Titanium Indiffused Lithium Niobate Waveguide Research Articles

A Pulsed Lidar System With Ultimate Quantum Range Accuracy

A light detection and ranging (lidar) system using a multi-output quantum pulse gate (mQPG) for quantum uncertainty limited range resolution is presented. Due to the inherent phase-sensitivity of the process, the proposed mQPG enhanced lidar system is able to beat the theoretical Rayleigh range resolution limit and the single detection Craméer-Rao bound (CRB) of classic pulsed lidar. To achieve this behavior, gating pulses interact with the backscattered lidar pulse while propagating through the optically non linear waveguide within the mQPG. The intensity of the discrete spectral channels of the mQPG contains finally the target distance informations. The mQPG was fabricated in a periodically poled (PP) titanium-indiffused lithium niobate waveguide and the entire system was built up in a lab environment. Measurement up to 1500 μm were performed around an arbitrary set reference point, and show excellent agreement with the theory up to 600 μm for a pulse length of 1.56ps, and up to 1100 μm for a pulse length of 2.12ps.

General analytic theory of classical collinear three-wave mixing in a monolithic cavity

Integrated, monolithic nonlinear cavities are of great interest in both classical and quantum optics experiments due to their high efficiency and stability. However, a general analytic theory of classical three-wave mixing in such monolithic systems, including both linear and nonlinear regions with arbitrary finesse and non-zero propagation losses, is a challenging task. Here, we derive such a model for any three-wave mixing process (second harmonic, sum frequency and difference frequency generation) under the sole assumption of low single-pass conversion efficiency. We demonstrate remarkable agreement between the presented model and the experimentally obtained highly complex second-harmonic spectrum of a titanium-indiffused lithium niobate waveguide cavity that includes both a linear and nonlinear section. We then show the effect that reversing the linear and nonlinear regions has on the output spectrum, highlighting the importance of system design. Finally, we demonstrate that the model can be extended to include the effect of phase modulation applied to the cavity.

Integrated superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors on titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguides

We demonstrate the integration of amorphous tungsten silicide superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors on titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguides. We show proof-of-principle detection of evanescently coupled photons of 1550 nm wavelength using bidirectional waveguide coupling for two orthogonal polarization directions. We investigate the internal detection efficiency as well as detector absorption using coupling-independent characterization measurements. Furthermore, we describe strategies to improve the yield and efficiency of these devices.

Cryogenic Second-Harmonic Generation in Periodically Poled Lithium Niobate Waveguides

We demonstrate second-harmonic generation in a fiber-coupled periodically poled titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguide over the temperatures range from 292 to 4.4 K. We observe a reproducible shift in the phase-matched pump wavelength within the telecom band, which is at odds with the phase matching arising from existing models of the refractive indices in this temperature regime. We further investigate transient discontinuities while temperature cycling, which we attribute to the build-up and discharge of pyroelectric fields. Our results show that modifications of the Sellmeier coefficients for lithium niobate are required in the cryogenic temperature regime for our waveguides, but also establish titanium in-diffused waveguides in lithium niobate as a versatile nonlinear photonic integration platform compatible with cryogenic quantum technologies.

Waveguide resonator with an integrated phase modulator for second harmonic generation.

We report second harmonic generation from a titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguide resonator device whose cavity length is locked to the fundamental pump laser using an on-chip phase modulator. The device remains locked for more than 5 minutes, producing more than 80% of the initial second harmonic power. The stability of the system is seen to be limited by DC-drift, a known effect in many lithium niobate systems that include deposited electrodes. The presented device explores the suitability of waveguide resonators in this platform for use in larger integrated networks.

Cryogenic electro-optic polarisation conversion in titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguides.

Many technologies in quantum photonics require cryogenic conditions to operate. However, the underlying platform behind active components such as switches, modulators and phase shifters must be compatible with these operating conditions. To address this, we demonstrate an electro-optic polarisation converter for 1550 nm light at 0.8 K in titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguides. To do so, we exploit the electro-optic properties of lithium niobate to convert between orthogonal polarisation modes with a fiber-to-fiber transmission >43%. We achieve a modulation depth of 23.6±3.3 dB and a conversion voltage-length product of 28.8 V cm. This enables the combination of cryogenic photonics and active components on a single integration platform.

Characterisation of fabrication inhomogeneities in Ti:LiNbO3 waveguides

Nonlinear processes in integrated, guiding systems are fundamental for both classical and quantum experiments. Integrated components allow for compact, modular and stable light-processing systems and as such their use in real-world systems continues to expand. In order to use these devices in the most demanding applications, where efficiency and/or spectral performance are critical, it is important that the devices are fully optimised. In order to achieve these optimisations, it is first necessary to gain a thorough understanding of current fabrication limits and their impact on the devices’ final performance. In this paper we investigate the current fabrication limits of titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguides produced using a masked photolithographic method. By dicing a long (∼8 cm) sample into smaller pieces and recording the resulting phase matching spectra, the fabrication error present in the UV photolithographic process is characterised. The retrieved imperfections fit well with theoretical expectations and from the measured imperfection profile it is shown that one can directly reconstruct the original distorted phase matching spectrum. Therefore, our measurements directly quantify the intrinsic limitations of the current standard UV photolitographically produced titanium-indiffused lithium niobate waveguides.

Integrated transition edge sensors on titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguides

We show the proof-of-principle detection of light at 1550 nm coupled evanescently from a titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguide to a superconducting transition edge sensor. The coupling efficiency strongly depends on the polarization, the overlap between the evanescent field, and the detector structure. We experimentally demonstrate polarization sensitivity of this coupling as well as photon-number resolution of the integrated detector. The combination of transition edge sensors and lithium niobate waveguides can open the field for a variety of new quantum optics experiments.

Towards optical-frequency-comb generation in continuous-wave-pumped titanium-indiffused lithium-niobate waveguide resonators

Much progress, both experimentally and theoretically, has recently been made towards optical frequency comb generation from continuously pumped second-order nonlinear systems. Here, we present the first observations towards finding an integrated solution for such a system, using a titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguide resonator. These results are compared to recently developed theory for equivalent systems. The system is seen to exhibit strong instabilities, which require further investigation in order to fully determine the suitability of this platform for stable optical frequency comb generation.

Waveguide Cavity Resonator as a Source of Optical Squeezing

We present the generation of continuous-wave optical squeezing from a titanium-indiffused lithium niobate waveguide resonator. We directly measure 2.9\pm 0.1 dB of single-mode squeezing, which equates to a produced level of 4.9\pm 0.1 dB after accounting for detection losses. This device showcases the current capabilities of this waveguide architecture and precipitates more complicated integrated continuous-wave quantum devices in the continuous-variable regime.

Bandstructure measurement in nonlinear optical waveguide arrays

We demonstrate a technique for measuring the linear bandstructure of periodic systems with quadratic nonlinearity. The phase-matching constraints of parametric optical frequency mixing are employed to probe the longitudinal wavevectors of the eigenmodes. The method is verified experimentally by measuring the diffraction relation of eigenmodes in periodically poled titanium-indiffused lithium niobate waveguide arrays with second-harmonic generation.

Modeling of a 2x2 electro-optic Mach-Zehnder Interferometer optical switch with s-bend arms

In this paper, we present a 2×2 electro-optic switch based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with tapered (s-bend) interferometric arms. All structures have been designed with a channel profile of titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguides. The crosstalk analysis of the switch suggests that the crosstalk levels become worse (-12dB) when both interferometric arms of the structure are tapered. We have optimized the structure in order to reduce the overall switch losses ( 20dB). Full Text: PDF

Determination of propagation constants in a bent Ti:LiNbO3 optical waveguide by using finite element method

The finite element method is used to determine the propagation constants in a curved titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguide. A transformation of a lossless straight waveguide into a bent structure affects the shape of the calculated electric field and we have a shift of the electric field peak towards smaller values of the depth and towards higher values of the width.

Determination of propagation constants in a Ti:LiNbO 3 optical waveguide by using finite element and variational methods

The finite element and variational methods are used to determine the propagation constants in a titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguide with the reconstructed refractive index profile (in depth) from the near field measurements. A subsequent second diffusion of magnesium affects the shape of the calculated electric field and we have defined an effective depth of the profile.

Linear 1×2 directional coupler for electromagnetic field detection

A 1×2 directional coupler which can be used as an integrated optical electromagnetic field detector is described. Modulators have been formed from titanium-indiffused lithium niobate waveguides operating at the 1.3 μm wavelength. Linear dynamic ranges of 74.3 dB with 190 μW light and 76.3 dB with 760 μW light were observed for separate devices. Voltage sensitivity measurements are in good agreement with theoretical predictions. A 3.1 μV rms sensitivity was obtained for a device with a 10 mm electrode length.

Novel integrated optical polarisers using surface plasma waves and ion milled grooves in lithium niobate

Two distinctly different integrated optical polarisers have been made with multilayer claddings and titanium indiffused lithium niobate waveguides, transmitting both TE and TM polarisations. The TE device used claddings on the crystal surface obtaining (20.9±0.3) dB/cm extinction ratio. The TM polariser used similar claddings on a vertical wall fabricated by ion-beam milling adjacent to the waveguide, obtaining (17±3) dB extinction ratio.