Versatile octave-spanning soliton crystals with high conversion efficiency in a Si₃N₄ microresonator

Area of Science:

• Nonlinear optics
• Quantum optics
• Photonics

Background:

• Microresonator-based soliton crystals are advanced nonlinear optical states.
• They exhibit self-organized temporal pulses with wide-spaced comb lines, promising for applications.
• Challenges remain in achieving broad spectra, tunable repetition rates, and high conversion efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To deterministically generate versatile octave-spanning soliton crystals.
• To investigate the conversion efficiency of these soliton crystals.
• To enable coherent, broad, and tunable on-chip soliton crystals.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing avoided mode crossings in microresonators.
• Engineering microcavity design for specific mode coupling.
• Investigating soliton crystal conversion efficiency with optimized coupling.

Main Results:

• Deterministic generation of octave-spanning soliton crystals achieved.
• Versatile repetition rates demonstrated.
• Conversion efficiency exceeding 50% reported in specific devices.

Conclusions:

• Avoided mode crossings are crucial for generating tunable soliton crystals.
• High conversion efficiency is attainable with optimized microcavity design and coupling.
• This work provides a pathway for practical on-chip soliton crystal sources.