Highly efficient octave-spanning long-wavelength infrared generation with a 74% quantum efficiency in a χ(2) waveguide

• Main Authors: Hu, Bo, Yang, Xuemei, Wu, Jiangen, Lu, Siyi, Yang, Hang, Long, Zhe, He, Linzhen, Luo, Xing, Tian, Kan, Wang, Weizhe, Li, Yang, Wu, Han, Li, Wenlong, Guo, Chunyu, Yang, Huan, Wang, Qi Jie, Liang, Houkun
• Other Authors: School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2024
• Subjects: Engineering; Birefringence; Infrared radiation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/173872
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The realization of compact and efficient broadband mid-infrared (MIR) lasers has enormous impacts in promoting MIR spectroscopy for various important applications. A number of well-designed waveguide platforms have been demonstrated for MIR supercontinuum and frequency comb generations based on cubic nonlinearities, but unfortunately third-order nonlinear response is inherently weak. Here, we propose and demonstrate for the first time a χ(2) micrometer waveguide platform based on birefringence phase matching for long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) laser generation with a high quantum efficiency. In a ZnGeP2-based waveguide platform, an octave-spanning spectrum covering 5-11 μm is generated through optical parametric generation (OPG). A quantum conversion efficiency of 74% as a new record in LWIR single-pass parametric processes is achieved. The threshold energy is measured as ~616 pJ, reduced by more than 1-order of magnitude as compared to those of MIR OPGs in bulk media. Our prototype micro-waveguide platform could be extended to other χ(2) birefringence crystals and trigger new frontiers of MIR integrated nonlinear photonics.