Imaging of Photonic Crystal Localized Modes through Third-Harmonic Generation

Abstract

We demonstrate high-spatial resolution imaging of localized cavity modes through third-harmonic frequency conversion. The experiments are performed with a III-nitride-on-silicon photonic platform. The resonant cavities are formed within suspended two-dimensional photonic crystals and are excited with a continuous-wave excitation around 1550 nm. The III-nitride materials (GaN and AlN) are transparent for both pump and harmonics. The third-harmonic nonlinear process allows one to indirectly observe the fundamental confined cavity mode with spatial profiles equivalent to those usually obtained by local probe microscopy techniques such as scanning near-field optical microscopy. An excellent agreement is obtained between the measured polarization-resolved third-harmonic emission patterns and those calculated through the third-order nonlinear polarization. We show that the spatial profiles of the radiated patterns are strongly dependent on defocusing, thus highlighting the strong sensitivity of the imaging.