PhD Thesis Defense

Lasers are ubiquitous in modern technology with different applications typically requiring different laser wavelengths. However, a given laser can operate only in a relatively narrow spectral region given by the particular material used to build the laser. This leads to using severallasers when several wavelengths are required. Nonlinear photonic devices pose a solution to this problem by transferring energy from single lasers to vast regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. But, despite more than 60 years of development in nonlinear photonics, most nonlinear devices remain large, expensive, and confined to research laboratories.

In this dissertation, we demonstrate a new generation of integrated nonlinear photonic devices based on the quadratic 𝜒(2) nonlinearity. Using the up-and-coming thin-film lithium niobate platform, we demonstrate ultrafast optical parametric amplifiers, parametric generation of ultrashort mid-infrared pulses, long pulses and frequency combs tunable over an octave bandwidth, and the first 𝜒(2) CW parametric oscillator directly pumped by a single commercial diode laser. These results represent key milestones towards compact and inexpensive universal laser sources.