Terahertz waveform synthesis in integrated thin-film lithium niobate platform
Bridging the “terahertz gap“ relies upon synthesizing arbitrary waveforms in the terahertz domain enabling applications that require both narrow band sources for sensing and few-cycle drives for classical and quantum objects. However, realization of custom-tailored waveforms needed for these applica...
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Published in | Nature communications Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 11 - 9 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
04.01.2023
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Bridging the “terahertz gap“ relies upon synthesizing arbitrary waveforms in the terahertz domain enabling applications that require both narrow band sources for sensing and few-cycle drives for classical and quantum objects. However, realization of custom-tailored waveforms needed for these applications is currently hindered due to limited flexibility for optical rectification of femtosecond pulses in bulk crystals. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that thin-film lithium niobate circuits provide a versatile solution for such waveform synthesis by combining the merits of complex integrated architectures, low-loss distribution of pump pulses on-chip, and an efficient optical rectification. Our distributed pulse phase-matching scheme grants shaping the temporal, spectral, phase, amplitude, and farfield characteristics of the emitted terahertz field through designer on-chip components. This strictly circumvents prior limitations caused by the phase-delay mismatch in conventional systems and relaxes the requirement for cumbersome spectral pre-engineering of the pumping light. We propose a toolbox of basic blocks that produce broadband emission up to 680 GHz and far-field amplitudes of a few V m
−1
with adaptable phase and coherence properties by using near-infrared pump pulse energies below 100 pJ.
Miniaturized platforms are desirable for terahertz applications. Here the authors demonstrate chip-scale THz generation with controllable waveforms using thin-film lithium niobate. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-022-35517-6 |