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Peer-reviewedCC BYJournal of Advanced Dielectrics

Second-order nonlinear frequency conversion in lithium niobate waveguides: Principles, fabrication, and recent advances

  • Congliao Yan1
  • Jiaxin Bai1
  • Jiaqi Xie1
  • Jinyue Wang1
  • Chuan Liu1
  • Shunjie Yang1
  • Jun Hao1
  • Honghua Liao1
  • Shidong Li1
  • Xiaosong Lu2
  • Kai Qian1
  1. 1College of Intelligent Systems Science and Engineering, Hubei Minzu University, Enshi 445000, P. R. China
  2. 2School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, P. R. China
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Abstract

Lithium niobate waveguides have emerged as a leading platform for second-order nonlinear frequency conversion because they combine a large second-order nonlinear coefficient with mature phase-matching schemes and low-loss integrated photonic implementations. Recent advances in thin-film lithium niobate and related fabrication technologies have substantially improved device performance and enabled efficient nonlinear frequency conversion over a broad spectral range extending from the visible to the mid-infrared. In this review, we summarize recent progress in second-order nonlinear frequency conversion in lithium niobate waveguides, with an emphasis on waveguide design, phase-matching strategies, fabrication techniques and representative nonlinear processes. We first outline the fundamental design principles, including modal confinement, dispersion engineering and the implementation of quasi-phase matching and modal phase matching. We then discuss key fabrication processes, such as lithography, etching, electric-field poling and post-processing and analyze their influence on propagation loss, domain fidelity and conversion efficiency. On this basis, we systematically review and compare recent advances in second-harmonic generation, sum-frequency generation, difference-frequency generation, optical parametric generation/amplification and cascaded second-order nonlinear processes. Finally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of different approaches, as well as the key challenges and future opportunities for developing efficient, broadband, tunable and scalable on-chip nonlinear photonic devices.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{yan2026secondorder,
  title = {{Second-order nonlinear frequency conversion in lithium niobate waveguides: Principles, fabrication, and recent advances}},
  author = {Congliao Yan and Jiaxin Bai and Jiaqi Xie and Jinyue Wang and Chuan Liu and Shunjie Yang and Jun Hao and Honghua Liao and Shidong Li and Xiaosong Lu and Kai Qian},
  journal = {Journal of Advanced Dielectrics},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1142/s2010135x26400047},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1142/s2010135x26400047},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Second-order nonlinear frequency conversion in lithium niobate waveguides: Principles, fabrication, and recent advances
AU  - Congliao Yan
AU  - Jiaxin Bai
AU  - Jiaqi Xie
AU  - Jinyue Wang
AU  - Chuan Liu
AU  - Shunjie Yang
AU  - Jun Hao
AU  - Honghua Liao
AU  - Shidong Li
AU  - Xiaosong Lu
AU  - Kai Qian
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/26
JO  - Journal of Advanced Dielectrics
DO  - 10.1142/s2010135x26400047
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1142/s2010135x26400047
AB  - Lithium niobate waveguides have emerged as a leading platform for second-order nonlinear frequency conversion because they combine a large second-order nonlinear coefficient with mature phase-matching schemes and low-loss integrated photonic implementations. Recent advances in thin-film lithium niobate and related fabrication technologies have substantially improved device performance and enabled efficient nonlinear frequency conversion over a broad spectral range extending from the visible to the mid-infrared. In this review, we summarize recent progress in second-order nonlinear frequency conversion in lithium niobate waveguides, with an emphasis on waveguide design, phase-matching strategies, fabrication techniques and representative nonlinear processes. We first outline the fundamental design principles, including modal confinement, dispersion engineering and the implementation of quasi-phase matching and modal phase matching. We then discuss key fabrication processes, such as lithography, etching, electric-field poling and post-processing and analyze their influence on propagation loss, domain fidelity and conversion efficiency. On this basis, we systematically review and compare recent advances in second-harmonic generation, sum-frequency generation, difference-frequency generation, optical parametric generation/amplification and cascaded second-order nonlinear processes. Finally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of different approaches, as well as the key challenges and future opportunities for developing efficient, broadband, tunable and scalable on-chip nonlinear photonic devices.
SN  - 2010-1368
SN  - 2010-135X
ER  -