Second harmonic generation in reverse proton exchanged Lithium Niobate waveguides.

We investigate efficient second harmonic generation in reverse proton exchanged Lithium Niobate waveguides. In z-cut crystals, the resulting buried and surface guides support TM and TE polarizations, respectively, and are coupled through the d 31 nonlinear element. Numerically estimated conversion efficiencies in planar structures operating at 1.32microm reach 90% in 2cm or a normalized 14% microm/Wcm

Near to short wave infrared light generation through AlGaAs-on-insulator nanoantennas

AlGaAs-on-insulator (AlGaAs-OI) has recently emerged as a novel promising platform for nonlinear optics at the nanoscale. Among the most remarkable outcomes, second harmonic generation (SHG) in the visible/near infrared spectral region has been demonstrated in AlGaAs-OI nanoantennas (NA). In order to extend the nonlinear frequency generation towards the short wave infrared window, in this work we propose and demonstrate via numerical simulations difference frequency generation (DFG) in AlGaAs-OI NAs. The NA geometry is finely adjusted in order to obtain simultaneous optical resonances at the pump, signal and idler wavelengths, which results in an efficient DFG with conversion efficiencies up to 0.01%. Our investigation includes the study of the robustness against random variations of the NA geometry that may occur at fabrication stage. Overall, these outcomes identify a new potential and yet unexplored application of AlGaAs-OI NAs as compact devices for the generation and control of the radiation pattern in the near to short infrared spectral region

Enhancing second harmonic generation by Q-boosting lossless cavities beyond the time bandwidth limit

Nanostructures proved to be versatile platforms to control the electromagnetic field at subwavelength scale. Indeed, high-quality-factors nanocavities have been used to boost and control nonlinear frequency generation by increasing the light-matter interaction. However, nonlinear processes are triggered by high-intensities, which are provided by ultrashort laser pulses with large bandwidth, that cannot be fully exploited in such devices. Time-varying optical systems allow one to overcome the time-bandwidth limit by modulating the cavity external coupling. Here we present a general treatment, based on coupled mode theory, to describe second harmonic generation in a doubly resonant cavity for which the quality-factor at the fundamental frequency is modulated in time. We identify the initial quality factor maximizing second harmonic efficiency when performing Q-boosting and we predict a theoretical conversion efficiency close to unity. Our results have direct impact on the design of next generation time-dependent metasurfaces to boost nonlinear frequency conversion of ultrashort laser pulses

Opto-thermal dynamics of thin-film optical limiters based on the VO2 phase transition

Protection of human eyes or sensitive detectors from high-intensity laser radiation is an important challenge in modern light technologies. Metasurfaces have proved to be valuable tools for such light control, but the actual possibility of merging multiple materials in the nanofabrication process hinders their application. Here we propose and numerically investigate the opto-thermal properties of plane multilayered structures with phase-change materials for optical limiters. Our structure relies on thin-film VO2 phase change material on top of a gold film and a sapphire substrate. We show how such a multi-layer structure can act as a self-activating device that exploits light-to-heat conversion to induce a phase change in the VO2 layer. We implement a numerical model to describe the temporal evolution of the temperature and transmittivity across the device under both a continuous wave and pulsed illumination. Our results open new opportunities for multi-layer self-activating optical limiters and may be extended to devices based on other phase change materials or different spectral regions

Nonstoichiometric silica mask to fabricate reverse proton-exchange waveguides in lithium niobate crystals

Producing channel waveguides requires a photolithographic mask, but the standard technique of using thermally evaporated metal films for proton exchange has proved to be unsuitable for withstanding the rather aggressive process of reverse proton exchange. We report the fabrication of a nonstoichiometric silica mask by ion-plating plasma-assisted deposition. This mask is strong enough to resist both direct and reverse proton exchange and is also compatible with anisotropic dry etching for patterning the mask and with electric field poling. Our technique is a practical alternative to the use of SiO2 sputtered masks

Light Soaking measurements on Ruthenium-based Dye Sensitized Solar Cells

An interesting phenomenon occurring in Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) when exposed to an uninterrupted period of illumination is the so-called light soaking effect, which consists in the increase of the main electrical parameters of the cell, such as the photocurrent and the efficiency. Studying such an effect has noteworthy practical implications, ranging from the optimization of the manufacturing process to stability tests of DSSCs. In this paper, we present an experimental investigation on the performance variation, due to light soaking, of Ruthenium-based DSSCs