arXiv subjects

Marko Loncar

Publications and source records attributed to Marko Loncar.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Electrically-pumped high-power laser transmitter integrated on thin-film lithium niobate

Integrated thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonics has emerged as a promising platform for realization of high-performance chip-scale optical systems. Of particular importance are TFLN electro-optic modulators featuring high-linearity, low driving voltage and lowpropagation loss. However, fully integrated system requires integration of high power, low noise, and narrow linewidth lasers on TFLN chip. Here we achieve this goal, and demonstrate integrated high-power lasers on TFLN platform with up to 60 mW of optical power in the waveguides. We use this platform to realize a highpower transmitter consisting an electrically-pumped laser integrated with a 50 GHz modulator.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2021

Optical Entanglement of Distinguishable Quantum Emitters

Solid-state quantum emitters are promising candidates for the realization of quantum networks, owing to their long-lived spin memories, high-fidelity local operations, and optical connectivity for long-range entanglement. However, due to differences in local environment, solid-state emitters typically feature a range of distinct transition frequencies, which makes it challenging to create optically mediated entanglement between arbitrary emitter pairs. We propose and demonstrate an efficient method for entangling emitters with optical transitions separated by many linewidths. In our approach, electro-optic modulators enable a single photon to herald a parity measurement on a pair of spin qubits. We experimentally demonstrate the protocol using two silicon-vacancy center sin a diamond nanophotonic cavity, with optical transitions separated by 7.4 GHz. Working with distinguishable emitters allows for individual qubit addressing and readout, enabling parallel control and entanglement of both co-located and spatially separated emitters, a key step towards scaling up quantum information processing systems

quant-ph↗

arXiv2020

Wafer-scale low-loss lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits

Thin-film lithium niobate (LN) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) could enable ultrahigh performance in electro-optic and nonlinear optical devices. To date, realizations have been limited to chip-scale proof-of-concepts. Here we demonstrate monolithic LN PICs fabricated on 4- and 6-inch wafers with deep ultraviolet lithography and show smooth and uniform etching, achieving 0.27 dB/cm optical propagation loss on wafer-scale. Our results show that LN PICs are fundamentally scalable and can be highly cost-effective.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Reconfigurable electro-optic frequency shifter

Here we demonstrate an on-chip electro-optic frequency shifter that is precisely controlled using only a single-tone microwave signal. This is accomplished by engineering the density of states of, and coupling between, optical modes in ultra-low loss electro-optic waveguides and resonators realized in lithium niobate nanophotonics. Our device provides frequency shifts as high as 28 GHz with measured shift efficiencies of ~99% and insertion loss of <0.5 dB. Importantly, the device can be reconfigured as a tunable frequency-domain beam splitter, in which the splitting ratio and splitting frequency are controlled by microwave power and frequency, respectively. Using the device, we also demonstrate (non-blocking) frequency routing through an efficient exchange of information between two distinct frequency channels, i.e. swap operation. Finally, we show that our scheme can be scaled to achieve cascaded frequency shifts beyond 100 GHz. Our device could become an essential building-block for future high-speed and large-scale classical information processors as well as emerging frequency-domain photonic quantum computers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Integrated microwave acousto-optic frequency shifter on thin-film lithium niobate

Electrically driven acousto-optic devices that provide beam deflection and optical frequency shifting have broad applications from pulse synthesis to heterodyne detection. Commercially available acousto-optic modulators are based on bulk materials and consume Watts of radio frequency power. Here, we demonstrate an integrated 3-GHz acousto-optic frequency shifter on thin-film lithium niobate, featuring a carrier suppression over 30 dB. Further, we demonstrate a gigahertz-spaced optical frequency comb featuring more than 200 lines over a 0.6-THz optical bandwidth by recirculating the light in an active frequency shifting loop. Our integrated acousto-optic platform leads to the development of on-chip optical routing, isolation, and microwave signal processing.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Chip-Based Lithium-Niobate Frequency Combs

Lithium niobate is an excellent photonic material with large $χ^2$ and $χ^3$ nonlinearities. Recent breakthroughs in nanofabrication technology have enabled ultralow-loss nanophotonic devices based on a lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) platform. Here we present an overview of recent developments in the LNOI platform for on-chip optical frequency comb generation. These devices could lead to new opportunities for integrated nonlinear photonic devices for classical and quantum photonic applications.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

High-dimensional frequency crystals and quantum walks in electro-optic microcombs

Synthetic optical structures have enabled studies of various physical processes and discoveries of new phenomena in a controllable manner. Past realizations, using for example coupled optical waveguides, were however limited in size and dimensionality. Here we theoretically propose and experimentally demonstrate optical frequency crystals of arbitrary dimensions, formed by hundreds of coupled spectral modes within an on-chip electro-optic frequency comb. We show a direct link between the measured optical transmission spectrum and the density-of-state of frequency crystals, validated by measurements of one-, two-, three- and four-dimensional crystals with no restrictions to further expand the dimensionality. We measure signatures of quantum random walks and Bloch oscillations in the frequency domain of light in one- and two-dimensional synthetic lattices. Our work employs a quantum description of phase modulation11 to describe resonant electro-optic frequency combs, and shows that they enable the study of exotic crystal properties, topologies and quantum dynamics, while providing a versatile platform to manipulate quantum information in the optical frequency domain.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Microwave-to-optical conversion using lithium niobate thin-film acoustic resonators

We demonstrate conversion of up to 4.5 GHz-frequency microwaves to 1500 nm-wavelength light using optomechanical interactions on suspended thin-film lithium niobate. Our method utilizes an interdigital transducer that drives a free-standing 100 $μ$m-long thin-film acoustic resonator to modulate light travelling in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer or racetrack cavity. Owing to the strong microwave-to-acoustic coupling offered by the transducer in conjunction with the strong photoelastic, piezoelectric, and electro-optic effects of lithium niobate, we achieve a half-wave voltage of $V_π$ = 4.6 V and $V_π$ = 0.77 V for the Mach-Zehnder interferometer and racetrack resonator, respectively. The acousto-optic racetrack cavity exhibits an optomechancial single-photon coupling strength of 1.1 kHz. Our integrated nanophotonic platform coherently leverages the compelling properties of lithium niobate to achieve microwave-to-optical transduction. To highlight the versatility of our system, we also demonstrate a lossless microwave photonic link, which refers to a 0 dB microwave power transmission over an optical channel.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Supercontinuum generation in angle-etched diamond waveguides

We experimentally demonstrate on-chip supercontinuum generation in the visible region in angle etched diamond waveguides. We measure an output spectrum spanning 670 nm to 920 nm in a 5mm long waveguide using 100 fs pulses with 187 pJ of incident pulse energy. Our fabrication technique, combined with diamonds broad transparency window, offers a potential route toward broadband supercontinuum generation in the UV domain.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Ultra-low loss integrated visible photonics using thin-film lithium niobate

Integrated photonics is a powerful platform that can improve the performance and stability of optical systems, while providing low-cost, small-footprint and scalable alternatives to implementations based on free-space optics. While great progress has been made on the development of low-loss integrated photonics platforms at telecom wavelengths, visible wavelength range has received less attention. Yet, many applications utilize visible or near-visible light, including those in optical imaging, optogenetics, and quantum science and technology. Here we demonstrate an ultra-low loss integrated visible photonics platform based on thin film lithium niobate on insulator. Our waveguides feature ultra-low propagation loss of 6 dB/m, while our microring resonators have an intrinsic quality factor of 11 million, both measured at 637 nm wavelength. Additionally, we demonstrate an on-chip visible intensity modulator with an electro-optic bandwidth of 10 GHz, limited by the detector used. The ultra-low loss devices demonstrated in this work, together with the strong second- and third-order nonlinearities in lithium niobate, open up new opportunities for creating novel passive, and active devices for frequency metrology and quantum information processing in the visible spectrum range.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

An integrated low-voltage broadband lithium niobate phase modulator

Electro-optic phase modulators are critical components in modern communication, microwave photonic, and quantum photonic systems. Important for these applications is to achieve modulators with low half-wave voltage at high frequencies. Here we demonstrate an integrated phase modulator, based on a thin-film lithium niobate platform, that simultaneously features small on-chip loss (~ 1 dB) and low half-wave voltage over a large spectral range (3.5 - 4.5 V at 5 - 40 GHz). By driving the modulator with a strong 30-GHz microwave signal corresponding to around four half-wave voltages, we generate an optical frequency comb consisting of over 40 sidebands spanning 10 nm in the telecom L-band. The high electro-optic performance combined with the high RF power-handling ability (3.1 W) of our integrated phase modulator are crucial for future photonics and microwave systems.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Low-loss fiber-to-chip interface for lithium niobate photonic integrated circuits

Integrated lithium niobate (LN) photonic circuits have recently emerged as a promising candidate for advanced photonic functions such as high-speed modulation, nonlinear frequency conversion and frequency comb generation. For practical applications, optical interfaces that feature low fiber-to-chip coupling losses are essential. So far, the fiber-to-chip loss (commonly > 10 dB) dominates the total insertion losses of typical LN photonic integrated circuits, where on-chip propagation losses can be as low as 0.03 - 0.1 dB/cm. Here we experimentally demonstrate a low-loss mode size converter for coupling between a standard lensed fiber and sub-micrometer LN rib waveguides. The coupler consists of two inverse tapers that convert the small optical mode of a rib waveguide into a symmetric guided mode of a LN nanowire, featuring a larger mode area matched to that of a tapered optical fiber. The measured fiber-to-chip coupling loss is lower than 1.7 dB/facet with high fabrication tolerance and repeatability. Our results open door for practical integrated LN photonic circuits efficiently interfaced with optical fibers.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Coherent two-octave-spanning supercontinuum generation in lithium-niobate waveguides

We demonstrate coherent supercontinuum generation (SCG) in a monolithically integrated lithium-niobate waveguide, under the presence of second- and third-order nonlinear effects. We achieve more than two octaves of optical bandwidth in a 0.5-cm-long waveguide with 100-picojoule-level pulses. Dispersion engineering of the waveguide allows for spectral overlap between the SCG and the second harmonic which enables direct detection of the carrier-envelope offset frequency fCEO using a single waveguide. We measure the fCEO of our femtosecond pump source with a 30-dB signal-to-noise ratio.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Ultrahigh-efficiency second-harmonic generation in nanophotonic PPLN waveguides

Periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) waveguide is a powerful platform for efficient wavelength conversion. Conventional PPLN converters however typically require long device lengths and high pump powers due to the limited nonlinear interaction strength. Here we use a nanostructured PPLN waveguides to demonstrate an ultrahigh normalized efficiency of 2600%/W-cm$^2$ for second-harmonic generation of 1.5-$μ$m radiation, more than 20 times higher than that in state-of-the-art diffused waveguides. This is achieved by a combination of sub-wavelength optical confinement and high-fidelity periodic poling at a first-order poling period of 4 $μ$m. Our highly integrated PPLN waveguides are promising for future chip-scale integration of classical and quantum photonic systems.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2018

Monolithic photonic circuits for Kerr frequency comb generation, filtering and modulation

Microresonator Kerr frequency combs, which rely on third-order nonlinearity ($χ^{(3)}$), are of great interest for a wide range of applications including optical clocks, pulse shaping, spectroscopy, telecommunications, light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and quantum information processing. Many of these applications require further spectral and temporal control of the generated frequency comb signal, which is typically accomplished using additional photonic elements with strong second-order nonlinearity ($χ^{(2)}$). To date these functionalities have largely been implemented as discrete off-chip components due to material limitations, which come at the expense of extra system complexity and increased optical losses. Here we demonstrate the generation, filtering and electro-optic modulation of a frequency comb on a single monolithic integrated chip, using a thin-film lithium niobate (LN) photonic platform that simultaneously possesses large $χ^{(2)}$ and $χ^{(3)}$ nonlinearities and low optical losses. We generate broadband Kerr frequency combs using a dispersion-engineered high quality factor LN microresonator, select a single comb line using an electrically programmable add-drop filter, and modulate the intensity of the selected line. Our results pave the way towards monolithic integrated frequency comb solutions for spectroscopy data communication, ranging and quantum photonics.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Electronically Programmable Photonic Molecule

Physical systems with discrete energy levels are ubiquitous in nature and are fundamental building blocks of quantum technology. Realizing controllable artifcial atom- and molecule-like systems for light would allow for coherent and dynamic control of the frequency, amplitude and phase of photons. In this work, we demonstrate a photonic molecule with two distinct energy-levels and control it by external microwave excitation. We show signature two-level dynamics including microwave induced photonic Autler-Townes splitting, Stark shift, Rabi oscillation and Ramsey interference. Leveraging the coherent control of optical energy, we show on-demand photon storage and retrieval in optical microresonators by reconfguring the photonic molecule into a bright-dark mode pair. These results of dynamic control of light in a programmable and scalable electro-optic platform open doors to applications in microwave photonic signal processing, quantum photonics in the frequency domain, optical computing concepts and simulations of complex physical systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Broadband electro-optic frequency comb generation in an integrated microring resonator

Optical frequency combs consist of equally spaced discrete optical frequency components and are essential tools for optical communications and for precision metrology, timing and spectroscopy. To date, wide-spanning combs are most often generated by mode-locked lasers or dispersion-engineered resonators with third-order Kerr nonlinearity. An alternative comb generation method uses electro-optic (EO) phase modulation in a resonator with strong second-order nonlinearity, resulting in combs with excellent stability and controllability. Previous EO combs, however, have been limited to narrow widths by a weak EO interaction strength and a lack of dispersion engineering in free-space systems. In this work, we overcome these limitations by realizing an integrated EO comb generator in a thin-film lithium niobate photonic platform that features a large electro-optic response, ultra-low optical loss and highly co-localized microwave and optical felds, while enabling dispersion engineering. Our measured EO frequency comb spans more than the entire telecommunications L-band (over 900 comb lines spaced at ~ 10 GHz), and we show that future dispersion engineering can enable octave-spanning combs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the high tolerance of our comb generator to modulation frequency detuning, with frequency spacing finely controllable over seven orders of magnitude (10 Hz to 100 MHz), and utilize this feature to generate dual frequency combs in a single resonator. Our results show that integrated EO comb generators, capable of generating wide and stable comb spectra, are a powerful complement to integrated Kerr combs, enabling applications ranging from spectroscopy to optical communications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Cavity-enhanced Raman emission from a single color center in a solid

We demonstrate cavity-enhanced Raman emission from a single atomic defect in a solid. Our platform is a single silicon-vacancy center in diamond coupled with a monolithic diamond photonic crystal cavity. The cavity enables an unprecedented frequency tuning range of the Raman emission (100 GHz) that significantly exceeds the spectral inhomogeneity of silicon-vacancy centers in diamond nanostructures. We also show that the cavity selectively suppresses the phonon-induced spontaneous emission that degrades the efficiency of Raman photon generation. Our results pave the way towards photon-mediated many-body interactions between solid-state quantum emitters in a nanophotonic platform.

quant-ph↗