All optical switching and continuum generation in silicon waveguides

Boyraz, Özdal; Koonath, P.; Raghunathan, Varun; Jalali, Bahram

doi:10.1364/opex.12.004094

Cited by 232 publications

(220 citation statements)

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“…These features enable efficient nonlinear interaction of optical waves at relatively low power levels inside a short SOI waveguide (<5 cm long). For this reason, considerable effort has been directed in recent years toward investigating the nonlinear phenomena such as self-phase modulation (SPM) [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23], cross-phase modulation (XPM) [14,[24][25][26], stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) , and four-wave mixing (FWM) [61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79]. All of these nonlinear effects are currently being explored to realize a variety of optical functions on the chip scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications

Lin¹,

Painter²,

Agrawal³

2007

Opt. Express

856

699

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Several kinds of nonlinear optical effects have been observed in recent years using silicon waveguides, and their device applications are attracting considerable attention. In this review, we provide a unified theoretical platform that not only can be used for understanding the underlying physics but should also provide guidance toward new and useful applications. We begin with a description of the third-order nonlinearity of silicon and consider the tensorial nature of both the electronic and Raman contributions. The generation of free carriers through two-photon absorption and their impact on various nonlinear phenomena is included fully within the theory presented here. We derive a general propagation equation in the frequency domain and show how it leads to a generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation when it is converted to the time domain. We use this equation to study propagation of ultrashort optical pulses in the presence of self-phase modulation and show the possibility of soliton formation and supercontinuum generation. The nonlinear phenomena of cross-phase modulation and stimulated Raman scattering are discussed next with emphasis on the impact of free carriers on Raman amplification and lasing. We also consider the four-wave mixing process for both continuous-wave and pulsed pumping and discuss the conditions under which parametric amplification and wavelength conversion can be realized with net gain in the telecommunication band. 1678-1687 (2006). 4. R. A. Soref, S. J. Emelett, and W. R. Buchwald, "Silicon waveguided components for the long-wave infrared region," J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Opt. 8, 840-848 (2006). 5. M. Dinu, F. Quochi, and H. Garcia, "Third-order nonlinearities in silicon at telecom wavelengths," Appl. Phys.Lett. 82, 2954-2956 (2003). 6. R. Claps, D. Dimitropoulos, V. Raghunathan, Y. Han, and B. Jalali, "Observation of stimulated Raman amplification in silicon waveguides," Opt. Express 11, 1731-1739 (2003). 7. H. K. Tsang, C. S. Wong, T. K. Liang, I. E. Day, S. W. Roberts, A. Harpin, J. Drake, and M. Asghari, "Optical dispersion, two-photon absorption, and self-phase modulation in silicon waveguides at 1.5 μm wavelength," Appl. Phys. Lett. 80, 416-418 (2002 3685-3697 (1973). 109. T. R. Hart, R. L. Aggarwal, and B. Lax, "Temperature dependence of Raman scattering in silicon," Phys. Rev. B 1, 638-642 (1970). 110. A. Zwick and R. Carles, "Multiple-order Raman scattering in crystalline and amorphous silicon," Phys. Rev. B 48, 6024-6032 (1993). 111. R. Loudon, "The Raman effect in crystals," Adv. Phys. 50, 813-864 (2001). 112. J. R. Sandercock, "Brillouin-scattering measurements on silicon and germanium," Phys. Rev. Lett. 28, 237-240 (1972). 113. M. Dinu, "Dispersion of phonon-assisted nonresonant third-order nonlinearities," IEEE J. Quantum Electron.39, 1498-1503 (2003).

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications

Lin¹,

Painter²,

Agrawal³

2007

Opt. Express

856

699

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“…Elsewhere there is also continued interest in optical switching schemes based on classical mechanisms for interferometric switching, in either Mach-Zehnder [20][21][22][23][24] or Sagnac 25,26 configurations, engaging optical phase shifts to provide constructive or destructive interference-many of these ͑and other͒ processes are detailed in a recent review by Wada. 27 Beyond the more widely discussed methods, a number of other concepts repeatedly resurface in the primary literature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optically controlled resonance energy transfer: Mechanism and configuration for all-optical switching

Bradshaw

Andrews

2008

The Journal of Chemical Physics

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In a molecular system of energy donors and acceptors, resonance energy transfer is the primary mechanism by means of which electronic energy is redistributed between molecules, following the excitation of a donor. Given a suitable geometric configuration it is possible to completely inhibit this energy transfer in such a way that it can only be activated by application of an off-resonant laser beam: this is the principle of optically controlled resonance energy transfer, the basis for an all-optical switch. This paper begins with an investigation of optically controlled energy transfer between a single donor and acceptor molecule, identifying the symmetry and structural constraints and analyzing in detail the dependence on molecular energy level positioning. Spatially correlated donor and acceptor arrays with linear, square, and hexagonally structured arrangements are then assessed as potential configurations for all-optical switching. Built on quantum electrodynamical principles the concept of transfer fidelity, a parameter quantifying the efficiency of energy transportation, is introduced and defined. Results are explored by employing numerical simulations and graphical analysis. Finally, a discussion focuses on the advantages of such energy transfer based processes over all-optical switching of other proposed forms.

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“…These Si-based components offer the benefits of low cost (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductorcompatible large-scale-fabrication processes) and low power consumption. However, at the relevant wavelength region around 1.5 μm, Kerr-based spectral broadening or self-phase modulation (SPM) is accompanied by an orchestra of different nonlinear phenomena arising from the semiconductor carrier dynamics [5][6][7]. Specifically we mention the absorption and dispersion of free carriers produced by two-photon absorption (TPA), which are not present in conventional silica-based devices.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral broadening enhancement in silicon waveguides through pulse shaping

et al. 2012

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Spectral broadening in silicon waveguides is usually inhibited at telecom wavelengths due to some adverse effects related to semiconductor dynamics, namely, two-photon and free-carrier absorption (FCA). In this Letter, our numerical simulations show that it is possible to achieve a significant enhancement in spectral broadening when we properly preshape the input pulse to reduce the impact of FCA on spectral broadening. Our analysis suggests that the use of input pulses with the correct skewness and power level is crucial for this achievement. © 2012 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 130.4310, 190.4360, 190.4390. Nowadays, continuous advances in nanophotonics technologies have spurred on interest in the study of silicon-based optical materials [1]. Strong confinement of light in nanoengineered silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides results in a huge effective nonlinearity and the ability for dispersion engineering (see, e.g., [2,3]). These achievements have opened up the possibility of performing previously demonstrated signal processing functionalities (mainly based in nonlinear kilometric fibers) at chip scale with relatively low optical power [4]. These Si-based components offer the benefits of low cost (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductorcompatible large-scale-fabrication processes) and low power consumption. However, at the relevant wavelength region around 1.5 μm, Kerr-based spectral broadening or self-phase modulation (SPM) is accompanied by an orchestra of different nonlinear phenomena arising from the semiconductor carrier dynamics [5][6][7]. Specifically we mention the absorption and dispersion of free carriers produced by two-photon absorption (TPA), which are not present in conventional silica-based devices. The net effect results in a depletion of the achievable spectral broadening for a Gaussian input pulse in comparison with the case when only SPM is acting [8][9][10].Additionally, the phenomenon under study is extremely sensitive to the input pulse characteristics due to the inherent nonlinear nature of the spectral broadening. In fact, up to some extent, pulse shaping techniques have demonstrated to be effective in controlling the nonlinear broadening in photonic crystal fibers [11,12] and other nonlinear materials [13][14][15], using both single-pass [15] and self-learning adaptive configurations [11][12][13][14]. Besides, these techniques offer valuable insight in understanding the pulse dynamics through propagation [11,16]. In this Letter, we show that the proper manipulation of the pulse phase enhances spectral broadening even in the presence of TPA and free-carrier absorption (FCA).Let us remind the reader that the dynamics of an optical pulse propagating in an SOI nanowaveguide can be described in mathematical terms by [9](1)where A is the electric-field envelope, ν 0 represents the carrier frequency, β 2 stands for the group velocity dispersion (GVD) parameter, n 2 is the Kerr coefficient, A eff is the effective area of the waveguide, γ 0 denotes the nonlinear coefficient of t...

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All optical switching and continuum generation in silicon waveguides

Cited by 232 publications

References 24 publications

Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications

Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications

Optically controlled resonance energy transfer: Mechanism and configuration for all-optical switching

Spectral broadening enhancement in silicon waveguides through pulse shaping

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