Nonlinear photonics in silicon-on-insulator nanostructures
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bath
Department Name: Physics
Abstract
Silicon based nano-photonics is becoming a prominent contender in the race for effective all-optical information processing - and is simultaneously becoming a fascinating arena for fundamental research. Integration of optical devices into microelectronic chips is now not only discussed by academic researchers, but is also included in the business plans of microelectronics giants such as Intel and IBM. One of the first practical applications of on-chip nanophotonics is likely to be compact optical processing of multifrequency data streams. Nano-sized silicon waveguides (photonic wires) and resonators offer a very attractive way of realizing photonic components on a chip. This is due to the large index contrast between silicon and air, so that light at a wavelength of 1550nm can be tightly confined for waveguide widths as small as 500 nm. Another widely-recorgnised advantage is the possibility of using well established and wide-spread complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The presence of a substantial ultrafast Kerr nonlinearity in Silicon nano-structures potentially allows devices to perform at the THz rates that will be required in near-future high-performance sub-systems. Nonlinearity and dispersion control are the key properties needed to develop all-optical processing devices such as modulators, switches, delay lines and amplifiers. They are also the key parameters to be controlled if we are to understand and explore the fundamental optical physics in these structures. The interplay between dispersion and nonlinearity leads to such effects as soliton formation and modulation instability, which will be essential for temporal control and spectral modification. One of the dreams of the optical soliton community has been a three dimensional photonic chip made of a nonlinear material where all the routing is done by means of the spatial solitons, which then serve as an instantly reconfigurable and flexible network of waveguides for transmission and processing of data by means of temporal solitons. The soliton effects in planar silicon chips proposed here are possibly as close as we can hope to get to this dream. The overall aims of the research programme are: to fabricate a range of silicon-on-insulator structures for observation of spatiotemporal solitons, frequency conversion, and spectral, temporal and spatial shaping of femtosecond pulses;bistability effects in cavity arrays; experimentally observe and model the above effects, develop their physical understanding; use the unique properties of silicon to observe new optical phenomena; ensure further scientific progress in the area of nonlinear nano-photonics.
Organisations
Publications
Milián C
(2011)
Nonlinear switching in arrays of semiconductor on metal photonic wires
in Applied Physics Letters
Skryabin D
(2010)
Surface-induced nonlinearity enhancement of TM modes in planar subwavelength waveguides
in Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Zhao X
(2013)
Dispersion of nonlinearity in subwavelength waveguides: derivation of pulse propagation equation and frequency conversion effects
in Journal of the Optical Society of America B
Skryabin D. V.
(2011)
Surface-induced nonlinearity enhancement of TM modes in planar subwavelength waveguides
in JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS
Zhao Xuesong
(2013)
Dispersion of nonlinearity in subwavelength waveguides: derivation of pulse propagation equation and frequency conversion effects
in JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA B-OPTICAL PHYSICS
Marini A
(2011)
Stable spatial plasmon solitons in a dielectric-metal-dielectric geometry with gain and loss.
in Optics express
Ding W.
(2010)
Time and frequency domain measurements of solitons in subwavelength silicon waveguides using a cross-correlation technique
in OPTICS EXPRESS
Ding W
(2010)
Time and frequency domain measurements of solitons in subwavelength silicon waveguides using a cross-correlation technique.
in Optics express
Yulin AV
(2014)
Tuning resonant interaction of orthogonally polarized solitons and dispersive waves with the soliton power.
in Optics express
Gorbach AV
(2011)
Dispersion of nonlinearity and modulation instability in subwavelength semiconductor waveguides.
in Optics express
Benton CJ
(2009)
Coupling induced anomalous group velocity dispersion in nonlinear arrays of silicon photonic wires.
in Optics express
Milián C
(2014)
Soliton families and resonant radiation in a micro-ring resonator near zero group-velocity dispersion.
in Optics express
De Nobriga CE
(2010)
Supermode dispersion and waveguide-to-slot mode transition in arrays of silicon-on-insulator waveguides.
in Optics letters
Ding W.
(2012)
Modulational instability in a silicon-on-insulator directional coupler: role of the coupling-induced group velocity dispersion
in OPTICS LETTERS
De Nobriga Charles E.
(2010)
Supermode dispersion and waveguide-to-slot mode transition in arrays of silicon-on-insulator waveguides
in OPTICS LETTERS
Ding W
(2012)
Modulational instability in a silicon-on-insulator directional coupler: role of the coupling-induced group velocity dispersion.
in Optics letters
Marini A
(2011)
Surface-induced nonlinearity enhancement in subwavelength rod waveguides
in Physical Review A
Gorbach A
(2009)
Spatial solitons in periodic nanostructures
in Physical Review A
Gorbach A
(2010)
Spatiotemporal nonlinear optics in arrays of subwavelength waveguides
in Physical Review A
Description | Nonlinear silicon photonics will enable a new and profoundly powerful capability for processing data with light. This project has demonstrated several new and important nonlinear optical effects in a variety of silicon-on-insulator photonic structures. Specifically, the major outcomes are: - Numerical and experimental investigations of spatiotemporal nonlinear optical effects and soliton formation in arrays of sub-wavelength silicon waveguides - Design and characterisation of arrays of two strongly coupled silicon waveguides - Frequency conversion experiments in dispersion-engineered silicon-on-insulator directional couplers with enhanced nonlinear response |
Exploitation Route | The outcomes of the project provided a better understanding on new nonlinear optical effects in sub-wavelength waveguides and coupled arrays on silicon-on-insulator. These results will be beneficial to researchers exploring non-linear effects in photonic integrated circuits. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) |
URL | https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FG043906%2F1 |