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8Nonlinear effects in the interaction between semiconductor lasers
and high-Q microresonators
D.M. Sokol1, A.E. Shitikov1, N.Yu. Dmitriev1, D.A. Chermoshentsev1, V.E. Lobanov1,
I.A. Bilenko12*
1-Russian Quantum Center 121205, Moscow 2-M.V.LomonosovMoscow State University, 119991, Moscow
The report presents new results of theoretical analysis and experimental studies of the nonlinear dynamics of high-Q optical microcavities. It is shown that in a microcavity-laser system, stable multi-frequency lasing modes with a difference frequency in the microwave range are possible. Self-injection locking (SIL) of several lasers on the same resonator could provide powerful microwave signal at the detector. New four wave mixing rejime was discovered in the states close to the SIL.
For the first time, a high (Q > 108) quality factor in microcavities with "whispering gallery" modes was demonstrated in quartz microspheres [1].
Currently, microring and microdisk optical resonators are widely used in physical measurements and technical applications. The record quality factor Q = 1011 was demonstrated in crystalline CaF2 resonators [2]. The long lifetime of photons in the cavity material determines the low threshold for the manifestation of nonlinear effects [3]. The emergence of technology for manufacturing integrated circuits (chips) with microcavities on the Si3N4 platform with a quality factor Q > 107 using CMOS compatible technology [4] has led to their rapid spread both as devices for fundamental research and elements of applied development. In particular, in such resonators the generation of optical frequency combs and the formation of solitons is possible.
In our recent studies, we have shown that double (bichromatic) pumping allows for threshold-free four-wave mixing and generation of combs in both resonators with anomalous and normal group velocity dispersion. Degenerate mixing leads to parametric generation at the central frequency, the special properties of which (two possible phase values, compression along one of the quadrature components) are of great interest for the implementation of quantum measurements and quantum computing. It was discovered that the interaction of forward and backward waves in a laser medium leads to the emergence of new effects - multi-frequency self-injection locking and four-wave mixing, as a result of which it is possible to obtain a narrow linewidth microwave signals at the output of the photodetector.
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[2] A.A. Savchenkov, A.B. Matsko, V.S. Ilchenko, et al, Optics express, 15(11), 6768-6773, (2007).
[3] D.V. Strekalov, C. Marquardt, A.B. Matsko, et al, Journal of Optics 18(12), 123002, (2016).
[4] C. Xiang, J. Liu, J. Guo, L. Chang, R.N. Wang, W. Weng, ... & J.E. Bowers, Laser soliton microcombs heterogeneously integrated on silicon. Science, 373(6550), 99-103, (2021).
[5] N.M. Kondratiev, V.E. Lobanov, A.E. Shitikov, et al, Frontiers of Physics 18(2), 21305, (2023).
