Mode-locked laser in nanophotonic lithium niobate

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an electrically-pumped, integrated mode-locked laser in nanophotonic lithium niobate, producing ultrashort pulses with high peak power and tunable repetition rate, advancing on-chip ultrafast photonic systems.

Contribution

It introduces the first electrically-pumped, hybrid integrated MLL in nanophotonic lithium niobate with controllable repetition rate and carrier-envelope offset.

Findings

Generates 4.8 ps pulses at 1065 nm with 10 GHz repetition rate

Pulse energy exceeds 2.6 pJ, peak power over 0.5 W

Repetition rate and offset are tunable via RF and pump current

Abstract

Mode-locked lasers (MLLs) have enabled ultrafast sciences and technologies by generating ultrashort pulses with peak powers substantially exceeding their average powers. Recently, tremendous efforts have been focused on realizing integrated MLLs not only to address the challenges associated with their size and power demand, but also to enable transforming the ultrafast technologies into nanophotonic chips, and ultimately to unlock their potential for a plethora of applications. However, till now the prospect of integrated MLLs driving ultrafast nanophotonic circuits has remained elusive because of their typically low peak powers, lack of controllability, and challenges with integration with appropriate nanophotonic platforms. Here, we overcome these limitations by demonstrating an electrically-pumped actively MLL in nanophotonic lithium niobate based on its hybrid integration with a III-V semiconductor optical amplifier. Our MLL generates $\sim$4.8 ps optical pulses around 1065 nm at a repetition rate of $\sim$10 GHz, with pulse energy exceeding 2.6 pJ and a high peak power beyond 0.5 W. We show that both the repetition rate and the carrier-envelope-offset of the resulting frequency comb can be flexibly controlled in a wide range using the RF driving frequency and the pump current, paving the way for fully-stabilized on-chip frequency combs in nanophotonics. Our work marks an important step toward fully-integrated nonlinear and ultrafast photonic systems in nanophotonic lithium niobate.