We investigate the mechanisms to realize the Raman laser switching in a silica rod microresonator with mode-interaction-assisted excitation. The laser switching can be triggered between two whispering gallery modes (WGMs) with either the same or distinct mode families, depending on the pumping conditions. The experimental observations are in excellent agreement with a theoretical analysis based on coupled-mode equations with intermodal interaction terms involved. Additionally, we also demonstrate switching of a single-mode Raman laser and a wideband spectral tuning range up to ∼32.67nm by selective excitation of distinct mode sequences. The results contribute to the understanding of Raman lasing formation dynamics via interaction with transverse mode sequences and may extend the microcavity-based Raman microlasers to potential areas in switchable light sources, optical memories, and high sensitivity sensors.

We report the observation of ultralow-power absorption saturation in a tapered optical fiber (TOF) mounted in a hot cesium (Cs) vapor in a vacuum chamber. The small optical mode area of TOF produces a great influence on optical properties, allowing optical interactions with nanowatt-level power. The comparison of transmission characteristics for the TOF system and free-space vapor is investigated at different input power and atomic density. The unique performance of the Cs-TOF system makes it a promising candidate in resonant nonlinear optical applications with ultralow power.

Dielectric nanocavities are emerging as a versatile and powerful tool for the linear and nonlinear manipulation of light at the nanoscale. In this work, we exploit the effective coupling of electric and toroidal modes in AlGaAs nanodimers to locally enhance both electric and magnetic fields while minimizing the optical scattering, thereby optimizing their second-harmonic generation efficiency with respect to the case of a single isolated nanodisk. We also demonstrate that proper near-field coupling can provide further degrees of freedom to control the polarization state and the radiation diagram of the second-harmonic field.

Typically, photonic waveguides designed for nonlinear frequency conversion rely on intuitive and established principles, including index guiding and bandgap engineering, and are based on simple shapes with high degrees of symmetry. We show that recently developed inverse-design techniques can be applied to discover new kinds of microstructured fibers and metasurfaces designed to achieve large nonlinear frequency-conversion efficiencies. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate complex, wavelength-scale chalcogenide glass fibers and gallium phosphide three-dimensional metasurfaces exhibiting some of the largest nonlinear conversion efficiencies predicted thus far, e.g., lowering the power requirement for third-harmonic generation by 104 and enhancing second-harmonic generation conversion efficiency by 107. Such enhancements arise because, in addition to enabling a great degree of tunability in the choice of design wavelengths, these optimization tools ensure both frequency- and phase-matching in addition to large nonlinear overlap factors.

To achieve photon-pair generation scaling, we optimize the quality factor of microring resonators for efficient continuous-wave-pumped spontaneous four-wave mixing. Numerical studies indicate that a high intrinsic quality factor makes high pair rate and pair brightness possible, in which the maximums take place under overcoupling and critical-coupling conditions, respectively. We fabricate six all-pass-type microring resonator samples on a silicon-on-insulator chip involving gap width as the only degree of freedom. The signal count rate, pair brightness, and coincidence rate of all the samples are characterized, which are then compared with the modified simulations by taking the detector saturation and nonlinear loss into account. Being experimentally validated for the first time to the best of our knowledge, this work explicitly demonstrates that reducing the round-trip loss in a ring cavity and designing the corresponding optimized gap width are more effective to generate high-rate or high-brightness photon pairs than the conventional strategy of simply increasing the quality factor.

Polarization switching (PS) characteristics in a 1550 nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) subject to circularly polarized optical injection (CPOI) are experimentally investigated. The results show that, under different biased current, a solitary 1550 nm VCSEL can oscillate at y polarization mode (y mode), two polarization components (PCs) coexistence or x polarization mode (x mode). The PS characteristics induced by CPOI for the VCSEL operating at y mode and x mode are analyzed and the evolutions of dynamical states with the injected power are discussed. Additionally, the mappings of nonlinear dynamical states are given in the parameters space of the injected power and frequency detuning.

We report the transformation of a linear electro-optically tunable non-phase-matched second-order nonlinear process into a cascaded second-order nonlinear process in a bulk KTP crystal to generate the effect of electro-optically tunable Kerr-type nonlinearity. By applying an electric field on the x–y plane, parallel to the z-axis of the crystal, phase mismatch is created, which introduces a nonlinear phase shift between the launched and reconverted fundamental waves from the generated second harmonic wave. Due to the nonuniform radial intensity distribution of a Gaussian beam, a curvature will be introduced into the fundamental wavefront, which focuses or defocuses the incident beam while propagating through the crystal.