Nonlinear harmonic generation and devices in doubly resonant Kerr cavities

We describe a theoretical analysis of the nonlinear dynamics of third-harmonic generation (ω→3ω) via Kerr (χ(3)) nonlinearities in a resonant cavity with resonances at both ω and 3ω. Such a doubly resonant cavity greatly reduces the required power for efficient harmonic generation, by a factor of ∼V...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hashemi, Hila, Rodriguez, Alejandro W., Joannopoulos, John D., Soljacic, Marin, Johnson, Steven G.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: American Physical Society 2010
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/51730
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7327-4967
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7184-5831
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7244-3682
Description
Summary:We describe a theoretical analysis of the nonlinear dynamics of third-harmonic generation (ω→3ω) via Kerr (χ(3)) nonlinearities in a resonant cavity with resonances at both ω and 3ω. Such a doubly resonant cavity greatly reduces the required power for efficient harmonic generation, by a factor of ∼V∕Q(2), where V is the modal volume and Q is the lifetime, and can even exhibit 100% harmonic conversion efficiency at a critical input power. However, we show that it also exhibits a rich variety of nonlinear dynamics, such as multistable solutions and long-period limit cycles. We describe how to compensate for self- and cross-phase modulation (which otherwise shifts the cavity frequencies out of resonance), and how to excite the different stable solutions (and especially the high-efficiency solutions) by specially modulated input pulses.