Search for: All records

A lithium niobate–based platform can generate and measure squeezed states of light on a chip. 

Abstract In recent years, the computational demands of deep learning applications have necessitated the introduction of energy-efficient hardware accelerators. Optical neural networks are a promising option; however, thus far they have been largely limited by the lack of energy-efficient nonlinear optical functions. Here, we experimentally demonstrate an all-optical Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU), which is the most widely used nonlinear activation function for deep learning, using a periodically-poled thin-film lithium niobate nanophotonic waveguide and achieve ultra-low energies in the regime of femtojoules per activation with near-instantaneous operation. Our results provide a clear and practical path towards truly all-optical, energy-efficient nanophotonic deep learning. 

Abstract Topological insulators possess protected boundary states which are robust against disorders and have immense implications in both fermionic and bosonic systems. Harnessing these topological effects in nonequilibrium scenarios is highly desirable and has led to the development of topological lasers. The topologically protected boundary states usually lie within the bulk bandgap, and selectively exciting them without inducing instability in the bulk modes of bosonic systems is challenging. Here, we consider topological parametrically driven nonlinear resonator arrays that possess complex eigenvalues only in the edge modes in spite of the uniform pumping. We show parametric oscillation occurs in the topological boundary modes of one and two dimensional systems as well as in the corner modes of a higher order topological insulator system. Furthermore, we demonstrate squeezing dynamics below the oscillation threshold, where the quantum properties of the topological edge modes are robust against certain disorders. Our work sheds light on the dynamics of weakly nonlinear topological systems driven out-of-equilibrium and reveals their intriguing behavior in the quantum regime. 

Strong amplification in integrated photonics is one of the most desired optical functionalities for computing, communications, sensing, and quantum information processing. Semiconductor gain and cubic nonlinearities, such as four-wave mixing and stimulated Raman and Brillouin scattering, have been among the most studied amplification mechanisms on chip. Alternatively, material platforms with strong quadratic nonlinearities promise numerous advantages with respect to gain and bandwidth, among which nanophotonic lithium niobate is one of the most promising candidates. Here, we combine quasi-phase matching with dispersion engineering in nanophotonic lithium niobate waveguides and achieve intense optical parametric amplification. We measure a broadband phase-sensitive on-chip amplification larger than 50 dB/cm in a 6-mm-long waveguide. We further confirm high gain operation in the degenerate and nondegenerate regimes by amplifying vacuum fluctuations to macroscopic levels, with on-chip gains exceeding 100 dB/cm over 600 nm of bandwidth around 2 µm. Our results unlock new possibilities for on-chip few-cycle nonlinear optics, mid-infrared photonics, and quantum photonics.