arXiv subjects

Qifeng Hou

Publications and source records attributed to Qifeng Hou.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Simultaneous generation of Raman-assisted Soliton Microcombs and Tunable Multi-chromatic Raman Microlasers in Single Monolithic Thin-film Lithium Niobate Microrings

High-performance integrated broadband coherent light sources are essential for advanced applications in high-bandwidth data processing and chip-scale metrology, yet remain challenging. In this study, we demonstrate a monolithic Z-cut lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) microring platform that enables simultaneous generation of tunable multi-chromatic microlasers and Raman-assisted soliton microcombs. Exploiting the strong Raman activity and high second-order nonlinearity of LNOI, we engineered a dispersion-optimized microring with a loaded Q factor of 3.86X10^6, facilitating on-chip efficient broadband coherent light source. A novel phase-matching configuration with all the waves of the same ordinary polarization was realized for the first time in this platform, feasibly enabling modal-phase matched Raman-quadratic nonlinear processes that extend lasing signals into the visible spectrum. Under continuous-wave laser pumping at 3.73 mW in the telecom band, we achieved a Raman-assisted soliton comb centered at 1624.49 nm with record-low pump threshold on the LNOI platform. Concurrently, multi-chromatic Raman lasing outputs were observed at ~1700, ~813, and ~535 nm within the same microring. The system exhibited efficient wavelength tuning of these multi-chromatic laser signals through a 5 nm shift in pump wavelength. This work represents a significant advance in integrated photonics for versatile optical signal generation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Low-loss thin-film periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides fabricated by femtosecond laser photolithography

Periodically poled lithium niobate on insulator (PPLNOI) ridge waveguides are critical photonic components for both classical and quantum information processing. However, dry etching of PPLNOI waveguides often generates rough sidewalls and variations in the etching rates of oppositely poled lithium niobate ferroelectric domains, leading a relatively high propagation losses (0.25 - 1 dB/cm), which significantly limits net conversion efficiency and hinders scalable photonic integration. In this work, a low-loss PPLNOI ridge waveguide with a length of 7 mm was fabricated using ultra-smooth sidewalls through photolithography-assisted chemo-mechanical etching (PLACE) followed by high-voltage pulse poling with low cost. The average surface roughness was measured at just 0.27 nm, resulting in record-low propagation loss of 0.106 dB/cm in PPLNOI waveguides. Highly efficient second-harmonic generation was demonstrated with a normalized efficiency of 1643%/(W*cm^2) without temperature tuning, corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 805%/W, which is closed to the best conversion efficiency (i.e., 814%/W) reported in nanophotonic PPLNOI waveguide fabricated by expensive electron-beam lithography followed by dry etching. The absolute conversion efficiency reached 15.8% at a pump level of 21.6 mW. And the normalized efficiency can be even improved to 1742%/(W*cm^2) at optimal temperature of 59{\deg}C.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Second harmonic generation with 48% conversion efficiency from cavity polygon modes in a monocrystalline lithium niobate microdisk resonator

Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) based optical microresonators offer large nonlinear coefficient d_33 and high light-wave confinement, allowing highly efficient second-order optical nonlinear frequency conversion. Here, we achieved ultra-efficiency second harmonic generation (SHG) from high-Q polygon modes by maximizing the utilization of the highest nonlinear coefficient d_33 in a monocrystalline X-cut TFLN microdisk resonator for the first time. The polygon modes are designed and formed with two parallel sides perpendicular to the optical axis of the lithium niobate crystal by introducing weak perturbations into the microdisk of a tapered fiber, which maximizes the utilization of d_33. The polygon modes exhibit ultrahigh intrinsic Q factors of ~3.86X10(7), due to the fact that polygon modes are located far from the relatively rough sidewall of the microdisk. Moreover, the pump and second harmonic polygon modes share high modal overlap factor of ~80%. Consequently, SHG from cavity polygon modes with absolute conversion efficiency as high as 48.08% was realized at an on-chip pump level of only 4.599 mW without fine domain structures, surpassing the best results (23% and 30%) reported in other two domain-inversion-free phase matching schemes and even approaching the record (52%) in PPLN microresonators.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Reaction kinetics of CN + toluene and its implication on the productions of aromatic nitriles in the Taurus molecular cloud and Titan's atmosphere

Reactions between cyano radical and aromatic hydrocarbons are believed to be important pathways for the formation of aromatic nitriles in the interstellar medium (ISM) including those identified in the Taurus molecular cloud (TMC-1). Aromatic nitriles might participate in the formation of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen containing hydrocarbons (PANHs) in Titan's atmosphere. Here, ab initio kinetics simulations reveal a high efficiency of $\rm \sim10^{-10}~cm^{3}~s^{-1}$ and the competition of the different products of 30-1800 K and $10^{-7}$-100 atm of the CN + toluene reaction. In the star-forming region of TMC-1 environment, the product yields of benzonitrile and tolunitriles for CN reacting with toluene may be approximately 17$\%$ and 83$\%$, respectively. The detection of main products, tolunitriles, can serve as proxies for the undetected toluene in the ISM due to their much larger dipole moments. The competition between bimolecular and unimolecular products is extremely intense under the warmer and denser PANH forming region of Titan's stratosphere. The computational results show that the fractions of tolunitriles, adducts, and benzonitrile are 19$\%$-68$\%$, 15$\%$-64$\%$ and 17$\%$, respectively, at 150-200 K and 0.0001-0.001 atm (Titan's stratosphere). Then, benzonitrile and tolunitriles may contribute to the formation of PANHs by consecutive $\rm C_{2}H$ additions. Kinetic information of aromatic nitriles for the CN + toluene reaction calculated here helps to explain the formation mechanism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or PANHs under different interstellar environments and constrains corresponding astrochemical models.

astro-ph.GA↗