Milliwatt-level UV generation using sidewall poled lithium niobate.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42014697.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-68524-y and PMC identifier 13100000.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Integrated coherent sources of ultra-violet (UV) light are essential for a wide range of applications, from ion-based quantum computing and optical clocks to gas sensing and microscopy. Recently, approaches that use frequency upconversion have received considerable attention. Among these, the integrated thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) photonic platform shows particular promise. However, to date, the high propagation losses and lack of reliable techniques for consistent poling of cm-long waveguides with small poling periods have impeded progress. Here, we present a sidewall poled lithium niobate (SPLN) waveguide approach that overcomes these obstacles and results in a two-orders-of-magnitude increase in generated UV power. We demonstrate SPLN waveguides featuring record-low propagation losses of 2.3 dB/cm, complete domain inversion across the waveguide cross-section, and an optimum 50% duty cycle, resulting in a record-high normalized conversion efficiency of 5050%W<sup>-1</sup>cm<sup>-2</sup>, and 4.2 mW of generated on-chip power at 390 nm wavelength. This advancement makes the TFLN platform a viable option for high-quality on-chip UV generation, benefiting emerging applications.