Toward integrated tantalum pentoxide optical parametric oscillators

Area of Science:

• Photonics and optical engineering
• Nonlinear optics
• Integrated photonics

Background:

• Optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) are crucial for generating tunable laser light.
• Integrated photonics offers miniaturization and robustness for optical devices.
• Tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) is a promising material for nonlinear optical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a hybrid waveguide-fiber optical parametric oscillator (OPO).
• To investigate the performance of degenerate four-wave mixing in tantalum pentoxide.
• To assess the feasibility of a chip-integrated OPO as a compact light source.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a hybrid waveguide-fiber setup.
• Utilizing degenerate four-wave mixing in a tantalum pentoxide waveguide.
• Pumping the OPO with ultrashort pulses at 1.55 µm wavelength.

Main Results:

• Tunable idler pulses were generated with center wavelengths between 1.63 µm and 1.68 µm.
• Maximum idler pulse energy reached 4.1 pJ.
• An upper bound for total tolerable cavity loss was determined to be 32 dB.

Conclusions:

• The hybrid waveguide-fiber OPO demonstrates efficient nonlinear frequency conversion.
• The results indicate the feasibility of a chip-integrated OPO for practical applications.
• This compact and robust light source has potential in various photonic systems.