Pierre Dider, post-Doc at ETH Zürich, November 12th, 2026 at 10h, IES, Room 1.124
Lithium niobate is a versatile platform for classical and quantum photonic sensing, combining strong second-order nonlinearity, a pronounced Pockels effect, tight optical confinement, and a broad transparency window extending to approximately 4.5 µm. While integrated lithium niobate photonics is well established in the near-infrared, extending its capabilities into the mid-infrared opens new opportunities for sensing. We pursue two complementary approaches: developing devices that operate directly in the mid-infrared and using telecom light to generate mid-infrared radiation. For the first approach, we demonstrate a broadband, high-speed electro-optic Mach–Zehnder modulator with high extinction and efficient operation. For the second, we explore efficient conversion of telecom light through broadband difference-frequency generation in periodically poled lithium niobate, alongside electro-optic comb generation with a center wavelength tunable over several hundred nanometers and adjustable comb spacing. We also demonstrate on-chip dual-comb generation with a freely tunable relative frequency offset. Together, these efforts extend lithium niobate photonics into the mid-infrared, bringing on-chip light generation and electro-optic control to new sensing applications.
