CAREER: Integrated Lithium Niobate Femtosecond Mode-Locked Lasers and Ultrafast Photonic Systems

职业：集成铌酸锂飞秒锁模激光器和超快光子系统

• 批准号: 2338798
• 负责人: Qiushi Guo
• 金额: $ 55万
• 依托单位: Research Foundation CUNY - Advanced Science Research Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-07-01 至 2029-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2338798&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Integrated; Lithium; Niobate; Femtosecond

The key to unlocking the secrets of the fastest timescales in nature lies with femtosecond mode-locked lasers (MLLs) - powerful devices that emit ultrashort, coherent optical pulses at an astonishing quadrillionth of a second. Realizing femtosecond MLLs and ultrafast photonic systems on chip-scale, integrated photonic circuits can unlock a multitude of applications previously beyond the reach of conventional tabletop setups. These applications, such as portable atomic clocks and advanced biological imaging tools, have the potential to bring transformative impacts across biomedical science, national defense, and information processing. However, existing chip-scale integrated MLLs lack the peak intensities and degrees of controllability, which impede the realization of integrated ultrafast photonic systems. This project addresses these challenges by leveraging novel laser gain media and the emerging thin-film lithium niobate integrated photonic material platform, with the goal of realizing high-power, reconfigurable femtosecond MLL and novel integrated ultrafast photonic systems. In addition, the PI and his team will establish several new outreach activities and training programs that prepare students of diverse backgrounds for the nation’s semiconductor and optoelectronic workforce. These include (1) new modules and remotely accessible teaching labs on semiconductor devices and integrated photonics; (2) a workshop series empowering science teachers at disadvantaged local high schools with cutting-edge advances in semiconductor and photonics and collaborating on effective teaching strategies for physics; (3) “Science Night” events to promote scientific exploration among high school students and nurture their interest and (4) Summer Internship at the PI’s lab at CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center, which exposes high school students from underrepresented groups to state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge research projects in semiconductor and integrated photonics.Technical description:In this CAREER program, the principle investigator and his team aims to (1) develop chip-scale, fully-integrated mode-locked lasers (MLL) on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) that can generate femtosecond pulses at microwave repetition rate with a high on-chip peak power exceeding 10 watts, and to (2) realize fully integrated ultrafast photonic systems such as integrated supercontinuum lasers and self-referenced frequency combs by seamlessly integrating high-peak power MLL with other TFLN-based nonlinear photonic devices. At the core of these innovations lies the investigation and utilization of a novel laser gain medium, and an unexplored regime of light-matter interaction in integrated photonics. Within this new regime, the on-chip laser gain interplays with the energy-efficient, and instantaneous quadratic optical nonlinearity of TFLN nanophotonics, promising efficient, stable, and reconfigurable femtosecond light pulse formation. The successful development of high peak power integrated MLLs and their seamless integration with other TFLN-based nonlinear photonic devices can enable a suite of system-level functionalities that have not yet been realized in integrated photonics, which will play major roles in next-generation optical imaging, metrology, and photonic information processing.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

解开自然界最快时间尺度秘密的关键在于飞秒锁模激光器（MLL）——一种能够以惊人的万亿分之一秒发射超短相干光脉冲的强大器件，在芯片上实现飞秒 MLL 和超快光子系统。规模化的集成光子电路可以解锁以前传统桌面设置无法实现的多种应用，例如便携式原子钟和先进的生物成像工具。然而，现有的芯片级集成 MLL 缺乏峰值强度和可控程度，这阻碍了集成超快光子系统的实现。该项目通过利用这些挑战来解决这些挑战。新型激光增益介质和新兴的薄膜铌酸锂集成光子材料平台，目标是实现高功率、可重构飞秒MLL和新型集成超快光子系统。 PI 和他的团队将建立几项新的外展活动和培训计划，为不同背景的学生培养国家半导体和光电人才，其中包括 (1) 关于半导体器件和集成光子学的新模块和远程教学实验室；系列研讨会为当地贫困高中的科学教师提供半导体和光子学方面的前沿进展，并合作制定有效的物理教学策略（3）“科学之夜”活动，以促进高中生的科学探索，培养他们的兴趣和兴趣； (4) 在纽约市立大学高级科学研究中心的 PI 实验室进行暑期实习，让来自弱势群体的高中生接触半导体和集成光子学领域最先进的设施和尖端研究项目。技术描述：在此CAREER 计划中，首席研究员及其团队的目标是 (1) 在薄膜铌酸锂 (TFLN) 上开发芯片级、完全集成的锁模激光器 (MLL)可以产生微波重复频率的飞秒脉冲，片内峰值功率超过10瓦，并且（2）通过无缝集成高峰值功率，实现集成超连续谱激光器和自参考频率梳等全集成超快光子系统MLL 与其他基于 TFLN 的非线性光子器件的核心在于对新型激光增益介质的研究和利用，以及未经探索的光与物质相互作用的机制。在这一新领域中，片上激光增益与 TFLN 纳米光子学的高能效和瞬时二次光学非线性相互作用，有望成功开发出高效、稳定和可重构的飞秒光脉冲。集成MLL及其与其他基于TFLN的非线性光子器件的无缝集成可以实现一套尚未在集成光子学中实现的系统级功能，这将发挥重要作用该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。