A topological nonlinear parametric amplifier.

Topological boundary states are well localized eigenstates at the boundary between two different bulk topologies. As long as bulk topology is preserved, the topological boundary mode will endure. Here, we report topological nonlinear parametric amplification of light in a dimerized coupled waveguide system based on the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model with a domain wall. The good linear transmission properties of the topological waveguide arising from the strong localization of light to the topological boundary is demonstrated through successful high-speed transmission of 30 Gb/s non-return-to-zero and 56 Gb/s pulse amplitude 4-level data. The strong localization of a co-propagating pump and probe to the boundary waveguide is harnessed for efficient, low power optical parametric amplification and wavelength conversion. A nonlinear tuning mechanism is shown to induce chiral symmetry breaking in the topological waveguide, demonstrating a pathway in which Kerr nonlinearities may be applied to tune the topological boundary mode and control the transition to bulk states.

Optical characterization of deuterated silicon-rich nitride waveguides.

Chemical vapor deposition-based growth techniques allow flexible design of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) compatible materials. Here, we report the deuterated silicon-rich nitride films grown using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The linear and nonlinear properties of the films are characterized, and we experimentally confirm that the silicon-rich nitride films grown with SiD4 eliminates Si-H and N-H related absorption. The performance of identical waveguides for films grown with SiH4 and SiD4 are compared demonstrating a 2 dB/cm improvement in line with that observed in literature. Waveguides fabricated on the SRN:D film are further shown to possess a nonlinear parameter of 95 W-1 m-1, with the film exhibiting a linear and nonlinear refractive index of 2.46 and 9.8 [Formula: see text] 10-18 m2W-1 respectively.

Supercontinuum generation in a nonlinear ultra-silicon-rich nitride waveguide.

Supercontinuum generation is demonstrated in a 3-mm-long ultra-silicon-rich nitride (USRN) waveguide by launching 500 fs pulses centered at 1555 nm with a pulse energy of 17 pJ. The generated supercontinuum is experimentally characterized to possess a high spectral coherence, with an average |g12| exceeding 0.90 across the wavelength range of the coherence measurement (1260 nm to 1700 nm). Numerical simulations further indicate a high coherence over the full spectrum. The experimentally measured supercontinuum agrees well with the theoretical simulations based on the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The generated broadband spectra using 500 fs pulses possessing high spectral coherence provide a promising route for CMOS-compatible light sources for self-referencing applications, metrology, and imaging.

Enhanced photonics devices based on low temperature plasma-deposited dichlorosilane-based ultra-silicon-rich nitride (Si8N).

Ultra-silicon-rich nitride with refractive indices ~ 3 possesses high nonlinear refractive index-100× higher than stoichiometric silicon nitride and presents absence of two-photon absorption, making it attractive to be used in nonlinear integrated optics at telecommunications wavelengths. Despite its excellent nonlinear properties, ultra-silicon-rich nitride photonics devices reported so far still have fairly low quality factors of [Formula: see text], which could be mainly attributed by the material absorption bonds. Here, we report low temperature plasma-deposited dichlorosilane-based ultra-silicon-rich nitride (Si8N) with lower material absorption bonds, and ~ 2.5× higher quality factors compared to ultra-silicon-rich nitride conventionally prepared with silane-based chemistry. This material is found to be highly rich in silicon with refractive indices of ~ 3.12 at telecommunications wavelengths and atomic concentration ratio Si:N of ~ 8:1. The material morphology, surface roughness and binding energies are also investigated. Optically, the material absorption bonds are quantified and show an overall reduction. Ring resonators fabricated exhibit improved intrinsic quality factors [Formula: see text], ~ 2.5× higher compared to conventional silane-based ultra-silicon-rich nitride films. This enhanced quality factor from plasma-deposited dichlorosilane-based ultra-silicon-rich nitride signifies better photonics device performance using these films. A pathway has been opened up for further improved device performance of ultra-silicon-rich nitride photonics devices at material level tailored by choice of different chemistries.

High spectro-temporal compression on a nonlinear CMOS-chip.

Optical pulses are fundamentally defined by their temporal and spectral properties. The ability to control pulse properties allows practitioners to efficiently leverage them for advanced metrology, high speed optical communications and attosecond science. Here, we report 11× temporal compression of 5.8 ps pulses to 0.55 ps using a low power of 13.3 W. The result is accompanied by a significant increase in the pulse peak power by 9.4×. These results represent the strongest temporal compression demonstrated to date on a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) chip. In addition, we report the first demonstration of on-chip spectral compression, 3.0× spectral compression of 480 fs pulses, importantly while preserving the pulse energy. The strong compression achieved at low powers harnesses advanced on-chip device design, and the strong nonlinear properties of backend-CMOS compatible ultra-silicon-rich nitride, which possesses absence of two-photon absorption and 500× larger nonlinear parameter than in stoichiometric silicon nitride waveguides. The demonstrated work introduces an important new paradigm for spectro-temporal compression of optical pulses toward turn-key, on-chip integrated systems for all-optical pulse control.

Optical nonlinearities in ultra-silicon-rich nitride characterized using z-scan measurements.

The dispersive nonlinear refractive index of ultra-silicon-rich nitride, and its two-photon and three-photon absorption coefficients are measured in the wavelength range between 0.8 µm-1.6 µm, covering the O- to L - telecommunications bands. In the two-photon absorption range, the measured nonlinear coefficients are compared to theoretically calculated values with a simple parabolic band structure. Two-photon absorption is observed to exist only at wavelengths lower than 1.2 µm. The criterion for all-optical switching through the material is investigated and it is shown that ultra-silicon-rich nitride is a good material in the three-photon absorption region, which spans the entire O- to L- telecommunications bands.

Exploring High Refractive Index Silicon-Rich Nitride Films by Low-Temperature Inductively Coupled Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition and Applications for Integrated Waveguides.

Silicon-rich nitride films are developed and explored using an inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition system at low temperature of 250 °C with an ammonia-free gas chemistry. The refractive index of the developed silicon-rich nitride films can increase from 2.2 to 3.08 at 1550 nm wavelength while retaining a near-zero extinction coefficient when the amount of silane increases. Energy dispersive spectrum analysis gives the silicon to nitrogen ratio in the films. Atomic force microscopy shows a very smooth surface, with a surface roughness root-mean-square of 0.27 nm over a 3 µm × 3 µm area of the 300 nm thick film with a refractive index of 3.08. As an application example, the 300 nm thick silicon-rich nitride film is then patterned by electron beam lithography and etched using inductively coupled plasma system to form thin-film micro/nano waveguides, and the waveguide loss is characterized.