Quadratic-soliton-enhanced mid-IR molecular sensing

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Gray, Robert M., Liu, Mingchen, Zhou, Selina, Roy, Arkadev, Ledezma, Luis, Marandi, Alireza
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2023
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author Gray, Robert M.
Liu, Mingchen
Zhou, Selina
Roy, Arkadev
Ledezma, Luis
Marandi, Alireza
author_facet Gray, Robert M.
Liu, Mingchen
Zhou, Selina
Roy, Arkadev
Ledezma, Luis
Marandi, Alireza
contents Optical solitons have long been of interest both from a fundamental perspective and because of their application potential. Both cubic (Kerr) and quadratic nonlinearities can lead to soliton formation, but quadratic solitons can practically benefit from stronger nonlinearity and achieve substantial wavelength conversion. However, despite their rich physics, quadratic cavity solitons have been used only for broadband frequency comb generation, especially in the mid-IR. Here, we show that the formation dynamics of mid-IR quadratic cavity solitons can be effectively leveraged to enhance molecular sensing. We demonstrate significant sensitivity enhancement while circumventing constraints of traditional cavity enhancement mechanisms. We perform experiments sensing CO$_2$ using quadratic cavity solitons around 4 $μ$m and achieve an equivalent path length enhancement of 6000. Additionally, we demonstrate large sensitivity at high concentrations of CO$_2$, beyond what can be achieved using an equivalent high-finesse linear cavity by orders of magnitude. Our results highlight a path for utilizing quadratic cavity nonlinear dynamics and solitons for molecular sensing beyond what can be achieved using linear methods.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2301_07826
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Quadratic-soliton-enhanced mid-IR molecular sensing
Gray, Robert M.
Liu, Mingchen
Zhou, Selina
Roy, Arkadev
Ledezma, Luis
Marandi, Alireza
Optics
Pattern Formation and Solitons
Optical solitons have long been of interest both from a fundamental perspective and because of their application potential. Both cubic (Kerr) and quadratic nonlinearities can lead to soliton formation, but quadratic solitons can practically benefit from stronger nonlinearity and achieve substantial wavelength conversion. However, despite their rich physics, quadratic cavity solitons have been used only for broadband frequency comb generation, especially in the mid-IR. Here, we show that the formation dynamics of mid-IR quadratic cavity solitons can be effectively leveraged to enhance molecular sensing. We demonstrate significant sensitivity enhancement while circumventing constraints of traditional cavity enhancement mechanisms. We perform experiments sensing CO$_2$ using quadratic cavity solitons around 4 $μ$m and achieve an equivalent path length enhancement of 6000. Additionally, we demonstrate large sensitivity at high concentrations of CO$_2$, beyond what can be achieved using an equivalent high-finesse linear cavity by orders of magnitude. Our results highlight a path for utilizing quadratic cavity nonlinear dynamics and solitons for molecular sensing beyond what can be achieved using linear methods.
title Quadratic-soliton-enhanced mid-IR molecular sensing
topic Optics
Pattern Formation and Solitons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2301.07826