arXiv subjects

John Bowers

Publications and source records attributed to John Bowers.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-Efficiency InGaP-on-Insulator Microresonator Nonlinear Conversion and Entanglement Generation

InGaP-on-insulator (InGaP-OI), with its intrinsically high $\chi^{\left(2\right)}$ optical nonlinearity, has emerged as an efficient and bright integrated photonic platform for frequency conversion and on-chip entanglement generation, but high waveguide propagation loss in the visible wavelength range has limited its overall performance. Here, we identify the dominant loss mechanism through mode-profile analysis and effectively mitigate the loss using a surface treatment method. Statistical analysis of the resonator quality factor and propagation loss reveals the optimal ring radius that maintains a strong nonlinear interaction while suppressing significant bending related loss, resulting in loss as low as 0.49 dB/cm (4.31 dB/cm) at 1560 nm (780 nm). The method provides a 3.5--4$\times$ quality factor enhancement at 780 nm, enabling a second-harmonic generation efficiency of $3.01\times10^{5}$ \,\%/\textrm{W} and a degenerate photon-pair generation rate of $4.27\,\textrm{MHz}/\mu\textrm{W}$ and coincidence-to-accidental ratio as high as 10,000. The quasi-phase matching condition is experimentally verified, and nonlinear conversion is systematically characterized across the entire parameter space. This work establishes a scalable pathway for classical and quantum photonics in a low-loss, highly nonlinear, and wafer-scale integration platform.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2025

Three-dimensional hyperspectral imaging with optical microcombs

Optical frequency combs have revolutionised time and frequency metrology [1, 2]. The advent of microresonator-based frequency combs ('microcombs' [3-5]) is set to lead to the miniaturisation of devices that are ideally suited to a wide range of applications, including microwave generation [6, 7], ranging [8-10], the precise calibration of astronomical spectrographs [11], neuromorphic computing [12, 13], high-bandwidth data communications[14], and quantum-optics [15, 16] platforms. Here, we introduce a new microcomb application for three-dimensional imaging. Our method can simultaneously determine the chemical identity and full three-dimensional geometry, including size, shape, depth, and spatial coordinates, of particulate matter ranging from micrometres to millimetres in size across nearly $10^5$ distinct image pixels. We demonstrate our technique using millimetre-sized plastic specimens (i.e. microplastics measuring less than 5 mm). We combine amplitude and phase analysis and achieve a throughput exceeding $1.2~10^6$ pixels per second with micrometre-scale precision. Our method leverages the defining feature of microcombs - their large line spacing - to enable precise spectral diagnostics using microcombs with a repetition frequency of 1 THz. Our results suggest scalable operation over several million pixels and nanometre-scale axial resolution. Coupled with its high-speed, label-free and multiplexed capabilities, our approach provides a promising basis for environmental sensing, particularly for the real-time detection and characterisation of microplastic pollutants in aquatic ecosystems [17].

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Microscopic Theory of Squeezed Light in Quantum Dot Systems

We present a cavity-QED theory for generating squeezed light from semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) integrated in microcavities. We formulate equations of motion for an inhomogeneously broadened QD ensemble that is incoherently pumped and simultaneously driven by a coherent seed field, solve for steady states, and compute the output-field quadrature variances. The analysis identifies operating conditions that yield amplitude-quadrature squeezing, with photon-number fluctuations reduced below the coherent-state limit and squeezing levels as large as 5 dB attainable with presently accessible QD and cavity parameters using only ~ 1 uW pump power. We further show that quantum correlations originating from four-wave mixing play a dual role: they both shape the gain spectrum and generate squeezing. These correlations constitute the quantum counterpart of the mean-field (semiclassical) mechanisms responsible for self-mode-locking in QD lasers and the ultra-narrow lasing linewidths achieved under self-injection locking.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Multicolor interband solitons in microcombs

In microcombs, solitons can drive non-soliton-forming modes to induce optical gain. Under specific conditions, a regenerative secondary temporal pulse coinciding in time and space with the exciting soliton pulse will form at a new spectral location. A mechanism involving Kerr-induced pulse interactions has been proposed theoretically, leading to multicolor solitons containing constituent phase-locked pulses. However, the occurrence of this phenomenon requires dispersion conditions that are not naturally satisfied in conventional optical microresonators. Here, we report the experimental observation of multicolor pulses from a single optical pump in a way that is closely related to the concept of multicolor solitons. The individual soliton pulses share the same repetition rate and could potentially be fully phase-locked. They are generated using interband coupling in a compound resonator.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Ultrabroadband Integrated Photonics Empowering Full-Spectrum Adaptive Wireless Communications

The forthcoming sixth-generation (6G) and beyond (XG) wireless networks are poised to operate across an expansive frequency range from microwave, millimeter-wave to terahertz bands to support ubiquitous connectivity in diverse application scenarios. This necessitates a one-size-fits-all hardware solution that can be adaptively reconfigured within this wide spectrum to support full-band coverage and dynamic spectrum management. However, existing electrical or photonic-assisted wireless communication solutions see significant challenges in meeting this demand due to the limited bandwidths of individual devices and the intrinsically rigid nature of their system architectures. Here, we demonstrate adaptive wireless communications over an unprecedented frequency range spanning over 100 GHz, driven by a universal thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic wireless engine. Leveraging the strong Pockels effect and excellent scalability of the TFLN platform, we achieve monolithic integration of essential functional elements, including baseband modulation, broadband wireless-photonic conversion, and reconfigurable carrier/local signal generation. Powered by broadband tunable optoelectronic oscillators, our signal sources operate across a record-wide frequency range from 0.5 GHz to 115 GHz with high frequency stability and consistent coherence. Based on the broadband and reconfigurable integrated photonic solution, we realize, for the first time, full-link wireless communication across 9 consecutive bands, achieving record lane speeds of up to 100 Gbps. The real-time reconfigurability further enables adaptive frequency allocation, a crucial capability to ensure enhanced reliability in complex spectrum environments. Our proposed system marks a significant step towards future full-spectrum and omni-scenario wireless networks.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Efficient and wavelength-tunable second-harmonic generation towards the green gap

Achieving compact and efficient visible laser sources is crucial for a wide range of applications. However traditional semiconductor laser technology faces difficulties in producing high-brightness green light, leaving a green gap in wavelength coverage. Second-harmonic generation (SHG) offers a promising alternative by converting near-infrared sources to visible wavelengths with high efficiency and spectral purity. Here, we demonstrate efficient and tunable SHG within the green spectrum using a high-Q Si3N4 microresonator. A space-charge grating induced by the photogalvanic effect realizes reconfigurable grating numbers and flexible wavelength tuning. Additionally, grating formation dynamics and competition is observed. These findings underscore the potential of silicon nitride as a robust, integrative platform for on-chip, tunable green light sources.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Photon pair generation via down-conversion in III-V semiconductor microrings: modal dispersion and quasi-phase matching

We explore how III-V semiconductor microring resonators can efficiently generate photon pairs and squeezed vacuum states via spontaneous parametric down-conversion by utilizing their built-in quasi phase matching and modal dispersion. We present an analytic expression for the biphoton wave function of photon pairs generated by weak pump pulses, and characterize the squeezed states that result under stronger pumping conditions. Our model includes loss, and captures the statistics of the scattered photons. A detailed sample calculation shows that for low pump powers conversion efficiencies of 10$^{-5}$, corresponding to a rate of $39$ MHz for a pump power of 1 $\mu$W, are attainable for rudimentary structures such as a simple microring coupled to a waveguide, in both the continuous wave and pulsed excitation regimes. Our results suggest that high levels of squeezing and pump depletion are attainable, possibly leading to the deterministic generation of non-Gaussian states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Dispersive-wave-agile optical frequency division

The remarkable frequency stability of resonant systems in the optical domain (optical cavities and atomic transitions) can be harnessed at frequency scales accessible by electronics using optical frequency division. This capability is revolutionizing technologies spanning time keeping to high-performance electrical signal sources. A version of the technique called 2-point optical frequency division (2P-OFD) is proving advantageous for application to high-performance signal sources. In 2P-OFD, an optical cavity anchors two spectral endpoints defined by lines of a frequency comb. The comb need not be self-referenced, which greatly simplifies the system architecture and reduces power requirements. Here, a 2P-OFD microwave signal source is demonstrated with record-low phase noise using a microcomb. Key to this advance is a spectral endpoint defined by a frequency agile single-mode dispersive wave that is emitted by the microcomb soliton. Moreover, the system frequency reference is a compact all-solid-state optical cavity with a record Q-factor. The results advance integrable microcomb-based signal sources into the performance realm of much larger microwave sources.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

A Novel Approach to Interface High-Q Fabry-Pérot Resonators with Photonic Circuits

The unique benefits of Fabry-Pérot resonators as frequency-stable reference cavities and as an efficient interface between atoms and photons make them an indispensable resource for emerging photonic technologies. To bring these performance benefits to next-generation communications, computation, and timekeeping systems, it will be necessary to develop strategies to integrate compact Fabry-Pérot resonators with photonic integrated circuits. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel reflection cancellation circuit that utilizes a numerically optimized multi-port polarization-splitting grating coupler to efficiently interface high-finesse Fabry-Pérot resonators with a silicon photonic circuit. This circuit interface produces spatial separation of the incident and reflected waves, as required for on-chip Pound-Drever-Hall frequency locking, while also suppressing unwanted back reflections from the Fabry-Pérot resonator. Using inverse design principles, we design and fabricate a polarization-splitting grating coupler that achieves 55% coupling efficiency. This design realizes an insertion loss of 5.8 dB for the circuit interface and more than 9 dB of back reflection suppression, and we demonstrate the versatility of this system by using it to interface several reflective off-chip devices.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Unveiling the dynamical diversity of quantum dot lasers subject to optoelectronic feedback

This paper investigates experimentally and numerically the nonlinear dynamics of an epitaxial quantum dot laser on silicon subjected to optoelectronic feedback. Experimental results showcase a diverse range of dynamics, encompassing square wave patterns, quasi-chaotic states, and mixed waveforms exhibiting fast and slow oscillations. These measurements unequivocally demonstrate that quantum dot lasers on silicon readily and stably generate a more extensive repertoire of nonlinear dynamics compared to quantum well lasers. This pronounced sensitivity of quantum dot lasers to optoelectronic feedback represents a notable departure from their inherent insensitivity to optical feedback arising from reflections. Moreover, based on the Ikeda-like model, our simulations illustrate that the inherent characteristics of quantum dot lasers on silicon enable rapid and diverse dynamic transformations in response to optoelectronic feedback. The emergence of these exotic dynamics paves the way for further applications like integrated optical clocks, optical logic, and optical computing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Engineered zero-dispersion microcombs using CMOS-ready photonics

Normal group velocity dispersion (GVD) microcombs offer high comb line power and high pumping efficiency compared to bright pulse microcombs. The recent demonstration of normal GVD microcombs using CMOS-foundry-produced microresonators is an important step towards scalable production. However, the chromatic dispersion of CMOS devices is large and impairs generation of broadband microcombs. Here, we report the development of a microresonator in which GVD is reduced due to a couple-ring resonator configuration. Operating in the turnkey self-injection-locking mode, the resonator is hybridly integrated with a semiconductor laser pump to produce high-power-efficiency combs spanning a bandwidth of 9.9 nm (1.22 THz) centered at 1560 nm, corresponding to 62 comb lines. Fast, linear optical sampling of the comb waveform is used to observe the rich set of near-zero GVD comb behaviors, including soliton molecules, switching waves (platicons) and their hybrids. Tuning of the 20 GHz repetition rate by electrical actuation enables servo locking to a microwave reference, which simultaneously stabilizes the comb repetition rate, offset frequency and temporal waveform. This hybridly integrated system could be used in coherent communications or for ultra-stable microwave signal generation by two-point optical frequency division.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Soliton pulse pairs at multiple colors in normal dispersion microresonators

Soliton microcombs are helping to advance the miniaturization of a range of comb systems. These combs mode lock through the formation of short temporal pulses in anomalous dispersion resonators. Here, a new microcomb is demonstrated that mode locks through the formation of pulse pairs in normal-dispersion coupled-ring resonators. Unlike conventional microcombs, pulses in this system cannot exist alone, and instead must phase lock in pairs to form a bright soliton comb. Also, the pulses can form at recurring spectral windows and the pulses in each pair feature different optical spectra. This pairwise mode-locking modality extends to higher dimensions and we demonstrate 3-ring systems in which 3 pulses mode lock through alternating pairwise pulse coupling. The results are demonstrated using the new CMOS-foundry platform that has not previously produced bright solitons on account of its inherent normal dispersion. The ability to generate multi-color pulse pairs over multiple rings is an important new feature for microcombs. It can extend the concept of all-optical soliton buffers and memories to multiple storage rings that multiplex pulses with respect to soliton color and that are spatially addressable. The results also suggest a new platform for the study of quantum combs and topological photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Correlated self-heterodyne method for ultra-low-noise laser linewidth measurements

Narrow-linewidth lasers are important to many applications spanning precision metrology to sensing systems. Characterization of these lasers requires precise measurements of their frequency noise spectra. Here we demonstrate a correlated self-heterodyne (COSH) method capable of measuring frequency noise as low as 0.01 Hz$^2$/Hz at 1 MHz offset frequency. The measurement setup is characterized by both commercial and lab-built lasers, and features low optical power requirements, fast acquisition time and high intensity noise rejection.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Extending the spectrum of fully integrated photonics

Integrated photonics has profoundly impacted a wide range of technologies underpinning modern society. The ability to fabricate a complete optical system on a chip offers unrivalled scalability, weight, cost and power efficiency. Over the last decade, the progression from pure III-V materials platforms to silicon photonics has significantly broadened the scope of integrated photonics by combining integrated lasers with the high-volume, advanced fabrication capabilities of the commercial electronics industry. Yet, despite remarkable manufacturing advantages, reliance on silicon-based waveguides currently limits the spectral window available to photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Here, we present a new generation of integrated photonics by directly uniting III-V materials with silicon nitride (SiN) waveguides on Si wafers. Using this technology, we present the first fully integrated PICs at wavelengths shorter than silicon's bandgap, demonstrating essential photonic building blocks including lasers, photodetectors, modulators and passives, all operating at sub-um wavelengths. Using this platform, we achieve unprecedented coherence and tunability in an integrated laser at short wavelength. Furthermore, by making use of this higher photon energy, we demonstrate superb high temperature performance and, for the first time, kHz-level fundamental linewidths at elevated temperatures. Given the many potential applications at short wavelengths, the success of this integration strategy unlocks a broad range of new integrated photonics applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Integrated photonic interposers for processing octave-spanning microresonator frequency combs

Microcombs - optical frequency combs generated in microresonators - have advanced tremendously in the last decade, and are advantageous for applications in frequency metrology, navigation, spectroscopy, telecommunications, and microwave photonics. Crucially, microcombs offer the prospect of fully integrated miniaturized optical systems with unprecedented reductions in cost, size, weight, and power. However, this goal has been consistently hindered by the use of bulk free-space and fiber-optic components to process microcombs, limiting form factors to the table-top. Here, we address this challenge by introducing an integrated photonics interposer architecture to process microcombs and replace discrete components. Taking microcomb-based optical frequency synthesis in the telecom C-band around 1550 nm as our target application, we develop an interposer architecture that collects, routes, and interfaces octave-wide optical signals between photonic chiplets and heterogeneously integrated devices that constitute the synthesizer. We have implemented the octave spanning spectral filtering of a microcomb, central to the interposer, in the popular silicon nitride photonic platform, and have confirmed the requisite performance of the individual elements of the interposer. Moreover, we show that the thick silicon nitride needed for bright dissipative Kerr soliton generation can be integrated with the comparatively thin silicon nitride interposer layer through octave-bandwidth adiabatic evanescent coupling, indicating a path towards future system-level consolidation. Our interposer architecture addresses the immediate need for on-chip microcomb processing to successfully miniaturize microcomb systems. As microcombs and integrated devices evolve, our approach can be readily adapted to other metrology-grade applications based on optical atomic clocks and high-precision navigation and spectroscopy.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

High Speed Mid-Wave Infrared Uni-traveling Carrier Photodetector

Mid-wave infrared (MWIR) frequency comb is expected to dramatically improve the precision and sensitivity of molecular spectroscopy. For high resolution application, high speed MWIR photodetector is one of the key components, however, the commercially available high speed MWIR photodetector only has sub-GHz bandwidth currently. In this paper, we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, a high speed mid-wave infrared (MWIR) uni-traveling carrier photodetector based on InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice (T2SL) at room temperature. The device exhibits a cutoff wavelength of 5.6μm, and 3dB bandwidth of 6.58 GHz for a 20μm diameter device at 300K. These promising results show the device has potential to be utilized in high speed applications such as frequency comb spectroscopy, free space communication and others. The limitations on the high frequency performance of the photodetectors are also discussed.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Packaged photonic chip-based soliton microcomb using an ultralow-noise laser

Photonic chip-based soliton microcombs have shown rapid progress and have already been used in many system-level applications, including coherent communications, astrophysical spectrometer calibration and ultrafast ranging. While there has been substantial progress in realizing soliton microcombs that rely on compact laser diodes, culminating in devices that only utilize a semiconductor amplifier or a self-injection-locked laser as a pump source, accessing and generating single soliton states with electronically detectable line rates from a compact laser module has remained challenging. Here we demonstrate a current-initiated, $\mathrm{Si_3N_4}$ chip-based, 99-GHz soliton microcomb driven directly by an ultra-compact, low-noise laser. This approach does not require any fast laser tuning mechanism, and single soliton states can be accessed by changing the current of the laser diode. A simple, yet reliable, packaging technique has been developed to demonstrate the viability of such a microcomb system in field-deployable applications.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Monolithic integration of broadband optical isolators for polarization-diverse silicon photonics

Integrated optical isolators have been a longstanding challenge for photonic integrated circuits (PIC). An ideal integrated optical isolator for PIC should be made by a monolithic process, have a small footprint, exhibit broadband and polarization-diverse operation, and be compatible with multiple materials platforms. Despite significant progress, the optical isolators reported so far do not meet all these requirements. In this article we present monolithically integrated broadband magneto-optical isolators on silicon and silicon nitride (SiN) platforms operating for both TE and TM modes with record high performances, fulfilling all the essential characteristics for PIC applications. In particular, we demonstrate fully-TE broadband isolators by depositing high quality magneto-optical garnet thin films on the sidewalls of Si and SiN waveguides, a critical result for applications in TE-polarized on-chip lasers and amplifiers. This work demonstrates monolithic integration of high performance optical isolators on chip for polarization-diverse silicon photonic systems, enabling new pathways to impart nonreciprocal photonic functionality to a variety of integrated photonic devices.

physics.app-ph↗