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arXiv:2306.12123

Pyroelectric Influence on Lithium Niobate During the Thermal Transition for Cryogenic Integrated Photonics

Frederik Thiele, Hummel, Thomas, Nina Amelie Lange, Felix Dreher, Maximilian Protte, Felix vom Bruch, Sebastian Lengeling, Herrmann, Harald, Christof Eigner, Christine Silberhorn, Tim J. Bartley

Published Jun 21, 2023• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Lithium niobate has emerged as a promising platform for integrated quantum optics, enabling efficient generation, manipulation, and detection of quantum states of light. However, integrating single-photon detectors requires cryogenic operating temperatures, since the best performing detectors are based on narrow superconducting wires. While previous studies have demonstrated the operation of quantum light sources and electro-optic modulators in LiNbO3 at cryogenic temperatures, the thermal transition between room temperature and cryogenic conditions introduces additional effects that can significantly influence device performance. In this paper, we investigate the generation of pyroelectric charges and their impact on the optical properties of lithium niobate waveguides when changing from room temperature to 25K, and vice versa. We measure the generated pyroelectric charge flow and correlate this with fast changes in the birefringence acquired through the Senarmont method. Both electrical and optical influence of the pyroelectric effect occurs predominantly at temperatures above 100K.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2306.12123

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Lithium niobate has emerged as a promising platform for integrated quantum optics, enabling efficient generation, manipulation, and detection of quantum states of light. However, integrating single-photon detectors requires cryogenic operating temperatures, since the best performing detectors are based on narrow superconducting wires. While previous studies have demonstrated the operation of quantum light sources and electro-optic modulators in LiNbO3 at cryogenic temperatures, the thermal transition between room temperature and cryogenic conditions introduces additional effects that can significantly influence device performance. In this paper, we investigate the generation of pyroelectric charges and their impact on the optical properties of lithium niobate waveguides when changing from room temperature to 25K, and vice versa. We measure the generated pyroelectric charge flow and correlate this with fast changes in the birefringence acquired through the Senarmont method. Both electrical and optical influence of the pyroelectric effect occurs predominantly at temperatures above 100K.
Abstract Lithium niobate has emerged as a promising platform for integrated quantum optics, enabling efficient generation, manipulation, and detection of quantum states of light. However, integrating single-photon detectors requires cryogenic operating temperatures, since the best performing detectors are based on narrow superconducting wires. While previous studies have demonstrated the operation of quantum light sources and electro-optic modulators in LiNbO3 at cryogenic temperatures, the thermal transition between room temperature and cryogenic conditions introduces additional effects that can significantly influence device performance. In this paper, we investigate the generation of pyroelectric charges and their impact on the optical properties of lithium niobate waveguides when changing from room temperature to 25 K, and vice versa. We measure the generated pyroelectric charge flow and correlate this with fast changes in the birefringence acquired through the Sénarmont-method. Both electrical and optical influence of the pyroelectric effect occur predominantly at temperatures above 100 K.
Abstract Lithium niobate is a promising platform for integrated quantum optics. In this platform, we aim to efficiently manipulate and detect quantum states by combining superconducting single photon detectors and modulators. The cryogenic operation of a superconducting single photon detector dictates the optimisation of the electro-optic modulators under the same operating conditions. To that end, we characterise a phase modulator, directional coupler, and polarisation converter at both ambient and cryogenic temperatures. The operation voltage V π / 2 of these modulators increases, due to the decrease in the electro-optic effect, by 74% for the phase modulator, 84% for the directional coupler and 35% for the polarisation converter below 8.5 K . The phase modulator preserves its broadband nature and modulates light in the characterised wavelength range. The unbiased bar state of the directional coupler changed by a wavelength shift of 85 n m while cooling the device down to 5 K . The polarisation converter uses periodic poling to phasematch the two orthogonal polarisations. The phasematched wavelength of the utilised poling changes by 112 n m when cooling to 5 K .
Photonic integrated circuits operating at cryogenic temperatures are necessary for many quantum technologies such as quantum transduction, integrated single-photon emitters and detectors, as well as deep-space communication and sensing devices. Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) is an emerging platform that is a strong candidate for fully integrated quantum photonics, offering low loss, fast electro-optic reconfigurability, nonlinear quantum light sources, and the ability to host quantum emitters and single-photon detectors. To interface TFLN with technologies that require cryogenic operation, like superconducting single-photon detectors, microwave-to-optical transducers, and solid-state quantum emitters, it is important to study its optical and electrical properties from room temperature down to cryogenic temperatures. Here, we investigate linear and nonlinear photonic devices, including racetrack resonators, Mach-Zehnder modulators and periodically poled waveguides in TFLN using a cryogenic fiber probe station with full temperature control down to 5 K. We quantify a shift in resonances, a 22% increase in electro-optic modulator half-wave voltage, a blue shift of 18 nm for Type-0 phase-matching as well as a red shift of 64 nm for Type-II phase-matching as the sample temperature decreases. Our study of nonlinear processes in a cryogenic environment will contribute towards developing novel devices for inter-platform quantum information processing, secure communication, and enhanced sensing.
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The titanium in-diffused lithium niobate waveguide platform is well-established for reliable prototyping and packaging of many quantum photonic components at room temperature. Nevertheless, compatibility with certain quantum light sources and superconducting detectors requires operation under cryogenic conditions. We characterize alterations in phase-matching and mode guiding of a non-degenerate spontaneous parametric down-conversion process emitting around 1556 nm and 950 nm, under cryogenic conditions. Despite the effects of pyroelectricity and photorefraction, the spectral properties match our theoretical model. Nevertheless, these effects cause small but significant variations within and between cooling cycles. These measurements provide a first benchmark against which other nonlinear photonic integration platforms, such as thin-film lithium niobate, can be compared.