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arXiv:1911.06376 · Nano Letters

Integrated Photonic Platform for Rare-Earth Ions in Thin Film Lithium Niobate

Subhojit Dutta, Elizabeth A. Goldschmidt, Sabyasachi Barik, Uday Saha, Edo Waks A

Published Dec 19, 2019• 99 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Rare-earth ion ensembles doped in single crystals are a promising materials system with widespread applications in optical signal processing, lasing, and quantum information processing. Incorporating rare-earth ions into integrated photonic devices could enable compact lasers and modulators, as well as on-chip optical quantum memories for classical and quantum optical applications. To this end, a thin film single crystalline wafer structure that is compatible with planar fabrication of integrated photonic devices would be highly desirable. However, incorporating rare-earth ions into a thin film form-factor while preserving their optical properties has proven challenging. We demonstrate an integrated photonic platform for rare-earth ions doped in a single crystalline thin film lithium niobate on insulator. The thin film is composed of lithium niobate doped with Tm 3+ . The ions in the thin film exhibit optical lifetimes identical to those measured in bulk crystals. We show narrow spectral holes in a thin film waveguide that require up to 2 orders of magnitude lower power to generate than previously reported bulk waveguides. Our results pave the way for scalable on-chip lasers, optical signal processing devices, and integrated optical quantum memories.

DOI
10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b04679

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