Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip

Raman microlasers form on-chip versatile light sources by optical pumping, enabling numerical applications ranging from telecommunications to biological detection. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) lasing has been demonstrated in optical microresonators, leveraging high Q factors and small mode volu...

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Main Authors: Jianglin Guan, Jintian Lin, Renhong Gao, Chuntao Li, Guanghui Zhao, Minghui Li, Min Wang, Lingling Qiao, Ya Cheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-02-01
Series:Materials
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/5/1042
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author Jianglin Guan
Jintian Lin
Renhong Gao
Chuntao Li
Guanghui Zhao
Minghui Li
Min Wang
Lingling Qiao
Ya Cheng
author_facet Jianglin Guan
Jintian Lin
Renhong Gao
Chuntao Li
Guanghui Zhao
Minghui Li
Min Wang
Lingling Qiao
Ya Cheng
author_sort Jianglin Guan
collection DOAJ
description Raman microlasers form on-chip versatile light sources by optical pumping, enabling numerical applications ranging from telecommunications to biological detection. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) lasing has been demonstrated in optical microresonators, leveraging high Q factors and small mode volume to generate downconverted photons based on the interaction of light with the Stokes vibrational mode. Unlike redshifted SRS, stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SARS) further involves the interplay between the pump photon and the SRS photon to generate an upconverted photon, depending on a highly efficient SRS signal as an essential prerequisite. Therefore, achieving SARS in microresonators is challenging due to the low lasing efficiencies of integrated Raman lasers caused by intrinsically low Raman gain. In this work, high-Q whispering gallery microresonators were fabricated by femtosecond laser photolithography assisted chemo-mechanical etching on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), which is a strong Raman-gain photonic platform. The high Q factor reached 4.42 × 10<sup>6</sup>, which dramatically increased the circulating light intensity within a small volume. And a strong Stokes vibrational frequency of 264 cm<sup>−1</sup> of lithium niobate was selectively excited, leading to a highly efficient SRS lasing signal with a conversion efficiency of 40.6%. And the threshold for SRS was only 0.33 mW, which is about half the best record previously reported on a TFLN platform. The combination of high Q factors, a small cavity size of 120 μm, and the excitation of a strong Raman mode allowed the formation of SARS lasing with only a 0.46 mW pump threshold.
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spelling doaj.art-28ca7c882f27470097d02110da99d6732024-03-12T16:49:03ZengMDPI AGMaterials1996-19442024-02-01175104210.3390/ma17051042Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate ChipJianglin Guan0Jintian Lin1Renhong Gao2Chuntao Li3Guanghui Zhao4Minghui Li5Min Wang6Lingling Qiao7Ya Cheng8State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultra-Intense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201800, ChinaThe Extreme Optoelectromechanics Laboratory (XXL), School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultra-Intense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201800, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultra-Intense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201800, ChinaThe Extreme Optoelectromechanics Laboratory (XXL), School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, ChinaState Key Laboratory of High Field Laser Physics and CAS Center for Excellence in Ultra-Intense Laser Science, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 201800, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, ChinaRaman microlasers form on-chip versatile light sources by optical pumping, enabling numerical applications ranging from telecommunications to biological detection. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) lasing has been demonstrated in optical microresonators, leveraging high Q factors and small mode volume to generate downconverted photons based on the interaction of light with the Stokes vibrational mode. Unlike redshifted SRS, stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering (SARS) further involves the interplay between the pump photon and the SRS photon to generate an upconverted photon, depending on a highly efficient SRS signal as an essential prerequisite. Therefore, achieving SARS in microresonators is challenging due to the low lasing efficiencies of integrated Raman lasers caused by intrinsically low Raman gain. In this work, high-Q whispering gallery microresonators were fabricated by femtosecond laser photolithography assisted chemo-mechanical etching on thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), which is a strong Raman-gain photonic platform. The high Q factor reached 4.42 × 10<sup>6</sup>, which dramatically increased the circulating light intensity within a small volume. And a strong Stokes vibrational frequency of 264 cm<sup>−1</sup> of lithium niobate was selectively excited, leading to a highly efficient SRS lasing signal with a conversion efficiency of 40.6%. And the threshold for SRS was only 0.33 mW, which is about half the best record previously reported on a TFLN platform. The combination of high Q factors, a small cavity size of 120 μm, and the excitation of a strong Raman mode allowed the formation of SARS lasing with only a 0.46 mW pump threshold.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/5/1042stimulated Raman scatteringstimulated anti-Stokes Raman scatteringlithium niobatewhispering gallery modesoptical microcavity
spellingShingle Jianglin Guan
Jintian Lin
Renhong Gao
Chuntao Li
Guanghui Zhao
Minghui Li
Min Wang
Lingling Qiao
Ya Cheng
Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip
Materials
stimulated Raman scattering
stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering
lithium niobate
whispering gallery modes
optical microcavity
title Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip
title_full Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip
title_fullStr Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip
title_full_unstemmed Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip
title_short Low-Threshold Anti-Stokes Raman Microlaser on Thin-Film Lithium Niobate Chip
title_sort low threshold anti stokes raman microlaser on thin film lithium niobate chip
topic stimulated Raman scattering
stimulated anti-Stokes Raman scattering
lithium niobate
whispering gallery modes
optical microcavity
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/17/5/1042
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