Dispersion of silicon nonlinearities in the near infrared region

Lin, Qiang; Zhang, J.; Piredda, Giovanni; Boyd, Robert W.; Fauchet, Philippe M.; Agrawal, Govind P.

doi:10.1063/1.2750523

Cited by 220 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

153

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Unfortunately, there is often a lack of complete measurement data at a wavelength range of interest, and also measurement results from different groups could vary widely. For silicon, data from several sources are available [160,161]. A recently published review paper [133] shows a prediction of third-order nonlinear susceptibility χ , using the results from [133].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear Group IV photonics based on silicon and germanium: from near-infrared to mid-infrared

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Group IV photonics hold great potential for nonlinear applications in the near-and mid-infrared (IR) wavelength ranges, exhibiting strong nonlinearities in bulk materials, high index contrast, CMOS compatibility, and cost-effectiveness. In this paper, we review our recent numerical work on various types of silicon and germanium waveguides for octave-spanning ultrafast nonlinear applications. We discuss the material properties of silicon, silicon nitride, silicon nano-crystals, silica, germanium, and chalcogenide glasses including arsenic sulfide and arsenic selenide to use them for waveguide core, cladding and slot layer. The waveguides are analyzed and improved for four spectrum ranges from visible, near-IR to mid-IR, with material dispersion given by Sellmeier equations and wavelength-dependent nonlinear Kerr index taken into account. Broadband dispersion engineering is emphasized as a critical approach to achieving on-chip octavespanning nonlinear functions. These include octave-wide supercontinuum generation, ultrashort pulse compression to sub-cycle level, and mode-locked Kerr frequency comb generation based on few-cycle cavity solitons, which are potentially useful for next-generation optical communications, signal processing, imaging and sensing applications.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear Group IV photonics based on silicon and germanium: from near-infrared to mid-infrared

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…We note, however, that although our analysis above incorporates effects arising from linear losses (e.g., due to material absorption or radiation), it neglects important and detrimental sources of nonlinear losses in the telecom range, including two-photon and free-carrier absorption [86,87]. Techniques that mitigate the latter exist, e.g., reverse biasing [88], but in their absence it may be safer to operate in the spectral region below the half-band-gap of Si [78]. One possibility is to operate at λ c0 = 2.2 μm, where χ (3) ≈ 1.5×10 −18 m 2 /V 2 [78], leading to a = 627 nm, and approximately four-times larger P crit 0 ≈ 200 mW.…”

Section: Power Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our designs are based on a particular class of PhC nanobeam structures, depicted schematically in Figs an adjacent waveguide formed by the removal of holes on one side of the defect. We restrict our analysis to dielectric materials with high nonlinearities at near-infrared and midinfrared wavelengths [1], and in particular focus on undoped silicon, whose refractive index n ≈ 3.4 and Kerr susceptibility χ (3) ∼ 10 −18 m 2 /V 2 [78]. Before delving into the details of any particular design, we first describe the basic considerations required to achieve the desired high-efficiency characteristics.…”

Section: Fdtd Simulations and Nanobeam Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-efficiency degenerate four-wave mixing in triply resonant nanobeam cavities

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using a combination of temporal coupled-mode theory and nonlinear finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations, we study the nonlinear dynamics of all-resonant four-wave mixing processes and demonstrate the possibility of achieving high-efficiency limit cycles and steady states that lead to ≈100% depletion of the incident light at low input (critical) powers. Our analysis extends previous predictions to capture important effects associated with losses, self-and cross-phase modulation, and imperfect frequency matching (detuning) of the cavity frequencies. We find that maximum steady-state conversion is hypersensitive to frequency mismatch, resulting in high-efficiency limit cycles that arise from the presence of a homoclinic bifurcation in the solution phase space, but that a judicious choice of incident frequencies and input powers, in conjuction with self-phase and cross-phase modulation, can restore high-efficiency steady-state conversion even for large frequency mismatch. Assuming operation in the telecom range, we predict close to perfect quantum efficiencies at reasonably low ∼50 mW input powers in silicon micrometer-scale PhC nanobeam cavities.

show abstract

“…Using a cw probe signal to interrogate the modulation instability spectrum, we demonstrate parametric amplification > 40 dB with an on-chip gain bandwidth wider than 580 nm, as well as narrowband Raman-assisted peak gain > 50 dB. © 2011 Optical Society of America OCIS Codes: 130.4310, 190.4380, 190.4970 Two-photon absorption (TPA) in Si vanishes at wavelengths approaching λ = 2200 nm, while its nonlinear Kerr refractive index n2 stays comparatively constant [1,2]. Hence, the nonlinear figure of merit (FOM) (n2/βλ) increases dramatically near silicon's TPA threshold.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two-photon absorption (TPA) in Si vanishes at wavelengths approaching λ = 2200 nm, while its nonlinear Kerr refractive index n2 stays comparatively constant [1,2]. Hence, the nonlinear figure of merit (FOM) (n2/βλ) increases dramatically near silicon's TPA threshold.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

50 dB parametric on-chip gain in silicon photonic wires

Kuyken

Roelkens

et al. 2011

Opt. Lett.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Received Month X, XXXX; revised Month X, XXXX; accepted Month X, XXXX; posted Month X, XXXX (Doc. ID XXXXX); published Month X, XXXX A pulsed mid-infrared pump at λ = 2173 nm is used to demonstrate wideband optical parametric gain in a low-loss 2-cm long silicon photonic wire. Using dispersion engineering to obtain negative second-order (β 2 ) and positive fourth-order (β 4 ) dispersion, we generate broadband modulation instability and parametric fluorescence extending from 1911 nm -2486 nm. Using a cw probe signal to interrogate the modulation instability spectrum, we demonstrate parametric amplification > 40 dB with an on-chip gain bandwidth wider than 580 nm, as well as narrowband Raman-assisted peak gain > 50 dB. © 2011 Optical Society of America OCIS Codes: 130.4310, 190.4380, 190.4970 Two-photon absorption (TPA) in Si vanishes at wavelengths approaching λ = 2200 nm, while its nonlinear Kerr refractive index n2 stays comparatively constant [1,2]. Hence, the nonlinear figure of merit (FOM) (n2/βλ) increases dramatically near silicon's TPA threshold. The large intrinsic nonlinearity of Si, when patterned into high-index-contrast dispersion-engineered silicon photonic wires, produces an ideal platform for the exploration of highly efficient, broadband, coherent nonlinear optical processes [3,4]. This platform can serve as an ideal host for chip-scale mid-IR applications [5-8] including molecular spectroscopy, free-space communication, and environmental monitoring.Previously we reported a mid-IR optical parametric amplifier (OPA) with on-chip gain over a bandwidth of 220 nm in a 4-mm long silicon wire [5]. Using an improved Si wire design, we demonstrate here broadband mid-IR modulation instability (MI), having a bandwidth greater than 580 nm centered at a 2173 nm pump wavelength. The intense MI spectrum correlates with unprecedented values of on-chip parametric gain, exceeding 40 dB. Moreover, we demonstrate that on-chip gain can exceed 50 dB in narrow Raman-scatteringassisted bands.Our silicon wire is fabricated on a 200 mm silicon-oninsulator (SOI) wafer in a CMOS pilot line and is 2 cm long, with cross-sectional dimensions of 900 nm x 220 nm (inset Fig. 1(a)). The top and bottom cladding consist of air and a 2 µm buried oxide (BOX), respectively. The waveguide operates in the fundamental quasi-TE mode, and has propagation losses of < 2.8 dB/cm for λ = 2000 -2500 nm. These engineered waveguide dimensions produce a waveguide effective nonlinear parameter γ ~ 130 W -1 m -1 and anomalous dispersion conditions (β2 < 0) at wavelengths from 1800 -2400 nm, as plotted in Fig. 1(a). Furthermore, 4 th -order dispersion is small and positive (β4 > 0) within the same wavelength range, which is needed for achieving broadband phase matching.To achieve an efficient degenerate four-wave-mixing (FWM) process, i.e. two pump photons converted into one signal and one idler photon, 2ωp = ωs + ωi, the phase = (ks + ki) − 2kp, P is the input pump peak power and L is the waveguide length. Graphically, when the −∆kl curve falls...

show abstract

Dispersion of silicon nonlinearities in the near infrared region

Abstract: Solution-processed cavity and slow-light quantum electrodynamics in near-infrared silicon photonic crystals Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 131112 (2009); 10.1063/1.3238555 Cadmium telluride bulk crystal as an ultrafast nonlinear optical switch

Cited by 220 publications

References 19 publications

Nonlinear Group IV photonics based on silicon and germanium: from near-infrared to mid-infrared

Nonlinear Group IV photonics based on silicon and germanium: from near-infrared to mid-infrared

High-efficiency degenerate four-wave mixing in triply resonant nanobeam cavities

50 dB parametric on-chip gain in silicon photonic wires

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About