OP Collaborative Research: Taking lithium-niobate to the nanoscale: shaping revolutionary material onto photonic microchips for developing next-generation light sources

摘要标题：OP合作研究：将LiNbate带入纳米尺度：将革命性材料塑造到光子微芯片上，以开发下一代光源摘要(General)：LiNbate是一种革命性材料，在改变光通信方面发挥了重要作用。它使电子数据(0和1)能够直接写入光脉冲上，这些光脉冲在全球范围内传播，基本上构成了互联网的主干。它还被用来改变激光发射的光的颜色，这对高速计算和传感非常重要，以及实现可能实现下一代超保密光通信的新型量子光源。然而，目前基于铌酸锂的光学器件的性能受到其体积大小的限制。该项目的目标是通过在光子微芯片上形成Nb酸锂图案，将这些材料微型化到纳米级，从而将它们的效率提高许多倍。这将使新型光源的设计与当前技术相比具有极大的改进性能，并显著降低对光功率的要求。拟议的研究计划是一个自然的模板，让学生、教师和公众了解科学家和工程师如何在纳米级探索材料的独特行为，并在创造新设备时利用这些特性。该团队将利用光学和激光的“魔力”来吸引广泛的受众，并向公众通报他们正在进行的研究。该计划具有强大的理论和实验组成部分，并涉及纳米级光学设备和系统中光产生的基本和工程方面。因此，它为各级学生提供了一个独特的研究和教育机会。即将开发的器件和系统将引起科学界和商业界的极大兴趣。摘要(技术)：LiNb酸盐具有较大的二阶极化率、较大的折射率和从紫外线到中红外的宽传输窗口，是最重要的光电材料之一，广泛用于电光调制和经典量子光频率转换。然而，由于与制造相关的困难，这些组件中的大多数是离散的，不能容易地集成到光子微芯片上。幸运的是，通过晶体离子切片的锂-铌酸盐薄膜制造技术的最新进展是有希望的，并使纳米光电子器件的芯片级集成成为可能。该计划建立在这些结果的基础上，并试图开发一种集成的非线性纳米光子学平台，该平台将周期极化的LiNb酸盐独特的材料特性与在波长尺度光波导和腔中的卓越光限制和色散工程相结合。新平台将基于粘结在提供光学隔离的SiO_2衬底上的薄的x-Cut LiNbate器件层(~500-nm厚)来开发。该团队将开发新的技术，用于对薄的x-Cut LiNbate薄膜进行表面极化，从而实现有效的相位匹配。最先进的纳米制造技术将被用来在周期性极化的器件层中直接实现光波导和腔。这些设备将在宽波长范围内(可见光到中红外)运行，并实现强烈的光子相互作用，从而产生比传统设备高40倍的有效非线性过程。预计该计划将产生各种集成设备和系统，应用于量子频率转换、纠缠光子对生成、超连续谱生成和频率梳生成。拟议的计划是变革性的，因为它将LiNbate引入了适合于集成芯片上光子学的材料家族。它将导致一系列新的、更高效的非线性光学器件和系统的发展，并对量子信息科学与技术、遥感、天文学和光电子学等多个学科产生影响。

Abstract title: OP Collaborative Research: Taking lithium-niobate to the nanoscale: shaping revolutionary material onto photonic microchips for developing next-generation light sourcesAbstract (general): Lithium-niobate is a revolutionary material that has played a major role in transforming optical telecommunications. It has enabled electronic data (0s and 1s) to be directly written onto light pulses that travel the globe and essentially form the backbone of the internet. It is also used to change the color of light emitted by lasers, of importance for high-speed computing and sensing, as well as to enable realization of novel quantum sources of light that may enable next-generation ultra-secure optical communications. However, currently the performance of lithium-niobate based optical devices is limited by their bulky size. This project aims to miniaturize these to the nanoscale by patterning lithium-niobate onto a photonic microchip, thereby enhancing their efficiency many-fold. This will enable the design of novel light sources with greatly improved properties compared to current technology and also significantly reduce the optical power requirements. The proposed research program is a natural template for informing students, teachers, and the public of how scientists and engineers explore the unique behavior of materials at the nanoscale, and make use of these properties in the creation of new devices. The team will leverage the "magic" of optics and lasers to engage a wide audience and inform the public of their ongoing research. The program has strong theoretical and experimental components and addresses both fundamental and engineering aspects of light-generation in nanoscale optical devices and systems. Therefore, it represents a unique research and educational opportunity for students at all levels. The devices and systems that will be developed will be of great interest to both the scientific community and commercial industry.Abstract (technical): Lithium-niobate, with its large second-order susceptibility, relatively large refractive index and wide transmission window extending from ultra-violet to mid-infrared, is one of the most important optoelectronic materials, widely used for electro-optic modulation and classical & quantum optical frequency conversion. However, due to difficulties associated with fabrication, most of these components are discrete and cannot be easily integrated onto a photonic microchip. Fortunately, recent advances in lithium-niobate thin-film fabrication techniques, via crystal ion slicing, are promising and enable chip-scale integration of nanophotonic devices. The proposed program builds on these results and seeks to develop an integrated nonlinear nanophotonics platform that combines the unique material properties of periodically-poled lithium-niobate with the superior light confinement and dispersion engineering in wavelength-scale optical waveguides and cavities. The new platform will be developed based on thin x-cut lithium-niobate device layers (~500-nm thick) bonded on top of a SiO2 substrate that provides optical isolation. The team will develop new techniques for surface poling of thin x-cut lithium-niobate films, thus allowing for efficient phase matching. State of the art nanofabrication techniques will be used to realize optical waveguides and cavities directly in the periodically-poled device layer. The devices will operate over a wide wavelength range (visible to mid-infrared) and enable strong photon interactions resulting in 40-fold more efficient nonlinear processes than those found in conventional counterparts. The program is expected to result in a wide variety of integrated devices and systems with applications in quantum frequency conversion, entangled-photon pair generation, supercontinuum generation, and frequency comb generation. The proposed program is transformative since it introduces lithium-niobate into the family of materials suitable for integrated, on-chip photonics. It will result in the development of a wide range of novel & more efficient nonlinear optical devices & systems, and make an impact on disciplines as diverse as quantum information science & technology, remote sensing, astronomy and optoelectronics.