Resonators with tailored optical path by cascaded-mode conversions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel class of optical resonators that use cascaded mode conversions to tailor their optical path, enabling customizable resonance properties and overcoming traditional design trade-offs.

Contribution

The authors propose and experimentally demonstrate a new resonator design based on cascaded transverse mode coupling, allowing for customizable resonance characteristics beyond traditional limits.

Findings

Experimental confirmation of cascaded-mode resonances in integrated waveguide cavities

Demonstration of mode-independent transmission through the resonator

Resonance spectral properties match theoretical predictions

Abstract

Optical resonators enable the generation, manipulation, and storage of electromagnetic waves. They are widely used in technology and fundamental research, in telecommunications, lasers and nonlinear optics, ultra-sensitive measurements in cavity optomechanics, and the study of light-matter interactions in the context of cavity QED. The physics underlying their operation is determined by the constructive interference of electromagnetic waves at specific frequencies, giving rise to the resonance spectrum. This mechanism causes the limitations and trade-offs of resonator design, such as the difficulty of confining waves larger than the resonator and the fixed relationship between free spectral range, modal linewidth, and the resonator's refractive index and size. Here, we introduce a new class of optical resonators, generating resonances by designing the optical path through transverse mode coupling in a cascaded process created by mode-converting mirrors. The generalized round-trip phase condition leads to resonator characteristics that are markedly different from Fabry-Perot resonators and can be tailored over a wide range, such as the largest resonant wavelength, the free spectral range, the linewidth, and the quality factor. We confirm the existence of these modes experimentally in an integrated waveguide cavity with mode converters coupling two transverse modes into one supermode. The resonance signature of the cascaded-mode resonator is a spectrum resulting from the coherent superposition of the coupled transverse modes. We also demonstrate a transverse mode-independent transmission through the resonator and show that its engineered spectral properties agree with theoretical predictions. Cascaded-mode resonators introduce properties not found in traditional resonators and provide a mechanism to overcome the existing trade-offs in the design of resonators in various application areas.