Two-dimensional periodically poled LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 lattices afford unique spectral and spatial functionalities, enabling coherent parametric sources and amplifiers for advanced classical and quantum applications [1,2]. Such capabilities can be further enhanced with structured optical excitations, as highlighted in recent theoretical studies on dual-pump optical parametric generation (OPG) [3]. Here we present results confirming such predictions with experiments in hexagonally poled LiTaO3 (HexLT) coherently excited by a dual-beam pump at P = 532 nm (Fig.1a, wavevectors kp1 and kp2), generating signal (ks) and idler (ki) outputs around s ∼ 0.76-0.82 μm and i ∼ 1.50-1.77 μm, respectively. Moreover, we model the OPG process in a semiclassical approximation and 2D beam propagation, extending the results of Ref. [3] beyond plane-wave approximations, to account for realistic experimental conditions. Fig. 1b shows a 2D map of the computed spectral (s) and angular (θs) signal emission from a HexLT lattice pumped by two Gaussian beams whose incidence angles realize the special pump-lattice resonance condition whereby the transverse components of kp1 and kp2 match those of reciprocal lattice vectors (G10 and G01 in Fig. 1a). The OPG simulations exhibited excellent agreement with the measured far-field distributions (Fig. 1c) and supported further quantitative analyses of the gain enhancement and coherent OPG response expected in the spectral region of Fig. 1d, explored in subsequent experiments with the setup of Fig. 1e. Fig. 1f shows experimental results (blue circles) alongside simulations (red triangles) and experimental fits (dashed lines), providing evidence for the periodic phase-sensitive response and coherent parametric gain enhancement over single-pump OPG, attainable through control of the relative phase of the two pumps in the HexLT [3]. Further experimental mappings of the signal versus total pump power in dual- and single-pump cases yielded excellent quantitative agreement with the results of our numerical model, resulting in a power amplification factor of around 1.1, matching well the measured visibility seen in the phase-sensitive response of Fig. 1f.
Part of ISBN 9798331512521
QC 20251001