Ultrafast tunable lasers using lithium niobate integrated photonics

Viacheslav Snigirev, Annina Riedhauser, Grigory Lihachev, Mikhail Churaev, Johann Riemensberger, Rui Ning Wang, Anat Siddharth, Guanhao Huang, Charles Möhl, Youri Popoff, Ute Drechsler, Daniele Caimi, Simon Hönl, Junqiu Liu, Paul Seidler () and Tobias J. Kippenberg ()
Additional contact information
Viacheslav Snigirev: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Annina Riedhauser: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Grigory Lihachev: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Mikhail Churaev: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Johann Riemensberger: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Rui Ning Wang: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Anat Siddharth: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Guanhao Huang: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Charles Möhl: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Youri Popoff: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Ute Drechsler: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Daniele Caimi: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Simon Hönl: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Junqiu Liu: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Paul Seidler: IBM Research - Europe, Zurich
Tobias J. Kippenberg: Institute of Physics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)

Nature, 2023, vol. 615, issue 7952, 411-417

Abstract: Abstract Early works1 and recent advances in thin-film lithium niobate (LiNbO3) on insulator have enabled low-loss photonic integrated circuits2,3, modulators with improved half-wave voltage4,5, electro-optic frequency combs6 and on-chip electro-optic devices, with applications ranging from microwave photonics to microwave-to-optical quantum interfaces7. Although recent advances have demonstrated tunable integrated lasers based on LiNbO3 (refs. 8,9), the full potential of this platform to demonstrate frequency-agile, narrow-linewidth integrated lasers has not been achieved. Here we report such a laser with a fast tuning rate based on a hybrid silicon nitride (Si3N4)–LiNbO3 photonic platform and demonstrate its use for coherent laser ranging. Our platform is based on heterogeneous integration of ultralow-loss Si3N4 photonic integrated circuits with thin-film LiNbO3 through direct bonding at the wafer level, in contrast to previously demonstrated chiplet-level integration10, featuring low propagation loss of 8.5 decibels per metre, enabling narrow-linewidth lasing (intrinsic linewidth of 3 kilohertz) by self-injection locking to a laser diode. The hybrid mode of the resonator allows electro-optic laser frequency tuning at a speed of 12 × 1015 hertz per second with high linearity and low hysteresis while retaining the narrow linewidth. Using a hybrid integrated laser, we perform a proof-of-concept coherent optical ranging (FMCW LiDAR) experiment. Endowing Si3N4 photonic integrated circuits with LiNbO3 creates a platform that combines the individual advantages of thin-film LiNbO3 with those of Si3N4, which show precise lithographic control, mature manufacturing and ultralow loss11,12.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05724-2

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