Two‐Photon Absorption‐Free Ultrafast Optical Switching in Carbon‐Rich SixC1−x Microring

Ultrafast Kerr effect switching in near-infrared two-photon absorption (TPA)-free and free-carrier-absorption (FCA)-free nonstoichiometric silicon carbide (SixC1−x) microring waveguides is performed and investigated. With pulsed return-to-zero on–off-keying (PRZ-OOK) stream for the Si-rich SixC1−x-based all-optical switches, the inversely modulated probe reveals an asymmetric bit shape data extinction ratio (ER) of only 8.7 dB owing to the TPA + FCA effect. By eliminating the FCA effects in nearly stoichiometric SixC1−x microring waveguide, the high-speed wavelength conversion of a data stream with an ER of 14 dB can be observed when coinciding the probe wavelength with the transmission dip. Slightly deviating the probe wavelength from the transmission dip, most probe power still remains in bus waveguide to cause a strong FCA effect to degrade the ER down to 7.4 dB. A symmetrically converted and inverted data stream with high on/off extinction can be observed in the C-rich SixC1−x-based microring waveguide with completely suppressed trailing-edge response. To further approach the upper limitation on bandwidth, the wavelength-converted and sign-reversible PRZ-OOK data switching at a bit rate up to 12 Gbit s−1 can be obtained with similar ER of better than 20 dB, as contributed mainly by the enhanced Kerr nonlinearity in the C-rich SixC1−x.

[1]  Sailing He,et al.  Dispersion engineering of a silicon-nanocrystal-based slot waveguide for broadband wavelength conversion. , 2011, Applied optics.

[2]  P. Dumon,et al.  Silicon microring resonators , 2012 .

[3]  Chao Li,et al.  Dual-microring-resonator electro-optic logic switches on a silicon chip , 2008 .

[4]  V. Gudelis,et al.  Fast and slow carrier recombination transients in highly excited 4H- and 3C-SiC crystals at room temperature , 2010 .

[5]  G. Petite,et al.  Thermal stability of irradiation-induced point defects in cubic silicon carbide , 2009 .

[6]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Enhancing Optical Nonlinearity in a Nonstoichiometric SiN Waveguide for Cross-Wavelength All-Optical Data Processing , 2015 .

[7]  M. Lipson,et al.  All-optical control of light on a silicon chip , 2004, Nature.

[8]  M. Morse,et al.  High speed silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator. , 2005, Optics express.

[9]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  Micrometre-scale silicon electro-optic modulator , 2005, Nature.

[10]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Inhomogeneous linewidth broadening and radiative lifetime dispersion of size dependent direct bandgap radiation in Si quantum dot , 2012 .

[11]  M. Lipson,et al.  All-optical silicon modulators based on carrier injection by two-photon absorption , 2006, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[12]  F. Bechstedt,et al.  Second-harmonic generation in silicon carbide polytypes , 1999 .

[13]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Si-rich SiNx based Kerr switch enables optical data conversion up to 12 Gbit/s , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[14]  M. Paniccia,et al.  A high-speed silicon optical modulator based on a metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitor , 2004, Nature.

[15]  David J. Thomson,et al.  Silicon optical modulators , 2010 .

[16]  Michal Lipson,et al.  CMOS-compatible multiple-wavelength oscillator for on-chip optical interconnects , 2010 .

[17]  Pablo Sanchis,et al.  FWM in silicon nanocrystal-based sandwiched slot waveguides , 2010 .

[18]  W A Reed,et al.  Measurement of the nonlinear index of silica-core and dispersion-shifted fibers. , 1994, Optics letters.

[19]  Lorenzo Pavesi,et al.  Ultrafast all-optical switching in a silicon-nanocrystal-based silicon slot waveguide at telecom wavelengths. , 2010, Nano letters.

[20]  F. Rana,et al.  Emission of terahertz radiation from SiC , 2008, 0809.0756.

[21]  Bahram Jalali,et al.  All optical switching and continuum generation in silicon waveguides. , 2004, Optics express.

[22]  F. Demichelis,et al.  The influence of hydrogen dilution on the optoelectronic and structural properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide films , 1994 .

[23]  R. Soref,et al.  Electrooptical effects in silicon , 1987 .

[24]  Randolph Kirchain,et al.  A roadmap for nanophotonics , 2007 .

[25]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Enriching Si quantum dots in a Si-rich SiNx matrix for strong χ(3) optical nonlinearity , 2016 .

[26]  Cosimo Lacava,et al.  Ultra-high four wave mixing efficiency in slot waveguides with silicon nanocrystals , 2011 .

[27]  Mihaela Dinu,et al.  Third-order nonlinearities in silicon at telecom wavelengths , 2003 .

[28]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Self-aggregated Si quantum dots in amorphous Si-rich SiC , 2012 .

[29]  Michal Lipson,et al.  All-optical switching on a silicon chip. , 2004, Optics letters.

[30]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  All‐optical modulation based on silicon quantum dot doped SiOx:Si‐QD waveguide , 2014 .

[31]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Saturated small-signal gain of Si quantum dots embedded in SiO2/SiOx/SiO2 strip-loaded waveguide amplifier made on quartz , 2009 .

[32]  C. Rauscher,et al.  ANALYSIS OF PICOSECOND MID-INFRARED PULSES BY TWO-PHOTON ABSORPTION IN GERMANIUM , 1997 .

[33]  Qianfan Xu,et al.  All-optical logic based on silicon micro-ring resonators. , 2007, Optics express.

[34]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Si-Rich $\hbox{Si}_{\rm x}\hbox{C}_{1 - {\rm x}}$ Light-Emitting Diodes With Buried Si Quantum Dots , 2012, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[35]  R. Soref,et al.  Dispersion of nonresonant third-order nonlinearities in Silicon Carbide , 2017, Scientific Reports.

[36]  G. Guo,et al.  Second-harmonic generation and linear electro-optical coefficients of SiC polytypes and nanotubes , 2008, 0802.1314.

[37]  L. Burgess,et al.  Sensitive refractive index detection using a broad-band optical ring resonator. , 2012, Analytical chemistry.

[38]  Kazuhiro Ikeda,et al.  Group velocity dispersion and self phase modulation in silicon nitride waveguides , 2010 .

[39]  Gong-Ru Lin,et al.  Finite Silicon Atom Diffusion Induced Size Limitation on Self-Assembled Silicon Quantum Dots in Silicon-Rich Silicon Carbide , 2011 .

[40]  Siegfried Janz,et al.  Compact and low power thermo-optic switch using folded silicon waveguides. , 2009, Optics express.

[41]  R. Baets,et al.  A thin foil optical strain gage based on silicon-on-insulator microresonators , 2007, European Workshop on Optical Fibre Sensors.

[42]  Geert Morthier,et al.  Athermal Silicon-on-insulator ring resonators by overlaying a polymer cladding on narrowed waveguides. , 2009, Optics express.

[43]  Kazuhiro Ikeda,et al.  Thermal and Kerr nonlinear properties of plasma-deposited silicon nitride/ silicon dioxide waveguides. , 2008, Optics express.

[44]  Enhanced photon-induced carrier density in silicon-on-insulator via surface recombination suppression for increasing plasma dispersion effect , 2009 .