Two-spatial-mode parametric amplifier in lithium niobate waveguides with asymmetric Y junctions.
For optical parametric amplifiers in proton-exchange waveguide devices reported to date, both the signal and the idler photons are in the TM00 mode, causing difficulty in distinguishing signal from idler. We report a two-mode optical parametric amplifier. The key components, asymmetric Y junctions, successfully launch the pump wave in a pure TM10 mode and separate the signal and the idler in the TM10 and TM00 modes with a power ratio of as much as 27.5 dB. With high parametric gain, optical parametric generation with a threshold of 300 pJ/pulse was demonstrated for 1.8 ps long pump pulses near 780 nm. These periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides are efficient integrable photon sources.
Edward L. Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. xpxie@stanford.edu
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