Ultra-broadband optical parametric amplification by tailoring the group-velocity dispersion of Bragg reflection waveguides

Abstract

The possibility of extending the signal-acceptance bandwidth for a non-degenerate optical parametric amplification process using a non-linear Bragg reflection waveguide (BRW) is explored. The strongly dispersive features of BRWs made up of semiconductors, such as GaN/AlxGa1−x N, are employed to maintain the phase-matching condition over a broad range of signal wavelengths. It is found that the signal-acceptance bandwidth could extend over 20 THz in the optical communication band (∼193 THz) which could facilitate simultaneous parametric amplification and wavelength conversion across the entire S–C–L band. Moreover, this idea could also find important applications in optical communication schemes involving ultra-short pulses. The broad bandwidth is essentially a direct consequence of appropriate phase- and group-velocity dispersion compensation by the idler mode in order to preserve the phase-matching condition over a broad spectral range. Since the idea exploits the dispersive features of Bragg reflection based geometries, the scheme could be implemented to realize broadband frequency conversion in any desired spectral region within the constraints imposed by the transparency of non-linear materials and the possibility of periodic poling.