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Nonlinear Optics

Nonlinear Quantum Optics in a Millimeter Size Whispering Gallery Mode Resonator

Gerd Leuchs, Christoph Marquardt, Harald G. L. Schwefel

Published Jan 1, 2015• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Whispering gallery resonators made from nonlinear crystals offer high quality factors combined with small mode volumes leading to an enhanced effective χ(2) nonlinearity. These properties facilitate studying quantum optical effects in the nonlinear regime with interacting fields differing in frequency by up to four orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the small size results in a large mode spacing allowing for heralded single photon generation in a single mode.

DOI
10.1364/nlo.2015.nw2a.5

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Whispering gallery resonators made from nonlinear crystals offer high quality factors combined with small mode volumes leading to an enhanced effective χ(2) nonlinearity. These properties facilitate studying quantum optical effects in the nonlinear regime with interacting fields differing in frequency by up to four orders of magnitude. Furthermore, the small size results in a large mode spacing allowing for heralded single photon generation in a single mode.
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Summary form only given, as follows: The high Q whispering gallery modes of silica microspheres are promising for quantum optics and nonlinear optics experiments involving atoms and photons stored in very small volumes. We have developed the technology of these resonators, learning how to couple light in and out through optical fibers, how to obtain and measure record Q factors, and how to probe, by near-field optical microscopy, the electric field distribution immediately outside the sphere. Whispering gallery mode lasers have also been obtained with microspheres made of silica doped with neodymium ions. We describe these experiments and discuss projects involving the coupling of whispering gallery modes to single atoms or ions to perform cavity QED experiments in the optical domain.
We theoretically show that achieving high Q-factors of small whispering gallery mode resonators, together with significant non-harmonism (non-equidistance) of its modes, allows for extensive analogy between properties of atoms and the resonator modes. The non-harmonism in very high-Q microresonators is caused by the material as well as geometrical dispersion. The established analogy leads to creating of a photonic media with properties similar to those of atomic media. For instance, effective two-level systems can be formed within the resonator. The levels of the systems, i.e. the resonator modes, can be coupled with microwave or optical fields. Strong confinement of the light in the resonator along with high Q-factors results in nonlinear processes at low light levels even with small nonlinearities typical of optically transparent materials.
High- and ultrahigh-Q whispering-gallery mode resonators have the capability to trap photons by total internal reflection for a duration ranging from nanoseconds to milliseconds. These exceptionally long photon lifetimes enhance the light–matter interactions at all scales, namely at the electronic, molecular, and lattice levels. As a consequence, nonlinear photon scattering can be triggered with very low threshold powers, down to a few microwatts. The possibility to efficiently harness photon–photon interactions with a system optimizing size, weight, power, and cost constraints has created a new, quickly thriving research area in photonics science and technology. This topic is inherently cross-disciplinary, as it stands at the intersection of nonlinear and quantum optics, crystallography, optoelectronics, and microwave photonics. From a fundamental perspective, high-Q whispering-gallery mode resonators have emerged as an ideal platform to investigate light–matter interactions in nonlinear bulk materials. From an applied viewpoint, technological applications include time-metrology, aerospace engineering, coherent optical fiber communications, or nonclassical light generation, among others. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the most recent advances in this area, which is increasingly gaining importance in contemporary photonics.