Ultra-silicon-rich nitride devices for high nonlinear figure of merit optical signal processing

CMOS nonlinear platforms are desirable for their ease of integration with CMOS electronics and large-scale manufacturability. A continuum of CMOS materials spanning from silicon dioxide to amorphous silicon exist. We have developed ultra-silicon-rich nitride possesses a large linear and nonlinear refractive index while still maintaining a sufficiently large bandgap to preclude two photon absorption at the telecommunications wavelength. We discuss recent developments of nonlinear optical signal processing leveraging the ultra-silicon-rich nitride platform. Optical parametric gain of up to 42.5dB is demonstrated, as well as supercontinuum generation. Enhanced optical nonlinearity using photonic crystal waveguides is also demonstrated, with the slow light effect enabling a nonlinear parameter of 1.97 × 104 (Wm)−1.