Quasi-phase Matched Lithium Niobate Research Articles

Characteristics of selective and tunable wavelength converters using quasi-phase matched lithium niobate waveguide devices with dual pump configuration

We report selective and tunable wavelength converters (STWCs) from an arbitrary wavelength to another arbitrary one, which employ the cascaded second-order nonlinear effect of sum frequency mixing (SFM) and difference frequency mixing (DFM) in quasi-phase matched (QPM) lithium niobate (LN) waveguide devices. Through wavelength conversion experiments using short optical pulses for the QPM-LN waveguide devices having different crystal length, we investigate bandwidth limitation of the QPM-LN-based all-optical STWCs with dual pump configuration. We show that the critical pulse width to be wavelength-converted without waveform distortion is proportional to the length of the LN crystal, and also reveal that those ratio is 1.6 ps/cm. By utilizing this critical value as a performance metric, we successfully demonstrate highly efficient selective and tunable wavelength conversion of 40-Gbit/s data signals using the SFM–DFM cascade in a QPM-LN waveguide device with an optimum crystal length of 5 cm. The 5 cm-long device can be applied to channel-by-channel wavelength conversion in 100-GHz-spaced 40-Gbit/s dense wavelength-division multiplexed systems.

Characteristics of all-optical 3R regenerators using cascaded second-order nonlinear effect in quasi-phase matched lithium niobate devices

We numerically show that quasi-phase matched (QPM) lithium niobate (LN) devices employing the cascaded second-order nonlinear effect of second harmonic generation (SHG) and difference frequency mixing (DFM) have all-optical decision gate characteristics. The decision gate function is realized by a parabolic transmittance for a low-power region and a limiting characteristic for a high-power region. The limiter function is attributed to the large group-velocity mismatch between the fundamental and second harmonic pulses. This operation principle differs from those of other all-optical 2R (reamplification and reshaping) or 3R (2R and retiming) regenerators that have been proposed in the past. Furthermore, we show that an initial time offset between the signal and clock pulses can improve the output signal power or the switching efficiency of the device. Based on the numerical results, we propose a method for designing all-optical 3R regenerators using the cascade of SHG and DFM in the QPM-LN devices. Following the design method, all-optical 3R operation at the bit rate of 200 Gbps can be achieved using a 1-cm-long waveguide device.

Diode laser frequency doubling in a ppMgO:LN ridge waveguide: influence of structural imperfection, optical absorption and heat generation

In this work, we investigate experimentally and theoretically limitations of highly efficient high-power single-pass second-harmonic generation process in a quasi-phase matched magnesium oxide-doped lithium niobate ridge waveguide due to structural imperfections, optical absorption and resulting heat generation. With the distributed Bragg reflector diode laser emitting at 1,061 nm, applied in the presented bench-top experiment, a coupling efficiency into the ridge waveguide nonlinear device of 86 % is realized. An internal normalized conversion efficiency of 375 % (Wcm $${}^2$$ ) $${}^{-1}$$ is determined. A maximum second-harmonic power of 386 mW is reached at a corresponding opto-optical and electro-optical conversion efficiency of 38 and 9.5 %, respectively. A saturation of the conversion efficiency at a high power level as well as its dependency on the nonlinear device structure inhomogeneity are confirmed experimentally. With a theoretical model incorporating geometrical inhomogeneity, linear and nonlinear absorption and resulting heat load the second-harmonic generation in a ridge waveguide can be simulated realistically. Increased values of nonlinear absorption coefficients, higher than until now reported, lead to a very good agreement between theoretical and experimental results. Moreover, according to the simulation, structural inhomogeneities can enhance the SHG conversion efficiency at high output powers.

Wideband wavelength conversion using double-pass cascaded χ(2): χ(2) interaction in lossy waveguides

We report the wavelength conversion based on double-pass cascaded nonlinear interaction ( χ (2): χ (2)) of sum and difference frequency generation in quasi-phase matched lithium niobate waveguides and compare it with double-pass cascaded second harmonic generation and difference frequency generation with and without waveguide loss. It is shown that the efficiency decreases considerably even for the low-loss waveguide compared to the lossless one especially for long waveguides and to achieve the higher efficiency for the same length, the amount of the extra power to compensate the loss increases. Also, an increased detuning of pump wavelength is proposed to flatten the response with a small efficiency penalty. The detuning- and loss-compensating pump powers can be found using the design diagrams in which the criteria for the design of waveguide length and the assignment of pumps power to obtain the desired efficiency, ripple and bandwidth are presented assuming a 75-nm pump wavelength difference.

Response Flattening of Efficient Broadband Wavelength Converters Based on Cascaded Sum and Difference Frequency Generation in Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate Waveguides

For the single-pass and double-pass wavelength converters based on cascaded sum and difference frequency generation in quasi-phase matched lithium niobate waveguide, we present the criteria for a choice of the waveguide length and the assignment of pump powers to achieve the desired efficiency, ripple and bandwidth with a large pump wavelength difference of 75 nm. It is found that using the double-pass structure with a 95% reflectivity for the sum frequency wave, the mean efficiency is increased at least 5 dB compared to that of the single-pass one with the same length and input pump powers and the bandwidth is large enough to cover the entire conventional telecommunications C-band and long-wavelength L-band. To flatten the excessive response fluctuation of the double-pass scheme, we propose tuning one of the pumps to longer wavelengths incurring a small penalty of a slight reduction in the mean efficiency which can be compensated by increasing the input pump powers. We also show that to achieve the same amount of flatness, double-pass converters have a smaller efficiency penalty compared to the single-pass converters.

Quasi-phase-matched parametric interactions in proton-exchanged lithium niobate waveguides

We present a review of parametric fluorescence with bulk and guided geometries in quasi-phase matched lithium niobate. Whereas bulk experiments have yielded results close to theoretical predictions, waveguided versions have shown strongly reduced efficiencies. Attributing the observed conversion efficiency reductions to a loss of the material nonlinearity, to a destruction of the inverted domains during the waveguide fabrication, or to both, we carefully studied the influence of the proton-exchange process on the nonlinear and structural properties of the periodically poled lithium niobate. We found that an annealed proton-exchange process can essentially conserve the nonlinearity but will erase the periodic domain structure. This erasure can be avoided by use of a highly diluted proton-exchange melt. This direct proton-exchange process perfectly preserves all the nonlinear optical and structural properties of periodically poled LiNbO3.