Two-spatial-mode parametric amplifier in lithium niobate waveguides with asymmetric Y junctions

For optical parametric amplifiers in proton-exchange waveguide devices reported to date, both the signal and the idler photons are in the TM00 mode, causing difficulty in distinguishing signal from idler. We report a two-mode optical parametric amplifier. The key components, asymmetric Y junctions, successfully launch the pump wave in a pure TM10 mode and separate the signal and the idler in the TM10 and TM00 modes with a power ratio of as much as 27.5 dB. With high parametric gain, optical parametric generation with a threshold of 300 pJ/pulse was demonstrated for 1.8 ps long pump pulses near 780 nm. These periodically poled lithium niobate waveguides are efficient integrable photon sources.