Using a coupled parametric-resonator array for generating and propagating a topological soliton in its rotating-frame phase space is theoretically and numerically investigated. In an analogy with the well-known phi4 model, the existence of a soliton is topologically protected as the boundary of two different phase domains of parametric oscillation. Numerical simulation indicates that the propagation can be triggered by switching of the phase state of one specific resonator, and the effects of damping, collision, and the symmetry lifting by harmonic drive on the propagation dynamics are studied. The topological soliton can be implemented by using electromechanical resonators, which allow its propagation dynamics to be precisely electrically controlled and provide a fully controlled on-chip test bed for the study of a topological soliton.
We show experimentally the existence of bright and dark spatial solitons in semiconductor resonators for excitation above the band gap energy. These solitons can be switched on, both spontaneously and with address pulses, without the thermal delay found for solitons below the band gap which is unfavorable for applications. The differences between soliton properties above and below gap energy are discussed.
We demonstrate experimentally and numerically the existence spatial solitons in multiple-quantum-well semiconductor microresonators driven by an external coherent optical field. We discuss stability of the semiconductor-resonator solitons over a wide spectral range around the band edge. We demonstrate the manipulation of such solitons: switching solitons on and off by coherent as well as incoherent light; reducing the light power necessary to sustain and switch a soliton, by optical pumping.
We demonstrate experimentally the bistable nature of the bright spatial solitons in a semiconductor microresonator and show that they can be created and destroyed by incoherent local optical injection.
We demonstrate switching on and off of spatial solitons in a semiconductor microresonator by injection of light coherent with the background illumination. Evidence results that the formation of the solitons and their switching does not involve thermal processes.
We describe experiments testing the existence and investigating the properties of spatial solitons in nonlinear resonators. We investigate the properties of stationary and moving spatial solitons in lasers with saturable absorber, with a subcritical bifurcation, as well as their manipulation. As opposed, spatial solitons relying on a supercritical bifurcation are shown to exist in degenerate 4-wave mixing (DOPO). With a view to technical applications in parallel information processing or communication, experiments on spatial solitons in large area quantum well semiconductor resonators are cond…
Spatial solitons can exist in various kinds of nonlinear optical resonators with and without amplification. In the past years different types of these localized structures such as vortices, bright, dark solitons and phase solitons have been experimentally shown to exist. Many links appear to exist to fields different from optics, such as fluids, phase transitions or particle physics. These spatial resonator solitons are bistable and due to their mobility suggest schemes of information processing not possible with the fixed bistable elements forming the basic ingredient of traditional electroni…
Bright and dark spatial solitons are observed in an optically pumped semiconductor resonator. The pumping allows to considerably reduce the light intensity necessary for the existence of the solitons and alleviates thermal load problems. Experiments are found to agree with calculations based on a simple large aperture semiconductor resonator model. The role of signs of the absorptive and reactive nonlinearities for soliton existence are discussed in relation with the nonlinear resonance effect, the tilted wave mechanism of pattern formation, and the sign of the population inversion.
We propose a method for soliton formation in whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators through input phase modulation. Our numerical simulations of a variant of the Lugiato-Lefever equation suggest that modulating the input phase at a frequency equal to the resonator free-spectral-range and at modest modulation depths provides a deterministic route towards soliton formation in WGM resonators without undergoing a chaotic phase. We show that the generated solitonic state is sustained when the modulation is turned off adiabatically. Our results support parametric seeding as a powerful means of con…
The scattering of weak dispersive waves (DW) on several equally spaced temporal solitons is studied. It is shown by systematic numerical simulations that the reflection of the DWs from the soliton trains strongly depends on the distance between the solitons. The dependence of the reflection and transmission coefficients on the inter-soliton distance and the frequency of the incident waves is studied in detail, revealing fascinating quasi-periodic behavior. The analogy between the observed nonlinear phenomena in temporal domain and usual Fabry-Perot and Bragg resonators is discussed.
We are reporting that the Lugiato-Lefever equation describing the frequency comb generation in ring resonators with the localized pump and loss terms also describes the simultaneous nonlinear resonances leading to the multistability of nonlinear modes and coexisting solitons that are associated with the spectrally distinct frequency combs.
We report experimental results and study theoretically soliton formation and propagation in an airfilled acoustic waveguide side loaded with Helmholtz resonators. Our theoretical approach relies on a transmission-line description of this setting, which leads to a nonlinear dynamical lattice model. The latter is treated analytically, by means of dynamical systems and multiscale expansion techniques, and leads to various soliton solutions for the pressure. These include Boussinesq-like and Korteweg-de Vries pulse-shaped solitons, as well as nonlinear Schröodinger envelope solitons. The analytica…
We consider a parametrically driven Klein--Gordon system describing micro- and nano-devices, with integrated electrical and mechanical functionality. Using a multiscale expansion method we reduce the system to a discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Analytical and numerical calculations are performed to determine the existence and stability of fundamental bright and dark discrete solitons admitted by the Klein--Gordon system through the discrete Schrodinger equation. We show that a parametric driving can not only destabilize onsite bright solitons, but also stabilize intersite bright discre…
We consider an optical resonator containing a photonic crystal fiber and driven coherently by an injected beam. This device is described by a generalized Lugiato-Lefever equation with fourth order dispersion. We use an asymptotic approach to derive interaction equations governing the slow time evolution of the coordinates of two interacting dissipative solitons. We show that Cherenkov radiation induced by positive fourth-order dispersion leads to a strong increase of the interaction force between the solitons. As a consequence, large number of equidistant soliton bound states in the phase spac…
We study nonlinear wave phenomena in coupled ring resonator optical waveguides in the tight coupling regime. A discrete model for the system dynamics is put forward and its steady state nonlinear Bloch modes are derived. The switching behavior of the transmission system is addressed numerically and the results are explained in the light of this analytical result. We also present a numerical study on the spontaneous generation of Bragg solitons from a continuous-wave input.
We study the propagation of quasi-discrete microwave solitons in a nonlinear left-handed coplanar waveguide coupled with split ring resonators. By considering the relevant transmission line analogue, we derive a nonlinear lattice model which is studied analytically by means of a quasi-discrete approximation. We derive a nonlinear Schr{ö}dinger equation, and find that the system supports bright envelope soliton solutions in a relatively wide subinterval of the left-handed frequency band. We perform systematic numerical simulations, in the framework of the nonlinear lattice model, to study the p…
External driving of passive, nonlinear optical resonators has emerged over the past decade as a novel route for the generation of ultrashort optical pulses and corresponding broadband frequency combs. Whilst the pulse formation dynamics in such systems differ dramatically from those manifesting themselves in conventional mode-locked lasers, the demarcation between the two traditionally distinct paradigms has recently begun to blur, with demonstrations of hybrid systems incorporating both external driving and active media shown to offer specific advantages. Here we explore a new pathway for ult…
The study of collective nonlinear dynamics of coupled mechanical resonators is regaining attention in recent years thanks to rapid developments in the fields of microelectromechanical and nanoelectromechanical systems (MEMS and NEMS). We review a wide range of collective dynamical phenomena, while highlighting the common concepts and theoretical tools that we have developed for treating them. We provide detailed derivations of amplitude equations, which allow us to obtain reduced descriptions for the relevant dynamics of our complex systems. We apply these amplitude equations to study (a) reso…
We report the existence of vectorial dark dissipative solitons in optical cavities subject to a coherently injected beam. We assume that the resonator is operating in a normal dispersion regime far from any modulational instability. We show that the vectorial front locking mechanism allows for the stabilisation of dark dissipative structures. These structures differ by their temporal duration and their state of polarization. We characterize them by constructing their heteroclinic snaking bifurcation diagram showing evidence of multistability within a finite range of the control parameter.
Temporal dissipative solitons and optical frequency combs in coherently driven Kerr resonators
University of Auckland（奥克兰大学）；The Dodd-Walls Centre for Photonic and Quantum Technologies（多德-沃尔斯光子和量子技术中心）；Université libre de Bruxelles（布鲁塞尔自由大学）；Tsinghua University（清华大学）
We find that hexagonal structures forming in semiconductor resonators can range from coherent patterns to arrangements of loosely bound spatial solitons, which can be individually switched. Such incoherent arrangements are stabilized by gradient forces, as evidenced by the stability of hexagonal structures with single- or multiple-soliton defects. We interpret the experimental observations by numerical simulations based on a model for a large aperture semiconductor microresonator.
Complex systems are a proving ground for fundamental interactions between components and their collective emergent phenomena. Through intricate design, integrated photonics offers intriguing nonlinear interactions that create new patterns of light. In particular, the canonical Kerr-nonlinear resonator becomes unstable with a sufficiently intense traveling-wave excitation, yielding instead a Turing pattern composed of a few interfering waves. These resonators also support the localized soliton pulse as a separate nonlinear stationary state. Kerr solitons are remarkably versatile for application…
Single solitons are a special limit of more general waveforms commonly referred to as cnoidal waves or Turing rolls. We theoretically and computationally investigate the stability and accessibility of cnoidal waves in microresonators. We show that they are robust and, in contrast to single solitons, can be easily and deterministically accessed in most cases. Their bandwidth can be comparable to single solitons, in which limit they are effectively a periodic train of solitons and correspond to a frequency comb with increased power. We comprehensively explore the three-dimensional parameter spac…
Recent advances in realizing optical frequency combs using nonlinear parametric processes in integrated photonic resonators have revolutionized on-chip optical clocks, spectroscopy, and multi-channel optical communications. At the same time, the introduction of topological physics in photonic systems has provided a new paradigm to engineer the flow of photons, and thereby, design photonic devices with novel functionalities and inherent robustness against fabrication disorders. Here, we use topological design principles to theoretically propose the generation of optical frequency combs and temp…
We investigate the formation of dark vector localized structures in the presence of nonlinear polarization mode coupling in optical resonators subject to a coherent optical injection in the normal dispersion regime. This simple device is described by coupled Lugiato-Lefever equations. The stabilization of localized structures is attributed to a front locking mechanism. We show that in a multistable homogeneous steady-state regime, two branches of dark localized structures can coexist for a fixed value of the system parameters. These coexisting solutions possess different polarization states an…
The driven-dissipative photonic dimer comprised of two evanescently coupled high-Q microresonators is a fundamental element of multimode soliton lattices. It has demonstrated a variety of emergent nonlinear phenomena including supermode soliton generation, symmetry breaking, and soliton hopping. In this article, we present another aspect of dissipative soliton generation in coupled resonators, revealing the advantages of this system over conventional single resonator platforms. Namely, we show that the accessibility of solitons drastically varies for symmetric and antisymmetric supermode famil…
Passive Kerr cavities driven by coherent laser fields display a rich landscape of nonlinear physics, including bistability, pattern formation, and localised dissipative structures (solitons). Their conceptual simplicity has for several decades offered an unprecedented window into nonlinear cavity dynamics, providing insights into numerous systems and applications ranging from all-optical memory devices to microresonator frequency combs. Yet despite the decades of study, a recent theoretical study has surprisingly alluded to an entirely new and unexplored paradigm in the regime where nonlinearl…
Temporal cavity solitons are optical pulses that propagate indefinitely in nonlinear resonators. They are currently attracting a lot of attention, both for their many potential applications and for their connection to other fields of science. Cavity solitons are phase locked to a driving laser. This is what distinguishes them from laser dissipative solitons and the main reason why they are excellent candidates for precision applications such as optical atomic clocks. To date, the focus has been on driving Kerr solitons close to their carrier frequency, in which case a single stable localised s…
We report what we believe is the weakest interaction between solitons ever observed. Our experiment involves temporal optical cavity solitons recirculating in a coherently-driven passive optical fibre ring resonator. We observe two solitons, separated by up to 8,000 times their width, changing their temporal separation by a fraction of an attosecond per round-trip of the 100 m-long resonator, or equivalently 1/10,000 of the wavelength of the soliton carrier wave per characteristic dispersive length. The interactions are so weak that, at the speed of light, they require an effective propagation…
Temporal cavity solitons (CS) are optical pulses that can persist in passive resonators, and they play a key role in the generation of coherent microresonator frequency combs. In resonators made of amorphous materials, such as fused silica, they can exhibit a spectral red-shift due to stimulated Raman scattering. Here we show that this Raman-induced self-frequency-shift imposes a fundamental limit on the duration and bandwidth of temporal CSs. Specifically, we theoretically predict that stimulated Raman scattering introduces a previously unidentified Hopf bifurcation that leads to destabilizat…
A plethora of applications have recently motivated extensive efforts on the generation of low noise Kerr solitons and coherent frequency combs in various platforms ranging from fiber to whispering gallery and integrated microscale resonators. However, the Kerr (cubic) nonlinearity is inherently weak, and in contrast, strong quadratic nonlinearity in optical resonators is expected to provide an alternative means for soliton formation with promising potential. Here, we demonstrate the formation of a dissipative quadratic soliton via non-stationary optical parametric amplification in the presence…
