The objective of this program is to conduct experimental investigation of novel nonlinear material and waveguide designs and to develop a compact, integrated photonic device platform for nonlinear optical devices operating in the mid-infrared spectral region. There is a current dearth of nonlinear optical devices in the mid-infrared and the proposed research program aims to fill this void. The intellectual merits are: (1) novel device architecture for slow light propagation with low loss and (2) new tunable light sources and amplifiers for the mid-infrared frequency region. The slow light devices are based on photonic crystals to enable dispersion engineering necessary for slow light but has radically different designs to circumvent the fundamental limits imposed by scattering loss. Additionally, the devices will be implemented in a chalcogenide material system, with high nonlinearity and Raman gain, long infrared transparency, and a high glass transition temperature. The broader impacts are many. First, the proposed work will broadly impact the applied physics and materials science world by providing a new class of devices based on nonlinear-enhancement from slow light. The capability of ultralow threshold for nonlinearities will open a wide application space for the use of devices with standard, low cost lasers. The potential to demonstrate a low-threshold nonlinear optical device in the mid-infrared will be transformative for applications in sensing, spectroscopy, communications, medicine and more. The project is also designed to integrate research with education at both undergraduate and graduate levels, attract underrepresented minority students, and offer outreach to general public.
