Multi-frequency solitons in commensurate-incommensurate photonic moir\'e lattices

Abstract

We predict that photonic moir\'e patterns created by two mutually twisted periodic sublattices in quadratic nonlinear media allow the formation of parametric solitons under conditions that are strongly impacted by the geometry of the pattern. The question addressed here is how the geometry affects the joint trapping of multiple parametrically-coupled waves into a single soliton state. We show that above the localization-delocalization transition the threshold power for soliton excitation is drastically reduced relative to uniform media. Also, the geometry of the moir\'e pattern shifts the condition for phase-matching between the waves to the value that matches the edges of the eigenmode bands, thereby shifting the properties of all soliton families. Moreover, the phase-mismatch bandwidth for soliton generation is dramatically broadened in the moir\'e patterns relative to latticeless structures.