Ultra-wideband electrically-tuned mid-infrared on-chip parametric oscillator

Alexander Y. Hwang; Hubert S. Stokowski; Luke Qi; David K. Concepcion; Geun Ho Ahn; Ethan Rosenfeld; Taewon Park; Devin J. Dean; Martin M. Fejer; Amir H. Safavi-Naeini

arXiv · 2604.06673

Ultra-wideband electrically-tuned mid-infrared on-chip parametric oscillator

Alexander Y. Hwang·Hubert S. Stokowski·Luke Qi·David K. Concepcion·Geun Ho Ahn·Ethan Rosenfeld·Taewon Park·Devin J. Dean·Martin M. Fejer·Amir H. Safavi-Naeini

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Abstract

Developing compact, broadband mid-infrared coherent sources for applications in spectroscopy and sensing remains a pressing challenge in photonics. However, material limitations and integration constraints have restricted the accessible wavelengths and operation bandwidths of current mid-infrared lasers. Here, we address these challenges by developing a nonlinear integrated photonic device that converts a fixed-wavelength near-infrared pump laser into broadly tunable mid-infrared light. Our device, an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) integrated on thin-film lithium niobate, generates 22 THz of multi-milliwatt, voltage-tunable radiation from 2.7-3.4 microns, a region typically difficult to access but vital for environmental, chemical, and biological sensing. By introducing an on-chip-tunable OPO architecture taking advantage of the Vernier effect, we obtain electrical control of the emission wavelengths from coarse, multi-THz scales down to continuous, sub-100-GHz mode-hop-free tuning ranges. This work establishes a robust platform for a new class of compact, widely tunable mid-infrared sources with potential for future scaling.

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Alexander Y. Hwang, Hubert S. Stokowski, Luke Qi, David K. Concepcion, Geun Ho Ahn, Ethan Rosenfeld, Taewon Park, Devin J. Dean, Martin M. Fejer, Amir H. Safavi-Naeini. 2026-04-08. Ultra-wideband electrically-tuned mid-infrared on-chip parametric oscillator. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.06673

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