Classical and quantum dynamics of optical frequency conversion

Yu A Il'inskiĭ, Vera M. Petnikova

Haim Suchowski, Gil Porat, Ady Arie

Adiabatic evolution, an important dynamical process in a variety of classical and quantum systems providing a robust way of steering a system into a desired state 1-5, was introduced only recently to frequency conversion 6-9. Adiabatic frequency conversion allowed the achievement of efficient scalable broadband frequency conversion 8, 9 and was applied successfully to the conversion of ultrashort pulses, demonstrating near-100% efficiency for ultrabroadband spectrum 10-16. The underlying analogy between undepleted pump nonlinear processes and coherently excited quantum systems was extended in the past few years to multi-level quantum systems, demonstrating new concepts in frequency conversion, such as complete frequency conversion through an absorption band 17-20. Additionally, the undepleted pump restriction was removed, enabling the exploration of adiabatic processes in the fully nonlinear dynamics regime of nonlinear optics 21-26. In this article, the basic concept of adiabatic frequency conversion is introduced, and recent advances in ultrashort physics, multi-process systems, and the fully nonlinear dynamics regime are reviewed.

Michel Castellanos Muñoz, Alexander Yu. Petrov, M. Eich

Dynamic processes allow controlling light through a fast modification of the optical properties of the confining structure while the light is present in it. Here, we demonstrate the on-chip dynamic frequency conversion of a light signal by performing this modification through a short optical switching pulse co-propagating on-chip with the signal. A frequency-dependent propagation velocity allows the switching pulse to overtake a co-propagating signal pulse running ahead while on its way driving the dynamic process. We show a dynamic frequency shift of up to 70 GHz with a conversion efficiency of up to 25%.

Scott A. Diddams

Edwin Ng, Ryotatsu Yanagimoto, Marc Jankowski +2 more

Recent advances in nonlinear nanophotonics have enabled optical frequency conversion at energy scales remarkably close to the few-photon regime of quantum optics. A key technique in these efforts is dispersion engineering, allowing dynamical confinement of light into ultrashort pulses with high peak intensities. In this talk, we explore quantum effects expected to emerge in next-generation devices, with a focus on understanding how these phenomena interplay with the multimode physics of femtosecond pulses. Drawing inspiration from recent experiments in thin-film lithium-niobate nanophotonics, we present several numerical studies of broadband frequency conversion in chi(2)-nonlinear waveguides. Our analysis provides a detailed understanding of the dynamics and modal structure of quantum noise and entanglement, e.g., in parametric and supercontinuum generation. This talk also surveys some recent results we obtained for harnessing exotic quantum non-Gaussian states of light in ultrafast nonlinear nanophotonics. Proper engineering of these quantum effects may generate entirely new functionalities for nonlinear optics at and beyond the classical-quantum transition.

Seung-Ho Choi, Gautam Vemuri