Our new paper about linear and nonlinear coupling of light in twin-resonator systems with Kerr-nonlinearities has been published. This can lead to real-time dispersion engineering, and active light distribution in telecom systems.
Photonics Research 12, 2733
Our new paper about light distribution patterns in chains of microresonators has been published. This can be used to guide light through photonic circuits and for optical data processing.
Photonics Research 10, 2376 (Editor’s pick!)
We demonstrate a new method for Hz-level spectroscopy with a scanning diode laser. Instead of using a frequency comb, this method relies on adding modulation sidebands to the scanning diode laser and linking it on-the-fly to a reference cavity.
Advanced Photonics 6, 046003
SPIE News Article
Our group will be at Optica Advanced Photonics Congress in Québec, Canada from July 28th to August 1st and present our research projects in 9 talks.
Link to conference program
Our new PNAS paper presents the observation of controlled standing wave patterns that can be used for precise distance measurements with nm-accuracy. PNAS 121 (10) e2313981121, arxiv.
Our paper on ultralow loss silicon nitride integrated photonics using room-temperature reactive sputtering was published in Laser & Photonics Reviews. Our study demonstrates the lowest propagation losses achieved with a low temperature deposition method. It is CMOS compatible and can be used for hybrid integration with other photonic and electronic processes. Laser & Photonics Review, 2300642 (2023).
Our new paper titled “Geometry optimization for dark soliton combs in thin multimode silicon nitride microresonators” was published in Optics Express, which provides insights into engineering a Si3N4 structure for optimal effective nonlinearity with a compact footprint. We experimentally demonstrate the low-noise dark pulses with a repetition rate of 25 GHz in a Si3N4 resonator. Read more: Optics Express 31, 41420-41427 (2023).
Our paper on quintic soliton paper has been selected as the cover article in laser & photonics review. Our study demonstrates the first observation of solitons induced by fifth-order dispersion. Read more: Laser Photonics Rev., 2300075 (2023).
Our new paper on four-field symmetry breakings in photonic dimers has been published in Physical Review Research. This work demonstrates multi-level symmetry breakings, switching and chaos. Read more: Phys. Rev. Res. 5,L042012 (2023).
Our group will be at CLEO Europe in Munich from June 26th to June 30th and present our research projects in 9 talks.
Link to conference program
Our new paper on quintic-dispersion microresonator solitons has been published in Laser & Photonics Review. Our study demonstrates the first observation of solitons induced by fifth-order dispersion. Read more: Laser Photonics Rev., 2300075 (2023).
Congratulations to Arghadeep Pal for winning the best poster award at the spring school-2023 organised by the Max Planck School of Photonics (MPSP). The poster describes Machine Learning assisted prediction of microresonator structure for desired dispersion profiles. Read more: Opt. Express 31, 8020-8028 (2023).
We have used machine learning algorithms to predict structures of microresonators from dispersion profiles. This work lays the foundation of application of machine learning in inverse design of microring resonators.
https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.479899 – arXiv
Our new paper on optical light plateaus in microresonators has been published. This work has been done in collaboration with Gian-Luca Oppo and Graeme Campbell at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.106.043507 – arXiv
We will be presenting at the upcoming CLEO conference in San Jose, California (15-20 May):
Lewis Hill, “Nested spontaneous symmetry breaking” 17 May
Shuangyou Zhang, “Dark-Bright Soliton Frequency Combs” 18 May
Leonardo Del Bino, “All-optical Kerr Polarization Controller” 19 May
Our new paper on bound states of dark and bright solitons in microresonators has been published in PRL. This can be used to broaden frequency combs across different dispersion regimes.
➔ Physical Review Letters, 128, 033901
➔ Press Release
Together with colleagues from Switzerland, Germany and the UK we have demonstrated a polarization controller that is operated purely by light using the Kerr-effect.
➔ Nature Communications, 13, 398
➔ Press Release
Our work on Kerr-effect enhancement of the rotation sensitivity of microresonator gyroscopes has been published in Optica.
➔ Optica 8, 1219-1226
A great interview with Shuangyou Zhang about his Marie Curie Multiply Fellowship. His work on low power microcombs was one of the top-downloaded frequency comb papers of the last years in Optica. Read more here: bit.ly/3sdENFy
We report the experimental and numerical observation of oscillatory switching between counter-propagating light beams in Kerr ring microresonators. This effect well captured by a simple coupled dynamical system featuring only the self- and cross-phase Kerr nonlinearities. Self-switching of counterpropagating light is robust for realizing controllable, all-optical generation of waveforms, signal encoding, and chaotic cryptography. Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 043901
We demonstrate how the Kerr nonlinearity can be a key enabler for many digital photonic circuits. It allows access to bistable states needed for all-optical memories and switches that can operate at a single laser frequency with no additional electrical power. Opt. Express 29, 2193-2203 (2021)
We demonstrate a technique for suppressing backscattered light in a whispering-gallery-mode resonator by positioning a sub-wavelength-size scatterer within its evanescent field, achieving at least 34 dB suppression compared to the intrinsic backscattering. Read more: Light Sci Appl 9, 204 (2020) or press release.
Broadband frequency combs are a key enabling technology for frequency metrology and spectroscopy. Here, we demonstrate that the spectrum of a soliton microcomb can be extended by bi-chromatic pumping resulting in two combs that synchronize their repetition rate via cross-phase modulation. Read more: Nat Commun 11, 6384 (2020)
Toby recently visited Airbus Defence and Space to perform R&D experiments on advanced space optics components. The visit was a collaboration between Airbus and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light through the Horizon 2020 MICROCOMB network.
Congratulations to Andreas Svela for winning a prize for his talk at the Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences research showcase. The showcase presentation is aimed at a broader audience, explaining the backscatter suppression work published in Light Sci Appl 9, 204 (2020). Watch the Presentation here.