Record-high-Q AMTIR-1 microresonators for mid- to long-wave infrared nonlinear photonics

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of high-Q AMTIR-1 microresonators with record quality factors, demonstrating their potential for mid- to long-wave infrared nonlinear photonics applications such as frequency comb generation.

Contribution

The study presents the first millimeter-scale AMTIR-1 microresonators with record-high Q-factors and characterizes their thermal and dispersion properties for infrared nonlinear optics.

Findings

Q-factor of 1.2×10^7 at 1550 nm achieved

Supports anomalous dispersion near 7 μm

Low absorption coefficient suitable for nonlinear applications

Abstract

AMTIR-1 chalcogenide glass has shown its potential for use in thermal imaging systems owing to its low refractive index, thermal resistance and high transparency across the infrared wavelength regime. Here we report a millimeter-scale high-Q whispering gallery mode microresonator made of AMTIR-1. The recorded Q-factor has reached $1.2\times10^7$ at 1550 nm, which is almost two-orders of magnitude higher than previously reported values. We characterize the thermal properties, where low thermal conductivity plays an important role in thermal resonance tuning. We further show that AMTIR-1 resonators support anomalous dispersion as well as a low absorption coefficient near the 7~\textmu m wavelength band, thus offering the possibility of providing suitable platforms for mid-infrared, long-wave infrared nonlinear optics including microresonator frequency comb generation.