Optical nonlinearities in high-confinement silicon carbide waveguides.

We demonstrate strong nonlinearities of n2=8.6±1.1×10(-15)  cm2 W(-1) in single-crystal silicon carbide (SiC) at a wavelength of 2360 nm.

Effects of multiphoton absorption on parametric comb generation in silicon microresonators.

We investigate theoretically the parametric frequency comb generation in silicon microresonators at telecom and mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths in the presence of multiphoton absorption and free-carrier effects using a modified Lugiato-Lefever model. We show that parametric oscillation may occur at MIR wavelengths, provided that the free-carrier lifetime is sufficiently short or the optical pump power is sufficiently low, but is inhibited at telecom wavelengths. In addition, we propose an etchless, air-clad silicon microresonator that enables an octave-spanning frequency comb in a completely passive device.

Silicon-chip mid-infrared frequency comb generation.

Optical frequency combs are a revolutionary light source for high-precision spectroscopy because of their narrow linewidths and precise frequency spacing. Generation of such combs in the mid-infrared spectral region (2-20 μm) is important for molecular gas detection owing to the presence of a large number of absorption lines in this wavelength regime. Microresonator-based frequency comb sources can provide a compact and robust platform for comb generation that can operate with relatively low optical powers.

Octave-spanning mid-infrared supercontinuum generation in silicon nanowaveguides.

We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of octave-spanning supercontinuum generation (SCG) on a silicon chip, spanning from the telecommunications c-band near 1.5 μm to the mid-infrared region beyond 3.6 μm.

Broadband parametric frequency comb generation with a 1-μm pump source.

We report the first experimental demonstration of broadband frequency comb generation from a single-frequency pump laser at 1-μm using parametric oscillation in a high-Q silicon-nitride ring resonator. The resonator dispersion is engineered to have a broad anomalous group velocity dispersion region near the pump wavelength for efficient parametric four-wave mixing. The comb spans 55 THz with a 230-GHz free spectral range.

Wavelength conversion and unicast of 10-Gb/s data spanning up to 700 nm using a silicon nanowaveguide.

We report extremely large probe-idler separation wavelength conversion (545 nm) and unicast (700 nm) of 10-Gb/s data signals using a dispersion-engineered silicon nanowaveguide. Dispersion-engineered phase matching in the device provides a continuous four-wave-mixing efficiency 3-dB bandwidth exceeding 800 nm. We report the first data validation of wavelength conversion (data modulated probe) and unicast (data modulated pump) of 10-Gb/s data with probe-idler separations spanning 60 nm up to 700 nm accompanied with sensitivity gain in a single device.

Simultaneous wavelength conversion of ASK and DPSK signals based on four-wave-mixing in dispersion engineered silicon waveguides.

We experimentally demonstrate four-wave-mixing (FWM)-based continuous wavelength conversion of optical differential-phase-shift-keyed (DPSK) signals with large wavelength conversion ranges as well as simultaneous wavelength conversion of dual-wavelength channels with mixed modulation formats in 1.1-cm-long dispersion-engineered silicon waveguides. We first validate up to 100-nm wavelength conversion range for 10-Gb/s DPSK signals, showcasing the capability to perform phase-preserving operations at high bit rates in chip-scale devices over wide conversion ranges.

Continuous-wave mid-infrared frequency conversion in silicon nanowaveguides.

We report the first demonstration of cw wavelength conversion from the telecommunications band to the mid-IR (MIR) region via four-wave mixing in silicon nanowaveguides. We measure a parametric bandwidth of 748 nm by converting a 1636 nm signal to produce a 2384 nm idler and show continuously tunable wavelength conversion from 1792 to 2116 nm. This report indicates that the advantages of silicon photonics may be leveraged to create devices for a large range of MIR applications that require cw operation.