Low-threshold optical parametric oscillations in a whispering gallery mode resonator

Fuerst JU, Strekalov DV, Elser DA, Aiello A, Andersen UL, Marquardt C, Leuchs G (2010)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2010

Journal

Book Volume: 105

Article Number: 263904

Journal Issue: 26

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.263904

Abstract

In whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonator light is guided by continuous total internal reflection along a curved surface. Fabricating such resonators from an optically nonlinear material one takes advantage of their exceptionally high quality factors and small mode volumes to achieve extremely efficient optical frequency conversion. Our analysis of the phase-matching conditions for optical parametric down-conversion (PDC) in a spherical WGM resonator shows their direct relation to the sum rules for photons' angular momenta and predicts a very low parametric oscillation threshold. We realized such an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on naturally phase-matched PDC in lithium niobate. We demonstrated a single-mode, strongly nondegenerate OPO with a threshold of 6.7μW and linewidth under 10 MHz. This work demonstrates the remarkable capabilities of WGM-based OPOs. © 2010 The American Physical Society.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts (MPL) / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Fuerst, J.U., Strekalov, D.V., Elser, D.A., Aiello, A., Andersen, U.L., Marquardt, C., & Leuchs, G. (2010). Low-threshold optical parametric oscillations in a whispering gallery mode resonator. Physical Review Letters, 105(26). https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.263904

MLA:

Fuerst, J. U., et al. "Low-threshold optical parametric oscillations in a whispering gallery mode resonator." Physical Review Letters 105.26 (2010).

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