Directionally tunable co- and counterpropagating photon pairs from a nonlinear metasurface
Weissflog Maximilian A.,
Ma Jinyong,
Zhang Jihua,
Fan Tongmiao,
Lung Shaun,
Pertsch Thomas,
Neshev Dragomir N.,
Saravi Sina,
Setzpfandt Frank,
Sukhorukov Andrey A.
Affiliations
Weissflog Maximilian A.
9378Institute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745Jena, Germany
Ma Jinyong
ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS), Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2600, Australia
Zhang Jihua
ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS), Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2600, Australia
Fan Tongmiao
ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS), Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2600, Australia
Lung Shaun
9378Institute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745Jena, Germany
Pertsch Thomas
9378Institute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745Jena, Germany
Neshev Dragomir N.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS), Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2600, Australia
Saravi Sina
9378Institute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745Jena, Germany
Setzpfandt Frank
9378Institute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07745Jena, Germany
Sukhorukov Andrey A.
ARC Centre of Excellence for Transformative Meta-Optical Systems (TMOS), Department of Electronic Materials Engineering, Research School of Physics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT2600, Australia
Nonlinear metasurfaces have recently been established as a new platform for generating photon pairs via spontaneous parametric down-conversion. While for classical harmonic generation in metasurfaces a high level of control over all degrees of freedom of light has been reached, this capability is yet to be developed for photon-pair generation. In this work, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate for the first time precise control of the emission angle of photon pairs generated from a nonlinear metasurface. Our measurements show angularly tunable pair generation with high coincidence-to-accidental ratio for both co- and counterpropagating emission. The underlying principle is the transverse phase matching of guided-mode resonances with strong angular dispersion in a nonlinear metasurface consisting of a silicon dioxide grating on a nonlinear lithium niobate guiding layer. We provide a straightforward design strategy for photon-pair generation in such a device and find very good agreement between the calculations and experimental results. Here, we use all-optical emission angle tuning by means of the pump wavelength; however, the principle could be extended to modulation via the electro-optic effect in lithium niobate. In sum, this work provides an important addition to the toolset of subwavelength thickness photon-pair sources.
