Generating few-cycle pulses with integrated nonlinear photonics

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how integrated nonlinear photonic waveguides can generate few-cycle laser pulses and broad supercontinuum spectra, potentially enabling scalable ultrafast light sources for lab-on-a-chip applications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using lithographically patterned waveguides with varying dispersion to produce few-cycle pulses and broad spectra on a chip.

Findings

Successful experimental generation of few-cycle pulses from integrated waveguides.

Design principle enabling constant-intensity supercontinuum across an octave.

Potential for scalable, chip-based ultrafast light sources.

Abstract

Ultrashort laser pulses that last only a few optical cycles have been transformative tools for studying and manipulating light--matter interactions. Few-cycle pulses are typically produced from high-peak-power lasers, either directly from a laser oscillator, or through nonlinear effects in bulk or fiber materials. Now, an opportunity exists to explore the few-cycle regime with the emergence of fully integrated nonlinear photonics. Here, we experimentally and numerically demonstrate how lithographically patterned waveguides can be used to generate few-cycle laser pulses from an input seed pulse. Moreover, our work explores a design principle in which lithographically varying the group-velocity dispersion in a waveguide enables the creation of highly constant-intensity supercontinuum spectra across an octave of bandwidth. An integrated source of few-cycle pulses could broaden the range of applications for ultrafast light sources, including supporting new lab-on-a-chip systems in a scalable form factor.