Second- and third-order nonlinearities in silicon nitride waveguides via heterogeneous integration of lithium niobate membranes
Abstract
Thick, dispersion-engineered silicon nitride is a leading platform for integrated third-order nonlinear optics, supporting supercontinuum and frequency comb generation. However, it lacks the second-order nonlinearity required by many applications. Here we bond pre-fabricated x-cut thin-film lithium niobate membranes onto finished silicon nitride waveguides as a back-end step, compatible with commercially fabricated waveguides. A single silicon nitride waveguide generates an octave-spanning supercontinuum and, through the lithium niobate membrane, concurrent second-harmonic, sum- and difference-frequency generation. These results open new possibilities for thick silicon nitride photonics, from visible light generation to on-chip f-2f comb self-referencing, a key step towards miniaturised timing and navigation quantum technologies.
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BibTeX
@misc{pruiti2026second,
title = {{Second- and third-order nonlinearities in silicon nitride waveguides via heterogeneous integration of lithium niobate membranes}},
author = {Natale G. Pruiti and Cosmin Suciu and Eugenio Di Gaetano and Jonathan M. Silver and Douglas J. Paul and Marc Sorel},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.31243},
eprint = {2610.31243},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.31243},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Second- and third-order nonlinearities in silicon nitride waveguides via heterogeneous integration of lithium niobate membranes
AU - Natale G. Pruiti
AU - Cosmin Suciu
AU - Eugenio Di Gaetano
AU - Jonathan M. Silver
AU - Douglas J. Paul
AU - Marc Sorel
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.31243
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.31243
AB - Thick, dispersion-engineered silicon nitride is a leading platform for integrated third-order nonlinear optics, supporting supercontinuum and frequency comb generation. However, it lacks the second-order nonlinearity required by many applications. Here we bond pre-fabricated x-cut thin-film lithium niobate membranes onto finished silicon nitride waveguides as a back-end step, compatible with commercially fabricated waveguides. A single silicon nitride waveguide generates an octave-spanning supercontinuum and, through the lithium niobate membrane, concurrent second-harmonic, sum- and difference-frequency generation. These results open new possibilities for thick silicon nitride photonics, from visible light generation to on-chip f-2f comb self-referencing, a key step towards miniaturised timing and navigation quantum technologies.
ER -