arXiv subjects

Pascal Del'Haye

Publications and source records attributed to Pascal Del'Haye.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Twin-photon generation in a silicon nitride microresonator

Photonic chips with silicon nitride ($\mathrm{Si_3N_4}$) microring resonators are well established as heralded single-photon sources, but their operation as frequency-degenerate twin-photon sources has not previously been demonstrated. Here, we realise a twin-photon source at telecommunication wavelengths in a $\mathrm{Si_3N_4}$ ring microresonator via an inverse four-wave mixing (FWM) process, in which two photons from spectrally distinct pumps are converted into a pair of identical twin photons. The measurements show a maximum coincidence-to-accidental ratio (CAR) of $5.4\pm0.6$. In addition, the microresonator functions as a heralded single-photon source through pump-degenerate spontaneous four-wave mixing (SFWM), exhibiting a spectral purity of $P=0.67\pm0.05$ and a heralded anti-bunching of $g^{(2)}_h(0)=0.0042\pm0.0015$. Together, these results demonstrate both photon-generation schemes on a single integrated $\mathrm{Si_3N_4}$ platform, highlighting its potential for scalable, tailored quantum light generation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Demonstration of a Single-Laser-Diode-Pumped Ti:Sapphire Astrocomb on the Southern African Large Telescope

Astrocombs -- broadband lasers comprising thousands of narrow, uniformly spaced and atomically-referenced spectral lines -- offer gold-standard wavelength calibration for ground-based optical telescopes, with the potential for the cm/s precision needed for radial-velocity follow-ups of exoplanet candidates from photometric space missions like Kepler, TESS and PLATO. Current astrocombs, particularly those operating in the visible spectrum, are complex and expensive, putting them beyond the reach of many observatories. Here, we present the first on-instrument demonstration of a new and simple astrocomb concept, providing calibration light across nearly the entire 550 nm to 890 nm red channel of the Southern African Large Telescope's High Resolution Spectrograph (SALT-HRS). An octave-spanning supercontinuum generated in a silicon nitride waveguide by a GPS-referenced diode-pumped Ti:sapphire laser is filtered to 21 GHz before fibre delivery to the spectrograph. Using the astrocomb, we obtain the wavelength solution for one order of SALT-HRS and the wavelength-dependent line-spread function of the instrument. With potential for further extension into the blue spectral region, this uniquely simple architecture brings visible-to-infrared astrocomb technology within the reach of a wider range of astronomical observatories.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

Magnon-mediated microwave to optical time dynamics

Optomagnonic modulation techniques are an emerging platform for information transfer from the microwave to the optical domain. However, these techniques focus largely on the spectral domain of the transduced signal. Given the potential of the field to bridge the gap between microwave and optical signals, analyzing and studying the interactions real-time in temporal domain becomes equally essential. In this work, we exploit the optomagnonic modulation in a YIG microsphere to demonstrate and study microwave to optical real-time dynamic transfer on a time scale comparable to the decay of magnons. We inductively excite magnons in the microwave domain and use magnon-based Brillouin light scattering to transduce the signature of excited magnonic waveforms to the optical domain. The square type modulation of the magnons is retrieved in the corresponding optical sidebands. Our work enables real-time measurement of the magnonic dynamics and therefore direct access to lifetime measurements of the magnonic mode. Providing insight into the temporal dynamics of magnons, this work can open up new promising research directions such as in magnon coupled superconducting qubits or magnon-based Brillouin memory.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

From order to chaos in a chip-scale Kerr parametric oscillator

Integrated photonics has enabled a wide class of chip-scale light sources and quantum technologies. Within this field, microresonator-based degenerate optical parametric oscillators (DOPOs) have gained prominence. Above a critical power threshold, these systems undergo spontaneous symmetry breaking to settle into one of two stable, {\pi}-phase-shifted states -- a mechanism successfully used for quantum random number generation and photonic Ising machines. Here, we show that DOPOs based on the Kerr nonlinearity host a significantly broader range of nonlinear dynamics than previously explored. Using a silicon nitride microring resonator, we experimentally identify Hopf bifurcations that trigger a transition from stationary operation to self-sustained oscillations at MHz frequencies. By adjusting pump detunings and powers, we achieve turnkey control over these oscillatory regimes, navigating the system between stable binary states and periodic limit cycles. Furthermore, we report the experimental observation of period-doubling bifurcations, which numerical simulations reveal as the precursor to a cascading instability culminating in chaos at elevated pump powers. Our results establish a framework for controlling nonlinear instabilities in chip-scale parametric oscillators, with applications in programmable photonic hardware and dynamical optical computing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Toward nanophotonic platforms for solid-state $^{229}$Th nuclear clocks

While the $^{229}$Th nuclear isomer has recently been observed and laser-excited, converting optical nuclear manipulation into a chip-scale solid-state frequency standard remains an open challenge. Here, we present a nanophotonic platform to realize an all-solid-state nuclear clock based on the low-energy isomeric transition of $^{229}$Th embedded in high-$Q$ fluoride photonic resonators. By coupling ensembles of thorium nuclei to confined optical modes, we show that resonant field build-up in the cavity can substantially enhance the nuclear excitation rate, enabling optical interrogation at practical laser intensities. We model the nuclei-photon interaction dynamics and outline a technological roadmap toward addressing this challenge, including resonator fabrication in fluoride crystals, thorium implantation, nuclear excitation with integrated lasers, and on-chip detection of vacuum-ultraviolet photons. As an initial proof of concept, we implant a crystalline fluoride whispering-gallery-mode resonator with $^{229}$Th and assess the impact of implantation-induced damage on resonator performance. Our platform leverages recent advances in materials integration and nanophotonics to chart a realistic route toward compact and scalable nuclear frequency standards.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Fourth-harmonic UV light generation in integrated silicon nitride microresonators

Integrated silicon nitride (Si3N4) resonators have emerged as a leading platform for nonlinear photonics, yet generating light at wavelength in the ultraviolet (UV) has remained elusive in single-resonator systems. Here we report the first observation of fourth-harmonic generation reaching the blue and ultraviolet spectral regions in an integrated Si3N4 microring resonator. We systematically investigate the input-power dependence of the wavelength ranges supporting second-, third-, and fourth-harmonic generation, and study the input-power-dependent variation of the circulating fourth-harmonic signal in the UV. These results extend the operational bandwidth of integrated Si3N4 nonlinear photonic platforms to the lower edge of the material transparency window, enabling on-chip UV frequency conversion. Near-ultraviolet generation around 400 nm will enable on-chip excitation of defect-based quantum emitters in hexagonal boron nitride, enhance Raman spectroscopy through increased scattering cross-sections at shorter wavelengths, and support compact fluorescence-based bio-imaging platforms exploiting intrinsic cellular fluorophores.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Symmetry-Broken Cavity Solitons and Collective Polarization Conformity in Fabry-Perot Kerr Resonators

We report on the experimental generation of polarization symmetry-broken cavity solitons (CSs) in a passive, fiber-based, coherently-driven, Fabry-Perot (FP) Kerr resonator. Polarization resolved measurements reveal the spontaneous transition of initially symmetric CSs into asymmetrical vectorial states, triggered by a cross-phase modulation-induced polarization bifurcation. Most notably, due to counter-propagation of light occurring in FP resonators, we unveil a collective polarization conformity effect, whereby multiple CSs circulating in the cavity converge to the same asymmetric polarization state once their number exceeds a certain threshold. These results demonstrate that Fabry-Perot resonators support novel collective soliton dynamics that are absent in ring architectures.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Visible octave frequency combs in silicon nitride nanophotonic waveguides driven by Ti:sapphire lasers

Nonlinear nanophotonic waveguides have opened a route to compact frequency combs for precision metrology, spectroscopy and astronomy, yet broadband comb access to the visible remains challenging on CMOS-compatible platforms. Silicon nitride is widely accessible and low loss into the visible, but most demonstrations rely on telecom pumping and thick stress-managed films, where the large spectral gap to the visible dispersive wave raises the soliton order and power required for efficient conversion. Here we show that pumping closer to the visible provides a complementary route. Starting from crack-free 400 nm SiN films, we implement dispersion-engineering with air-clad nanophotonic waveguides whose enhanced geometric dispersion opens an anomalous-dispersion window across the Ti-sapphire tuning range. Femtosecond Ti-sapphire pulses then drive octave-spanning combs from the visible to the near-infrared, with the visible edge and overall bandwidth lithographically tuned by the waveguide width at pulse energies of only tens of picojoules. The air-clad geometry also produces strong polarization-dependent dispersion, enabling switching between all-normal and soliton-dominated broadening in the same device, and support octave-spanning combs at 1 GHz repetition rates directly driven by a compact diode-pumped Ti-sapphire oscillator. These results position air-clad SiN nanophotonic waveguides as an efficient interface between emerging short-wavelength integrated gain platforms and fully integrated visible frequency-comb engines.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Color symmetry breaking in a nonlinear optical microcavity

Spontaneous symmetry breaking leads to diverse phenomena across the natural sciences, from the Higgs mechanism in particle physics to superconductors and collective animal behavior. In photonic systems, the symmetry of light states can be broken when two optical fields interact through the Kerr nonlinearity, as shown in early demonstrations with counterpropagating and cross-polarized modes. Here, we report the first observation of color symmetry breaking in an integrated silicon nitride microring, where spontaneous power imbalance arises between optical mode at different wavelengths, mediated by the Kerr effect. The threshold power for this effect is as low as 19 mW. By examining the system's homogeneous states, we further demonstrate a Kerr-based nonlinear activation-function generator that produces sigmoid-, quadratic-, and leaky-ReLU-like responses. These findings reveal previously unexplored nonlinear dynamics in dual-pumped Kerr resonators and establish new pathways towards compact, all-optical neuromorphic circuits.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Inverse-Designed Silicon Nitride Nanophotonics

Silicon nitride photonics has enabled integration of a variety of components for applications in linear and nonlinear optics, including telecommunications, optical clocks, astrocombs, bio-sensing, and LiDAR. With the advent of inverse design - where desired device performance is specified and closely achieved through iterative, gradient-based optimization - and the increasing availability of silicon nitride photonics via foundries, it is now feasible to expand the photonic design library beyond the limits of traditional approaches and unlock new functionalities. In this work, we present inverse-designed photonics on a silicon nitride platform and demonstrate both the design capabilities and experimental validation of manipulating light in wavelength and spatial mode dimensions to high-Q resonators with controllable wavelength range and dispersion. Furthermore, we use these inverse-designed structures to form optical cavities that hold promise for on-chip nonlinear and quantum optics experiments.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Exceptional, but Separate: Precursors to Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking

Spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) and exceptional points (EPs) are often assumed to be inherently linked. Here we investigate the intricate relationship between SSB and specific classes of EPs across three distinct, real-world scenarios in nonlinear optics. In these systems, the two phenomena do not coincide for all classes of EPs; they can occur at dislocated points in parameter space. This recurring behavior across disparate platforms implies that such decoupling is not unique to these optical systems, but likely reflects a more general principle. Our results highlight the need for careful analysis of assumed correlations between SSB and EPs in both theoretical and applied contexts. They deepen our understanding of nonlinear dynamics in optical systems and prompt a broader reconsideration of contexts where EPs and SSB are thought to be interdependent.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Hybrid Nonlinear Effects in Photonic Integrated Circuits

Nonlinear optics in photonic integrated circuits is usually limited to utilizing the nonlinearity of a single material. In this work, we demonstrate the use of hybrid optical nonlinearities that occur in two different materials. This approach allows us to observe combined Raman scattering and Kerr frequency comb generation using silicon nitride (Si3N4) microresonators with fused silica cladding. Here, the fused silica cladding provides Raman gain, while the silicon nitride core provides the Kerr nonlinearity for frequency comb generation. This way we can add Raman scattering to an integrated photonic silicon nitride platform, in which Raman scattering has not been observed so far because of insufficient Raman gain. The Raman lasing is observed in the silica-clad silicon nitride resonators at an on-chip optical power of 143 mW, which agrees with theoretical simulations. This can be reduced to mw-level with improved optical quality factor. Broadband Raman-Kerr frequency comb generation is realized through dispersion engineering of the waveguides. The use of hybrid optical nonlinearities in multiple materials opens up new functionalities for integrated photonic devices, e.g. by combining second and third-order nonlinear materials for combined supercontinuum generation and self-referencing of frequency combs. Combining materials with low threshold powers for different nonlinearities can be the key to highly efficient nonlinear photonic circuits for compact laser sources, high-resolution spectroscopy, frequency synthesis in the infrared and UV, telecommunications and quantum information processing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Polarization faticons: Chiral localized structures in self-defocusing Kerr resonators

We report on numerical predictions and experimental observations of a novel type of temporal localized dissipative structures that manifest themselves in the self-defocusing regime of driven nonlinear optical resonators with two polarization modes. These chiral dissipative solitons, which we term polarization faticons, break both temporal and polarization symmetry and consist of two bright lobes of opposite polarization handedness, interlocked by a domain wall. Our study reveals that faticons are connected to a vectorial modulational instability, from which they can be excited through a collapsing dynamic. Faticons could offer a novel pathway for frequency comb generation in normal dispersion resonators. More generally, they offer new fundamental insights into vectorial localized dissipative structures and could be relevant to other multi-component dissipative systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Phase Symmetry Breaking of Counterpropagating Light in Microresonators for Switches and Logic Gates

The rapidly growing field of integrated photonics is enabling a large number of novel devices for optical data processing, neuromorphic computing and circuits for quantum photonics. While many photonic devices are based on linear optics, nonlinear responses at low threshold power are of high interest for optical switching and computing. In the case of counterpropagating light, nonlinear interactions can be utilized for chip-based isolators and logic gates. In our work we find a symmetry breaking of the phases of counterpropagating light waves in high-Q ring resonators. This abrupt change in the phases can be used for optical switches and logic gates. In addition to our experimental results, we provide theoretical models that describe the phase symmetry breaking of counterpropagating light in ring resonators.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Linear and Nonlinear Coupling of Light in Twin-Resonators with Kerr Nonlinearity

Nonlinear effects in microresonators are efficient building blocks for all-optical computing and telecom systems. With the latest advances in microfabrication, coupled microresonators are used in a rapidly growing number of applications. In this work, we investigate the coupling between twin-resonators in the presence of Kerr-nonlinearity. We use an experimental setup with controllable coupling between two high-Q resonators and discuss the effects caused by the simultaneous presence of linear and non-linear coupling between the optical fields. Linear-coupling-induced mode splitting is observed at low input powers, with the controllable coupling leading to a tunable mode splitting. At high input powers, the hybridized resonances show spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) effects, in which the optical power is unevenly distributed between the resonators. Our experimental results are supported by a detailed theoretical model of nonlinear twin-resonators. With the recent interest in coupled resonator systems for neuromorphic computing, quantum systems, and optical frequency comb generation, our work provides important insights into the behavior of these systems at high circulating powers.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Frequency Comb Enhancement via the Self-Crystallization of Vectorial Cavity Solitons

Long range interactions between dark vectorial temporal cavity solitons are induced though the spontaneous symmetry breaking of orthogonally polarized fields in ring resonators. Turing patterns of alternating polarizations form between adjacent solitons, pushing them apart so that a random distribution of solitons along the cavity length reaches equal equilibrium distances. Enhancement of the frequency comb is achieved through the spontaneous formation of regularly spaced soliton crystals, 'self-crystallization', with greater power and spacing of the spectral lines for increasing soliton numbers.

nlin.PS↗

arXiv2024

Controlled light distribution with coupled microresonator chains via Kerr symmetry breaking

Within optical microresonators, the Kerr interaction of photons can lead to symmetry breaking of optical modes. In a ring resonator, this leads to the interesting effect that light preferably circulates in one direction or in one polarization state. Applications of this effect range from chip-integrated optical diodes to nonlinear polarization controllers and optical gyroscopes. In this work, we study Kerr-nonlinearity-induced symmetry breaking of light states in coupled resonator optical waveguides (CROWs). We discover a new type of controllable symmetry breaking that leads to emerging patterns of dark and bright resonators within the chains. Beyond stationary symmetry broken states, we observe periodic oscillations, switching and chaotic fluctuations of circulating powers in the resonators. Our findings are of interest for controlled multiplexing of light in photonic integrated circuits, neuromorphic computing, topological photonics and soliton frequency combs in coupled resonators.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Symmetry Broken Vectorial Kerr Frequency Combs from Fabry-P\'erot Resonators

Optical frequency combs find many applications in metrology, frequency standards, communications and photonic devices. We consider field polarization properties and describe a vector comb generation through the spontaneous symmetry breaking of temporal cavity solitons within coherently driven, passive, Fabry-P\'erot cavities with Kerr nonlinearity. Global coupling effects due to the interactions of counter-propagating light restrict the maximum number of soliton pairs within the cavity - even down to a single soliton pair - and force long range polarization conformity in trains of vector solitons.

physics.optics↗