CMOS-compatible integrated optical hyper-parametric oscillator
TL;DR: In this article, a fully integrated, CMOS-compatible, multiple-wavelength source with high differential slope efficiency at only a few tens of milliwatts of continuous-wave power is presented.
Abstract: Integrated multiple-wavelength laser sources, critical for important applications such as high-precision broadband sensing and spectroscopy1, molecular fingerprinting2, optical clocks3 and attosecond physics4, have recently been demonstrated in silica and single-crystal microtoroid resonators using parametric gain2,5,6. However, for applications in telecommunications7 and optical interconnects8, analogous devices compatible with a fully integrated platform9 do not yet exist. Here, we report a fully integrated, CMOS-compatible, multiple-wavelength source. We achieve optical ‘hyper-parametric’ oscillation in a high-index silica-glass microring resonator10 with a differential slope efficiency above threshold of 7.4% for a single oscillating mode, a continuous-wave threshold power as low as 54 mW, and a controllable range of frequency spacing from 200 GHz to more than 6 THz. The low loss, design flexibility and CMOS compatibility of this device will enable the creation of multiple-wavelength sources for telecommunications, computing, sensing, metrology and other areas. Through optical ‘hyper-parametric’ oscillation in a high-index silica glass microring resonator, scientists demonstrate a fully integrated CMOS-compatible low-loss multiple-wavelength source that has high differential slope efficiency at only a few tens of milliwatts of continuous-wave power. The achievement has significant implications for telecommunications and on-chip optical interconnects in computers.
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TL;DR: A new optical frequency comb generation principle has emerged that uses parametric frequency conversion in high resonance quality factor (Q) microresonators, permitting an increased number of comb applications, such as in astronomy, microwave photonics, or telecommunications.
Abstract: The series of precisely spaced, sharp spectral lines that form an optical frequency comb is enabling unprecedented measurement capabilities and new applications in a wide range of topics that include precision spectroscopy, atomic clocks, ultracold gases, and molecular fingerprinting. A new optical frequency comb generation principle has emerged that uses parametric frequency conversion in high resonance quality factor (Q) microresonators. This approach provides access to high repetition rates in the range of 10 to 1000 gigahertz through compact, chip-scale integration, permitting an increased number of comb applications, such as in astronomy, microwave photonics, or telecommunications. We review this emerging area and discuss opportunities that it presents for novel technologies as well as for fundamental science.
1,660 citations
TL;DR: In this article, temporal dissipative solitons are observed in a nonlinear, high-finesse, optical microresonator driven by a continuous-wave laser, enabling ultrashort pulses to be generated in spectral regimes lacking broadband laser gain media and saturable absorbers.
Abstract: Temporal dissipative solitons are observed in a nonlinear, high-finesse, optical microresonator driven by a continuous-wave laser. This approach enables ultrashort pulses to be generated in spectral regimes lacking broadband laser gain media and saturable absorbers, making it potentially useful for applications in broadband spectroscopy, telecommunications, astronomy and low-phase-noise microwave generation.
1,602 citations
Cites background from "CMOS-compatible integrated optical ..."
...In combination with chip-scale[11, 12] integration this opens the route towards compact, stable and low cost ultra-short pulse sources[2], which can also operate in wavelength regimes (such as the mid-infrared[27]), where broadband laser gain media do not exist....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review recent progress in non-silicon CMOS-compatible platforms for nonlinear optics, with a focus on Si3N4 and Hydex®.
Abstract: Nonlinear photonic chips can generate and process signals all-optically with far superior performance to that possible electronically — particularly with respect to speed. Although silicon-on-insulator has been the leading platform for nonlinear optics, its high two-photon absorption at telecommunication wavelengths poses a fundamental limitation. We review recent progress in non-silicon CMOS-compatible platforms for nonlinear optics, with a focus on Si3N4 and Hydex®. These material systems have opened up many new capabilities such as on-chip optical frequency comb generation and ultrafast optical pulse generation and measurement. We highlight their potential future impact as well as the challenges to achieving practical solutions for many key applications. This article reviews recent progress in the use of silicon nitride and Hydex as non-silicon-based CMOS-compatible platforms for nonlinear optics. New capabilities such as on-chip optical frequency comb generation, ultrafast optical pulse generation and measurement using these materials, and their potential future impact and challenges are covered.
1,218 citations
TL;DR: The development of microresonator-generated frequency combs is reviewed to map out how understanding and control of their generation is providing a new basis for precision technology and establish a nascent research field at the interface of soliton physics, frequency metrology, and integrated photonics.
Abstract: The development of compact, chip-scale optical frequency comb sources (microcombs) based on parametric frequency conversion in microresonators has seen applications in terabit optical coherent communications, atomic clocks, ultrafast distance measurements, dual-comb spectroscopy, and the calibration of astophysical spectrometers and have enabled the creation of photonic-chip integrated frequency synthesizers. Underlying these recent advances has been the observation of temporal dissipative Kerr solitons in microresonators, which represent self-enforcing, stationary, and localized solutions of a damped, driven, and detuned nonlinear Schrodinger equation, which was first introduced to describe spatial self-organization phenomena. The generation of dissipative Kerr solitons provide a mechanism by which coherent optical combs with bandwidth exceeding one octave can be synthesized and have given rise to a host of phenomena, such as the Stokes soliton, soliton crystals, soliton switching, or dispersive waves. Soliton microcombs are compact, are compatible with wafer-scale processing, operate at low power, can operate with gigahertz to terahertz line spacing, and can enable the implementation of frequency combs in remote and mobile environments outside the laboratory environment, on Earth, airborne, or in outer space.
997 citations
Cites background from "CMOS-compatible integrated optical ..."
...substantially. In the subsequent years, Kerr-combs have been demonstrated in a variety of platforms, including crystalline resonators[16], CMOS compatible platforms such as sili3 con nitride (Si 3N 4)[17, 18, 19], Hydex glass[20], as well as aluminum nitride [21] or diamond[22]. In addition to allowing for miniaturization and chip-scale integration of frequency comb oscillators, microresonator based Kerr-comb...
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Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this article, the discovery and stable generation of temporal dissipative Kerr solitons in continuous-wave (CW) laser driven optical microresonators is described and analytical and numerical descriptions are presented that do not only reproduce qualitative features but can also be used to accurately model and predict the characteristics of experimental systems.
Abstract: This chapter describes the discovery and stable generation of temporal dissipative Kerr solitons in continuous-wave (CW) laser driven optical microresonators. The experimental signatures as well as the temporal and spectral characteristics of this class of bright solitons are discussed. Moreover, analytical and numerical descriptions are presented that do not only reproduce qualitative features but can also be used to accurately model and predict the characteristics of experimental systems. Particular emphasis lies on temporal dissipative Kerr solitons with regard to optical frequency comb generation where they are of particular importance. Here, one example is spectral broadening and self-referencing enabled by the ultra-short pulsed nature of the solitons. Another example is dissipative Kerr soliton formation in integrated on-chip microresonators where the emission of a dispersive wave allows for the direct generation of unprecedentedly broadband and coherent soliton spectra with smooth spectral envelope.
754 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this article, the field of femtosecond pulse shaping is reviewed, and applications of pulse shaping to optical communications, biomedical optical imaging, high power laser amplifiers, quantum control, and laser-electron beam interactions are reviewed.
Abstract: We review the field of femtosecond pulse shaping, in which Fourier synthesis methods are used to generate nearly arbitrarily shaped ultrafast optical wave forms according to user specification. An emphasis is placed on programmable pulse shaping methods based on the use of spatial light modulators. After outlining the fundamental principles of pulse shaping, we then present a detailed discussion of pulse shaping using several different types of spatial light modulators. Finally, new research directions in pulse shaping, and applications of pulse shaping to optical communications, biomedical optical imaging, high power laser amplifiers, quantum control, and laser-electron beam interactions are reviewed.
2,051 citations
Additional excerpts
...83 nm, or >6 THz, is unprecedented and potentially extremely useful for applications where high repetition rates are important, such as optical waveform synthesi...
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TL;DR: The frequency comb generated by a femtosecond mode-locked laser is used and broadened to more than an optical octave in a photonic crystal fiber to realize a frequency chain that links a 10 MHz radio frequency reference phase-coherently in one step to the optical region.
Abstract: We have used the frequency comb generated by a femtosecond mode-locked laser and broadened to more than an optical octave in a photonic crystal fiber to realize a frequency chain that links a 10 MHz radio frequency reference phase-coherently in one step to the optical region. By comparison with a similar frequency chain we set an upper limit for the uncertainty of this new approach to 5. 1x10(-16). This opens the door for measurement and synthesis of virtually any optical frequency and is ready to revolutionize frequency metrology.
1,136 citations
Additional excerpts
...236" language="eng" relation="no" origsrc="yes"> Optical microcavities, capable of dramatically enhancing nonlinear processes, have been used to demonstrate multi-wavelength sources for scientific applications such as frequency comb generation for spectroscopy and metrolog...
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TL;DR: A great simplification in the long-standing problem of measuring optical frequencies in terms of the cesium primary standard is demonstrated, enabling us to measure the 282 THz frequency of an iodine-stabilized Nd:YAG laser directly in Terms of the microwave frequency that controls the comb spacing.
Abstract: We demonstrate a great simplification in the long-standing problem of measuring optical frequencies in terms of the cesium primary standard. An air-silica microstructure optical fiber broadens the frequency comb of a femtosecond laser to span the optical octave from 1064 to 532 nm, enabling us to measure the 282 THz frequency of an iodine-stabilized Nd:YAG laser directly in terms of the microwave frequency that controls the comb spacing. Additional measurements of established optical frequencies at 633 and 778 nm using the same femtosecond comb confirm the accepted uncertainties for these standards.
1,072 citations
TL;DR: This work demonstrates a micrometre-scale, nonlinear Raman source that has a highly efficient pump–signal conversion (higher than 35%) and pump thresholds nearly 1,000 times lower than shown before, which represents a route to compact, ultralow-threshold sources for numerous wavelength bands that are usually difficult to access.
Abstract: The ability to confine and store optical energy in small volumes has implications in fields ranging from cavity quantum electrodynamics to photonics. Of all cavity geometries, micrometre-sized dielectric spherical resonators are the best in terms of their ability to store energy for long periods of time within small volumes. In the sphere, light orbits near the surface, where long confinement times (high Q) effectively wrap a large interaction distance into a tiny volume. This characteristic makes such resonators uniquely suited for studies of nonlinear coupling of light with matter. Early work recognized these attributes through Raman excitation in microdroplets-but microdroplets have not been used in practical applications. Here we demonstrate a micrometre-scale, nonlinear Raman source that has a highly efficient pump-signal conversion (higher than 35%) and pump thresholds nearly 1,000 times lower than shown before. This represents a route to compact, ultralow-threshold sources for numerous wavelength bands that are usually difficult to access. Equally important, this system can provide a compact and simple building block for studying nonlinear optical effects and the quantum aspects of light.
1,060 citations
TL;DR: The experimental demonstration of Raman lasing in a compact, all-silicon, waveguide cavity on a single silicon chip represents an important step towards producing practical continuous-wave optical amplifiers and lasers that could be integrated with other optoelectronic components onto CMOS-compatible silicon chips.
Abstract: With the growing use of optoelectronics in information technology, manipulating light is almost as important as manipulating electrons. Unfortunately silicon, workhorse of modern microelectronics, is next to useless in optical applications. There has been a massive effort to overcome silicon's inadequacies, and ways of coaxing silicon to handle light are under development but a key component — the laser — has been problematic. Last year a silicon laser was produced, but it involved metres of optical fibre. Now workers in Intel's research labs have come up with an all-silicon laser on a single chip. The device is compact and readily integrated with other silicon components. The possibility of light generation and/or amplification in silicon has attracted a great deal of attention1 for silicon-based optoelectronic applications owing to the potential for forming inexpensive, monolithic integrated optical components. Because of its indirect bandgap, bulk silicon shows very inefficient band-to-band radiative electron–hole recombination. Light emission in silicon has thus focused on the use of silicon engineered materials such as nanocrystals2,3,4,5, Si/SiO2 superlattices6, erbium-doped silicon-rich oxides7,8,9,10, surface-textured bulk silicon11 and Si/SiGe quantum cascade structures12. Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) has recently been demonstrated as a mechanism to generate optical gain in planar silicon waveguide structures13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21. In fact, net optical gain in the range 2–11 dB due to SRS has been reported in centimetre-sized silicon waveguides using pulsed pumping18,19,20,21. Recently, a lasing experiment involving silicon as the gain medium by way of SRS was reported, where the ring laser cavity was formed by an 8-m-long optical fibre22. Here we report the experimental demonstration of Raman lasing in a compact, all-silicon, waveguide cavity on a single silicon chip. This demonstration represents an important step towards producing practical continuous-wave optical amplifiers and lasers that could be integrated with other optoelectronic components onto CMOS-compatible silicon chips.
850 citations
Additional excerpts
...Although important progress has been made with silicon Raman laser...
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