuations is discussed and we found that the asymmetrical amplification of one color reduced the RIN even further, down to 21 dB/Hz, comparing to the free-running symmetrical lasing.

Injection pulse-seeded terahertz-wave parametric generator with gain enhancement in wide frequency range.

An injection pulse-seeded terahertz-wave parametric generator (ips-TPG) has been demonstrated with gain enhancement in wide tuning range. Theoretical analysis denotes that the compensation of initial Stokes energy is favorable to the THz gain enhancement in wide frequency range, which is attributed to the improvement on interaction of stimulated polariton scattering (SPS) and difference frequency generation (DFG) processes. In the experiment, the THz frequency tuning range from 1.04 THz to 5.15 THz was achieved based on near-stoichiometric LiNbO3 (SLN) crystal. Compared with the traditional terahertz parametric oscillator (TPO) under the same experimental conditions, a significant enhancement of THz output energy was occurred in high frequency range. As the THz frequency increased from 1.9 THz to 3.6 THz, the enhancement ratios from 1.6 times to 34.7 times were obtained. Besides, the 3dB bandwidth of ips-TPG was measured to be 2.1 THz, which was about 2.6 times that of SLN-TPO. This THz parametric source with a relative flat gain in wide frequency range is suitable to a variety of practical applications.

Broadband mid-infrared coverage (2-17 μm) with few-cycle pulses via cascaded parametric processes.

A myriad of existing and emerging applications could benefit from coherent and broadband mid-infrared (MIR) light. Yet, existing tabletop sources are often complex or sensitive to interferometric optical misalignment. Here we demonstrate a significantly simplified scheme of broadband MIR generation by cascading the intra-pulse difference-frequency generation process in a specific nonlinear crystal. This allows pulses generated directly from mode-locked lasers to be used without further nonlinear temporal compression. The system, together with the driving beam, can provide an ultra-broadband coherent radiation coverage ranging from 2 to 17μm with femtosecond pulse durations. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of cascaded DFG in the MIR range, which brings emerging time-domain spectroscopic techniques closer to real-world applications.

Efficient Ring-Cavity Terahertz Parametric Oscillator With Pump Recycling Technique

The energy scaling of THz wave in wide range based on surface-emitted (SE) ring-cavity terahertz parametric oscillator (TPO) with pump recycling technique is demonstrated in this paper. The continuously tunable range from 1.24 to 3.77 THz was achieved with full pump beam recycling, whereas the tunable range was 1.24-2.72 THz without pump beam recycling. The terahertz output energy and conversion efficiency increased more than seven times throughout the whole tuning range. The maximum enhancement ratio of the terahertz output energy was 12.8 times at 2.72 THz. Additionally, under the same experimental conditions, THz conversion efficiency was increased from 7.77 × 10 -6 to 7.85 × 10 -5 and the threshold energy was significantly reduced by 41% at 1.63 THz. Moreover, through the theoretical analysis, the enhancement mechanism of TPO by pump recycling was verified to originate from the threshold reduction of the stimulated polariton scattering (SPS) process and the interaction improvement between the pump and Stokes waves in the difference frequency generation (DFG) process.