Kerr optical parametric oscillation in a photonic crystal microring for accessing the infrared

Abstract: Continuous wave optical parametric oscillation (OPO) provides a flexible approach for accessing mid-infrared wavelengths between 2 $\mu$m to 5 $\mu$m, but has not yet been integrated into silicon nanophotonics. Typically, Kerr OPO uses a single transverse mode family for pump, signal, and idler modes, and relies on a delicate balance to achieve normal (but close-to-zero) dispersion near the pump and the requisite higher-order dispersion needed for phase- and frequency-matching. Within integrated photonics platforms, this approach results in two major problems. First, the dispersion is very sensitive to geometry, so that small fabrication errors can have a large impact. Second, the device is susceptible to competing nonlinear processes near the pump. In this letter, we propose a flexible solution to infrared OPO that addresses these two problems, by using a silicon nitride photonic crystal microring (PhCR). The frequency shifts created by the PhCR bandgap enable OPO that would otherwise be forbidden. We report an intrinsic optical quality factor up to (1.2 $\pm$ 0.1)$\times$10$^6$ in the 2 $\mu$m band, and use a PhCR ring to demonstrate an OPO with threshold power of (90 $\pm$ 20) mW dropped into the cavity, with the pump wavelength at 1998~nm, and the signal and idler wavelengths at 1937 nm and 2063 nm, respectively. We further discuss how to extend OPO spectral coverage in the mid-infrared. These results establish the PhCR OPO as a promising route for integrated laser sources in the infrared.