ABSTRACT
Photon sources are fundamental components for any quantum photonic technology. The ability to generate high count-rate and low-noise correlated photon pairs via spontaneous parametric down-conversion using bulk crystals has been the cornerstone of modern quantum optics. However, future practical quantum technologies will require a scalable integration approach, and waveguide-based photon sources with high-count rate and low-noise characteristics will be an essential part of chip-based quantum technologies. Here, we demonstrate photon pair generation through spontaneous four-wave mixing in a silicon micro-ring resonator, reporting separately a maximum coincidence-to-accidental (CAR) ratio of 602 ± 37 (for a generation rate of 827kHz), and a maximum photon pair generation rate of 123 MHz ± 11 kHz (with a CAR value of 37). To overcome free-carrier related performance degradations we have investigated reverse biased p-i-n structures, demonstrating an improvement in the pair generation rate by a factor of up to 2 with negligible impact on CAR.
ABSTRACT
On-chip integration of III-V laser diodes and photodetectors with silicon nanowire waveguides is demonstrated. Through flip-chip bonding of GaInNAs/GaAs laser diodes directly onto the silicon substrate, efficient heat dissipation was realized and characteristic temperatures as high as 132K were achieved. Spot-size converters for the laser-to-waveguide coupling were used, with efficiencies greater than 60%. The photodetectors were fabricated by bonding of InGaAs/InP wafers directly to silicon waveguides and formation of metal-semiconductor-metal structures, giving responsivities as high as 0.74 A/W. Both laser diode and the photodetector were integrated with a single silicon waveguide to demonstrate a complete on-chip optical transmission link.
