Nonlinear wave mixing in lithium niobate thin film

Abstract

Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI), by taking advantage of versatile properties of lithium niobate (LN) and a large refractive index contrast, provides an ideal on-chip platform for studying a broad range of optical effects as well as developing various superior photonic devices. It is a game-changer technology for traditional LN-based applications. Especially, with recent advances in the fabrication of high-quality micro-/nano-structures and devices on the LNOI platform, LN-based integrated photonics has been propelled to new heights. In this review, we summarize the latest research advances in lithium niobate thin film (LNTF), with a special focus on nonlinear wave mixing and their photonics applications. Different types of second- and third-order nonlinear processes in LNOI micro- and nano-structures are reviewed, including nonlinear frequency conversion, frequency comb generation and supercontinuum generation. Furthermore, perspectives for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on the LNOI platform in nonlinear optics regime are predicted.

Keywords

• lithium niobate on insulator
• lithium niobate thin film
• photonic integrated circuit
• nonlinear wave mixing
• frequency conversion