Showing papers on "Extinction ratio published in 2020"

Subvolt electro-optical modulator on thin-film lithium niobate and silicon nitride hybrid platform.

Abstract: A low voltage operation electro-optic modulator is critical for applications ranging from optical communications to an analog photonic link. This paper reports a hybrid silicon nitride and lithium niobate electro-optic Mach–Zehnder modulator that employs 3 dB multimode interference couplers for splitting and combining light. The presented amplitude modulator with an interaction region length of 2.4 cm demonstrates a DC half-wave voltage of only 0.875 V, which corresponds to a modulation efficiency per unit length of 2.11 V cm. The power extinction ratio of the fabricated device is approximately 30 dB, and the on-chip optical loss is about 5.4 dB.

Versatile on-chip light coupling and (de)multiplexing from arbitrary polarizations to controlled waveguide modes using an integrated dielectric metasurface

Abstract: Metasurfaces have found broad applicability in free-space optics, while its potential to tailor guided waves remains barely explored. By synergizing the Jones matrix model with generalized Snell’s law under the phase-matching condition, we propose a universal design strategy for versatile on-chip mode-selective coupling with polarization sensitivity, multiple working wavelengths, and high efficiency concurrently. The coupling direction, operation frequency, and excited mode type can be designed at will for arbitrary incident polarizations, outperforming previous technology that only works for specific polarizations and lacks versatile mode controllability. Here, using silicon-nanoantenna-patterned silicon-nitride photonic waveguides, we numerically demonstrate a set of chip-scale optical couplers around 1.55 μm, including mode-selective directional couplers with high coupling efficiency over 57% and directivity about 23 dB. Polarization and wavelength demultiplexer scenarios are also proposed with 67% maximum efficiency and an extinction ratio of 20 dB. Moreover, a chip-integrated twisted light generator, coupling free-space linear polarization into an optical vortex carrying 1ℏ orbital angular momentum (OAM), is also reported to validate the mode-control flexibility. This comprehensive method may motivate compact wavelength/polarization (de)multiplexers, multifunctional mode converters, on-chip OAM generators for photonic integrated circuits, and high-speed optical telecommunications.

Wavelength-selective 2 × 2 optical switch based on a Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 -assisted microring

Abstract: A novel wavelength-selective 2×2 optical switch based on a Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST)-assisted microring-resonator (MRR) is proposed. The present GST-assisted MRR consists of two access optical waveguides and an MRR coupled with a bent GST-loaded silicon photonic waveguide. The 2×2 optical switch is switched ON or OFF by modifying the GST state to be crystalline or amorphous. In particular, the microring waveguide and the bent GST-loaded waveguide are designed to satisfy the phase-matching condition when the GST is crystalline. As a result, the MRR becomes highly lossy and the resonance peak is depressed significantly. On the other hand, when it is off, there is little coupling due to the significant phase mismatching. Consequently, one has a low-loss transmission at the drop port for the resonance wavelength. In this paper, the simulation using the three-dimensional finite-difference method shows that the extinction ratio of the designed photonic switch is ∼20 dB at the resonance wavelength, while the excess losses at the through port and drop port are 0.9 dB and 2 dB. In particular, the resonance wavelength changes little between the ON and OFF states, which makes it suitable for multichannel wavelength-division-multiplexing systems.

550 W single frequency fiber amplifiers emitting at 1030 nm based on a tapered Yb-doped fiber.

Abstract: In this paper, we report a high power single frequency 1030 nm fiber laser with near-diffraction-limited beam quality based on a polarization-maintaining tapered Yb-doped fiber (T-YDF). The T-YDF has advantages of effectively suppressing stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) while maintaining good beam quality. As a result, a record output power of 379 W single frequency, linearly polarized, nearly single-mode fiber amplifier operating at 1030 nm is demonstrated. The polarization extinction ratio is as high as 16.3 dB, and the M2 is measured to be 1.12. Further, the dependence of the thermal-induced mode instability (TMI) threshold on the polarization state of an input signal laser is investigated for the first time. By changing the polarization state of the injected seed laser, the output power can increase to 550 W while the beam quality can be maintained well (M2=1.47). The slope efficiency of the whole amplifier is about 80%. No sign of SBS appears even at the highest output power and the further brightness scaling of both situations is limited by the TMI effect. To the best of our knowledge, this result is the highest output power of all-fiberized single frequency fiber amplifiers.

High-efficiency lithium niobate modulator for K band operation

Abstract: This paper reports a hybrid silicon nitride–lithium niobate electro-optic Mach–Zehnder-interferometer modulator that demonstrates overall improvements in terms of half-wave voltage, optical insertion loss, extinction ratio, and operational bandwidth. The fabricated device exhibits a DC half-wave voltage of ∼1.3 V, a static extinction ratio of ∼27 dB, an on-chip optical loss of ∼1.53 dB, and a 3 dB electro-optic bandwidth of 29 GHz. In addition, this device operates beyond the 3 dB bandwidth, where a half-wave voltage of 3 V is extracted at 40 GHz when the device is biased at quadrature. The modulator is realized by strip-loading thin-film lithium niobate with low-pressure chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride; this enables reduced on-chip losses and allows for a lengthened 2.4 cm long interaction region that is specifically engineered for broadband performance.

Proposal for an ultra-broadband polarization beam splitter using an anisotropy-engineered Mach-Zehnder interferometer on the x-cut lithium-niobate-on-insulator

Abstract: We propose and theoretically demonstrate an integrated polarization beam splitter on the x-cut lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) platform. The device is based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with an anisotropy-engineered multi-section phase shifter. The phase shift can be simultaneously controlled for the TE and TM polarizations by engineering the length and direction of the anisotropic LNOI waveguide. For TE polarization, the phase shift is −π/2, while for TM polarization, the phase shift is π/2. Thus, the incident TE and TM modes can be coupled into different output ports. The simulation results show an ultra-high polarization extinction ratio of ∼47.7 dB, a low excess loss of ∼0.9 dB and an ultra-broad working bandwidth of ∼200 nm. To the best of our knowledge, the proposed structure is the first integrated polarization beam splitter on the x-cut LNOI platform.

High Baud Rate All-Silicon Photonics Carrier Depletion Modulators

Abstract: We achieved high performance high speed silicon photonics carrier-depletion Mach-Zehnder modulation with commercial foundry by co-optimization of doping and device design assisted with an accurate electro-optical (EO) model. We demonstrated high performance IQ modulators operating at 85 Gbaud 16 QAM and 64 Gbaud 64 QAM with extinction ratio of over 25 dB. For the design of the high performance all-silicon carrier depletion modulator, we developed modeling and design tools to provide not only accuracy, but also efficiency in the simulation of distributed optical and electronic characteristics of travelling waveguides with different designs of optical and microwave waveguides under various doping conditions, which allow the co-design of velocity phase match between optical and microwave waveguides and the impedance match between microwave travelling waveguide and terminal impedance. Our experimental characterization test data agreed well with the model simulation data. More recently, with practical Nyquist filter and linear compensation in commercial arbitrary wave generator (AWG) and optical modulation analyzer (OMA), we demonstrated 100 Gbaud 32 QAM with an all-silicon IQ modulator, which has 6 dB electro-optical bandwidth of 50 GHz and BER achieving FEC threshold with a modern FEC, showing the potential for Tb/s applications.

High-Performance Nano-Sensing and Slow-Light Applications Based on Tunable Multiple Fano Resonances and EIT-Like Effects in Coupled Plasmonic Resonator System

Abstract: A basic plasmonic system, consisting of a stub metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguide coupled with a ring resonator, is presented to realize Fano resonance and electromagnetically induced transparency-like (EIT-like) effect, which are numerically calculated by the finite element method (FEM). Meanwhile, the formation mechanism of Fano resonance is analyzed according to numerical simulations. Besides, the coupled mode theory (CMT) and the standing wave theory are used for explaining the Fano and EIT-like resonances phenomenon. Based on this system, an inner ring cavity is connected to the ring resonator by a slot and another ring cavity is later introduced under the stub resonator in order to constitute a new coupled plasmonic resonator system, providing quadruple Fano resonances and double EIT-like responses finally. In addition, the Fano and EIT-like resonances can be independently tuned by adjusting the structural parameters, which makes the design of highly integrated photonic circuits more flexible. The main contribution of this paper is that the proposed structure has a relatively good sensitivity of 1600 nm/RIU and an ultra-high FOM value of $1.2\times 10^{6}$ as a refractive index nanosensor. Moreover, it can serve as an all-optical switch with a high on/off extinction ratio of about 43 dB. Additionally, its maximum group delay time and group index are about 1.49 ps and 221, indicating that the proposed system has a pretty good slow light effect. Therefore, the proposed structures are believed to have significant applications in high-performance nanosensors, switches, slow light devices and nonlinear areas in highly integrated plasmonic devices.

3 kW, 0.2 nm narrow linewidth linearly polarized all-fiber laser based on a compact MOPA structure

Abstract: In this work, we realize a high-power, narrow linewidth, linearly polarized laser output based on a compact all-fiber polarization maintaining (PM) master oscillator power amplifier. The seed is a fiber oscillator laser (FOL) with few-longitudinal-mode for spectral broadening suppression. The spectral broadening characteristics in the FOL seed and in the PM-amplifier with different pumping schemes are studied experimentally and theoretically. The effect of different types of fibers in the amplifier on spectral broadening is also analysed theoretically. Finally, we demonstrate a narrow linewidth linearly polarized all-fiber amplifier operating at the maximum output power of 3.08 kW with a 3 dB linewidth of 0.2 nm. The polarization extinction ratio is measured to be larger than 93.5% and the M2 maintains lower than 1.45 in the power scaling process. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest demonstrated output power for narrow linewidth linearly polarized all-fiber lasers with the charactristics of low cost and a compact structure.

On-chip sub-wavelength Bragg grating design based on novel low loss phase-change materials

Abstract: We propose a reconfigurable and non-volatile Bragg grating in the telecommunication C-band based on the combination of novel low-loss phase-change materials (specifically Ge2Sb2Se4Te1 and Sb2S3) with a silicon nitride platform. The Bragg grating is formed by arrayed cells of phase-change material, whose crystallisation fraction modifies the Bragg wavelength and extinction ratio. These devices could be used in integrated photonic circuits for optical communications applications in smart filters and Bragg mirrors and could also find use in tuneable ring resonators, Mach–Zehnder interferometers or frequency selectors for future laser on chip applications. In the case of Ge2Sb2Se4Te1, crystallisation produces a Bragg resonance shift up to ∼ 15 nm, accompanied with a large amplitude modulation (insertion loss of 22 dB). Using Sb2S3, low losses are presented in both states of the phase change material, obtaining a ∼ 7 nm red-shift in the Bragg wavelength. The gratings are evaluated for two period numbers, 100 and 200 periods. The number of periods determines the bandwidth and extinction ratio of the filters. Increasing the number of periods increases the extinction ratio and reflected power, also narrowing the bandwidth. This results in a trade-off between device size and performance. Finally, we combine both phase-change materials in a single Bragg grating to provide both frequency and amplitude modulation. A defect is introduced in the Sb2S3 Bragg grating, producing a high quality factor resonance (Q ∼ 104) which can be shifted by 7 nm via crystallisation. A GSST cell is then placed in the defect which can modulate the transmission amplitude from low loss to below -16 dB.

Sensitivity enhanced temperature sensor with serial tapered two-mode fibers based on the Vernier effect.

Abstract: A sensitivity enhanced temperature sensor with cascaded tapered two-mode fibers (TTMFs) based on the Vernier effect is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. It is confirmed that series connection exhibits higher extinction ratio than parallel one both by theory and experiments, which provides guidance for related experiments. In experiments, two TTMFs have the same single-mode fiber-TTMF-single-mode fiber configuration, while the free spectral ranges (FSRs) are chosen with slightly difference by modifying the parameters in the tapering process. Experimental results show that the proposed temperature sensor possesses sensitivity of -3.348 nm/°C in temperature measurement range from 25 °C to 60°C, 11.3 times sensitivity enhancement in comparison with single TTMF. Benefiting from advantages of high temperature sensitivity, simplicity of manufacture and long distance sensing, this novel sensitivity enhanced temperature sensor can be applied to various particular fields, such as oil wells, coal mines and so on.

Low-loss single-mode hybrid-lattice hollow-core photonic crystal fiber

Abstract: The remarkable recent demonstrations in ultralow loss Inhibited-Coupling (IC) hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HCPCFs) place them as serious candidates for the next-generation of long-haul fiber optics systems. A hindrance to this prospect, but also to short-haul applications such as micromachining, where stable and high-quality beam delivery is needed, is the challenge to design and fabricate an IC-guiding fiber that combines ultra-low loss, truly and robust single-modeness, and polarization-maintaining operation. Design solutions proposed up to now require a trade-off between low loss and truly single modeness. Here, we propose a novel concept of IC HCPCF for obtaining low-loss and effective single-mode operation. The fiber is endowed with a hybrid cladding composed of a Kagome-tubular lattice (HKT). This new concept of microstructured cladding allows to significantly reduce confinement loss and, at the same time, preserving a truly and robust single-mode operation. Experimental results show a HKT-IC-HCPCF with a minimum loss figure of 1.6 dB/km at 1050 nm and a higher-order modes extinction ratio as high as 47.0 dB for a 10 m long fiber. The robustness of the fiber single-modeness was tested by moving the fiber and varying the coupling conditions. The design proposed herein opens a new route for the accomplishment of HCPCFs that combine robust ultralow loss transmission and single-mode beam delivery and provides new insight into the understanding of IC guidance.

Inverse design of a single-step-etched ultracompact silicon polarization rotator.

Abstract: We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel ultracompact silicon polarization rotator based on equivalent asymmetric waveguide cross section in only single-step etching procedure for densely integrated on-chip mode-division multiplexing system. In the conventional mode hybridization scheme, the asymmetric waveguide cross section is employed to excite the hybridized modes to realize high performance polarization rotator with compact footprint and high polarization extinction ratio. However, the fabrication complexity severely restricts the potential application of asymmetric waveguide cross section. We use inverse-designed photonic-crystal-like subwavelength structure to realize an equivalent asymmetric waveguide cross section, which can be fabricated in only single-step etching process. Besides, a theory-assisted inverse design method based on a manually-set initial pattern is employed to optimize the device to improve design efficiency and device perform. The fabricated device exhibited high performance with a compact footprint of only 1.2 × 7.2 µm2, high extinction ratio (> 19 dB) and low insertion loss (< 0.7 dB) from 1530 to 1590 nm.

Optical Modulation in Hybrid Waveguide Based on Si-ITO Heterojunction

Abstract: An Optical modulator based on a hybrid optical waveguide made up of Silicon and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is proposed. The hybrid waveguide is created by the coupling of a leaky optical mode guided in silicon with ITO. The optical modulation is realized with the heterojunction between p-type silicon and n-type ITO. The presence of ITO causes electrical tuning in permittivity and in imaginary-part of the refractive index which provide a way to modulate the intensity of the guide optical mode. The device with Si-ITO heterojunction is fabricated to show intensity modulation at 1.55 μm wavelength. To achieve an efficient optical modulation the carrier concentration of ITO is optimized by depositing ITO on p-type Si wafer at different oxygen partial pressures using Ion assisted electro-beam deposition. The fabricated device exhibiting an extinction ratio of 7 dB for 1.7 mm long device at low voltage of −5 volts.

Photoelectric switch and triple-mode frequency modulator based on dual-PIT in the multilayer patterned graphene metamaterial.

Abstract: A multilayer patterned graphene metamaterial composed of rectangular graphene, square graphene, and X-shaped graphene is proposed to achieve dual plasmon-induced transparency (PIT) at terahertz frequency. The coupled mode theory calculations are highly consistent with the finite-difference time-domain numerical results. Interestingly, a photoelectric switch has been realized, whose extinction ratio and modulation degree of amplitude can be 7.77 dB and 83.3% with the insertion loss of 7.2%. In addition, any dips can be modulated by tuning the Fermi levels of three graphene layers with minor or ignorable changes of the other two dips. The modulation degrees of frequency are 8.0%, 7.4% and 11.7%, respectively, which can be used to design a triple-mode frequency modulator. Moreover, the group index of the multilayer structure can be as high as 150. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that a multifunctional device can be realized by the proposed structure.

Thermo-optic properties of silicon-rich silicon nitride for on-chip applications.

Abstract: We demonstrate the thermo-optic properties of silicon-rich silicon nitride (SRN) films deposited using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Shifts in the spectral response of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) as a function of temperature were used to characterize the thermo-optic coefficients of silicon nitride films with varying silicon contents. A clear relation is demonstrated between the silicon content and the exhibited thermo-optic coefficient in silicon nitride films, with the highest achievable coefficient being as high as (1.65±0.08) ×10-4 K-1. Furthermore, we realize an SRN multi-mode interferometer (MMI) based thermo-optic switch with over 20 dB extinction ratio and total power consumption for two-port switching of 50 mW.

Mid-infrared hybrid Si/VO2 modulator electrically driven by graphene electrodes

Abstract: Silicon photonic platforms are of significant interest for a variety of applications that operate in the mid-infrared regime. However, the realization of efficient mid-IR modulators, key components in any integrated optics platform, is still a challenging topic. Here, an ultra-compact high-speed hybrid Si/VO2 modulator operating at a mid-IR wavelength of 3.8 μm is presented. Electrical properties of graphene are employed to achieve a reversible insulating-metal phase transition in VO2 by electrical actuation. The thermal characteristics of graphene are employed to improve the response time of the VO2 phase transition through speed up heating and dissipation processes, thus enhancing the modulation speed. Optical and thermal simulations show an extinction ratio of 4.4 dB/μm, an insertion loss of 0.1 dB/μm, and high modulation speed of 23 ns. A larger modulation depth as high as 10 dB/μm can be achieved at the cost of lower modulation speed.

Mode hybridization analysis in thin film lithium niobate strip multimode waveguides.

Abstract: Mode hybridization phenomenon in air-cladded X-cut Y-propagating and Z-propagating thin film lithium niobate strip multimode waveguides is numerically studied and a mathematical relation between structural parameters leading to hybrid modes is formulated. Dependence of hybrid modes on waveguide dimensions, sidewall angles and wavelength is also analyzed. The results obtained are used to design lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) taper for converting fundamental TM mode to higher order TE mode, and an optimum length for achieving a high conversion efficiency of 99.5% is evaluated. Birefringent Y-propagating LN and isotropic Z-propagating LN tapers are compared in terms of length, figures of merit, and fabrication tolerance. Tapers exhibit a broad bandwidth of 200 nm with an extinction ratio less than - 18 dB. The results of mode hybridization analysis are useful in design optimization of adiabatic tapers, tunable time delays, optical interconnects, mode converters and demultiplexers for mode division multiplexing (MDM) applications.

Multi-band MIM refractive index biosensor based on Ag-air grating with equivalent circuit and T-matrix methods in near-infrared region.

Abstract: In this paper, a multi-band metal-insulator-metal (MIM) perfect absorber with refractive index sensing capability has been investigated in near-infrared region. The proposed structure has been studied for biomedical applications such as detection of solution of glucose in water, diagnosis of different stages of malaria infection, bacillus bacteria and cancer cells. The MIM configuration improves the sensing parameters of the biosensor due to the good interaction with the analyte. The high sensitivity and figure of merit of 2000 nm/RIU and 100 RIU−1 have been achieved, respectively. Also, the Ag-air grating in the suggested plasmonic sensor helps the localized surface plasmons excitation and makes the structure sensitive to the incident lightwave polarization. Therefore, the presented biosensor behaves like a polarization switch with the high extinction ratio and fast response time of 25.15 dB and 100 fs, respectively. The methods of equivalent circuit model and transmission matrix have been utilized to verify the simulation results, as a new challenge in near-infrared region. The new idea of multi-application plasmonic devices, the feasibility of fabrication for the presented structure and utilizing mentioned analytical methods in near-infrared region could pave the way for the future of plasmonic structures.

2.5 kW Narrow Linewidth Linearly Polarized All-Fiber MOPA With Cascaded Phase-Modulation to Suppress SBS Induced Self-Pulsing

Abstract: As a major limitation for power scaling of high power narrow linewidth fiber master oscillator power amplifiers (MOPAs), Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) induced self-pulsing in polarization maintaining (PM) fiber amplifiers is well characterized and analyzed in this paper by comparing different white noise signal (WNS) phase-modulated modes in experiments. It is found that the self-pulsing effect is not observed in the PM-amplifier with single-frequency laser seed injection, and cascaded WNS modulation provides superior self-pulsing suppression than single WNS modulation with similar output linewidth. Moreover, the experimental results indicate that the self-pulsing threshold can hardly be predicted only by the output linewidth or the defined SBS threshold in a WNS phase modulated fiber amplifier system. As self-pulsing is originated from the spectral spikes in WNS modulated system, we theoretically analyzed characteristics of these spikes in different phase-modulation modes. It indicates the spectral peak intensity can be reduced by cascaded modulation, for which self-pulsing can be suppressed. The theoretical predictions agree well with the experimental results. At the same time, in order to suppress the mode instability effect, a plum blossom shaped bending mode selection device is used in this high-power narrow linewidth fiber amplifier system. Finally, a 32 GHz cascaded WNSs modulated, over than 2.5 kW linearly polarized all-fiber amplifier with a slope efficiency of 86.7% is demonstrated. The polarization extinction ratio (PER) is measured larger than 14 dB and the beam quality factor M2 maintains lower than 1.3 in the power scaling process.

Tunable Electro- and All-Optical Switch Based on Epsilon-Near-Zero Metasurface

Abstract: A novel design of a tunable optical switch based on epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metasurface is proposed, which can work as an electro-optical or an all-optical switch, and be tuned by gate-voltages, incident angles, and intensity of pump light. The result shows that the coupling of the ENZ mode and plasmon resonance lead to an obvious Rabi splitting which can be observed in the transmission spectrum. Numerical analysis also demonstrates that the coupling belongs to the ultra-strong coupling regime. The proposed design can achieve electro-optical switching with a large modulation depth of up to ∼ 17 dB, all-optical switching with an extinction ratio exceeding 5 dB and an ultrafast response time of 650 fs.

Coupled-mode theory for plasmonic resonators integrated with silicon waveguides towards mid-infrared spectroscopic sensing.

Abstract: Advances in mid-IR lasers, detectors, and nanofabrication technology have enabled new device architectures to implement on-chip sensing applications. In particular, direct integration of plasmonic resonators with a dielectric waveguide can generate an ultra-compact device architecture for biochemical sensing via surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy. A theoretical investigation of such a hybrid architecture is imperative for its optimization. In this work, we investigate the coupling mechanism between a plasmonic resonator array and a waveguide using temporal coupled-mode theory and numerical simulation. The results conclude that the waveguide transmission extinction ratio reaches maxima when the resonator-waveguide coupling rate is maximal. Moreover, after introducing a model analyte in the form of an oscillator coupled with the plasmonics-waveguide system, the transmission curve with analyte absorption can be fitted successfully. We conclude that the extracted sensing signal can be maximized when analyte absorption frequency is the same as the transmission minima, which is different from the plasmonic resonance frequency. This conclusion is in contrast to the dielectric resonator scenario and provides an important guideline for design optimization and sensitivity improvement of future devices.

4-channel 200 Gb/s WDM O-band silicon photonic transceiver sub-assembly

Abstract: We demonstrate a 200G capable WDM O-band optical transceiver comprising a 4-element array of Silicon Photonics ring modulators (RM) and Ge photodiodes (PD) co-packaged with a SiGe BiCMOS integrated driver and a SiGe transimpedance amplifier (TIA) chip. A 4×50 Gb/s data modulation experiment revealed an average extinction ratio (ER) of 3.17 dB, with the transmitter exhibiting a total energy efficiency of 2 pJ/bit. Data reception has been experimentally validated at 50 Gb/s per lane, achieving an interpolated 10E-12 bit error rate (BER) for an input optical modulation amplitude (OMA) of −9.5 dBm and a power efficiency of 2.2 pJ/bit, yielding a total power efficiency of 4.2 pJ/bit for the transceiver, including heater tuning requirements. This electro-optic subassembly provides the highest aggregate data-rate among O-band RM-based silicon photonic transceiver implementations, highlighting its potential for next generation WDM Ethernet transceivers.

Reconfigurable nonlinear nonreciprocal transmission in a silicon photonic integrated circuit

Abstract: We present a programmable silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) that can be configured to show nonlinear nonreciprocal transmission at high optical input power. Nonreciprocal transmission in PICs is of fundamental importance in various fields. Despite diverse approaches to generate nonreciprocal transmission, the research on efficient control of this effect is still scarce. The silicon PIC presented here has programmable linear and nonlinear behavior using integrated phase shifters. In the nonlinear regime (high optical power), the device can be configured to be either reciprocal or nonreciprocal between opposite propagation directions with over 30 dB extinction ratio and only 1.5 dB insertion loss. More importantly, the high/low transmission direction can be dynamically reconfigured. Furthermore, nonreciprocal transmission based on nonlinearities usually requires the optical field in both propagation directions to be high, in order to induce a large extinction ratio. For our circuit, only the forward-propagating light needs to have high power to enjoy low-loss transmission while the backward propagating light will always suffer a high rejection. Besides this nonreciprocal behavior, the circuit also offers the ability for all-optical functions, such as switching, optical compute gates, or optical flip-flops, thanks to its unique controllable nonlinear behavior. This work can trigger new research efforts in nonreciprocal photonics circuits.

Nonlinear Absorbing-Loop Mirror in a Holmium-Doped Fiber Laser

Abstract: Nonlinear amplifying-loop mirror (NALM) and nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) are two basic Sagnac interferometers widely used in mode-locked fiber lasers. Here we construct a variant by replacing the amplifier in an NALM with an absorber, which forms a type of nonlinear absorbing-loop mirror (NAbLM). The optical waves counter-propagating within an ideal NAbLM possess equal optical powers when they return and interfere inside the used fiber coupler owing to the equal absorptions. Meanwhile, their nonlinear phase shifts can still differ adequately if an asymmetric distribution of the absorber is employed. We theoretically predict that, in comparison to typical NALM and NOLM, the NAbLM can achieve relatively higher extinction ratio and larger modulation depth, resting on the unique equal-power interference. We then first used it as a saturable absorber in a holmium-doped fiber laser and achieved passively mode-locked operations in both normal and anomalous dispersion regimes. In the normal dispersion regime, h-shaped pulse was generated; whereas in the anomalous dispersion regime, both noise-like and dissipative-soliton-resonance-like pulses were achievable with polarization manipulation. NAbLM enables more options in nonlinear fiber optics especially when a high extinction ratio or large modulation depth is required.

Experimental demonstration of metamaterial anisotropy engineering for broadband on-chip polarization beam splitting

Abstract: Subwavelength metamaterials exhibit a strong anisotropy that can be leveraged to implement high-performance polarization handling devices in silicon-on-insulator. Whereas these devices benefit from single-etch step fabrication, many of them require small feature sizes or specialized cladding materials. The anisotropic response of subwavelength metamaterials can be further engineered by tilting its constituent elements away from the optical axis, providing an additional degree of freedom in the design. In this work, we demonstrate this feature through the design, fabrication and experimental characterization of a robust multimode interference polarization beam splitter based on tilted subwavelength gratings. A 110-nm minimum feature size and a standard silicon dioxide cladding are maintained. The resulting device exhibits insertion loss as low as 1 dB, an extinction ratio better than 13 dB in a 120-nm bandwidth, and robust tolerances to fabrication deviations.

Birefringent Anti-Resonant Hollow-Core Fiber

Abstract: Hollow-core fibers have demonstrated record performance in applications such as high-power pulse delivery, quantum computing, and sensing. However, their routine use is yet to become reality. A major obstacle is the ability to maintain the polarization state of light over a broad range of wavelengths, while also ensuring single-mode guidance and attenuation that is low enough for practical applications that require only a few meters of fiber length (<1 dB/m). Here we simulated, fabricated, and characterized a single-mode birefringent anti-resonant hollow-core fiber. The birefringence was achieved by introducing capillary tubes of different thicknesses, thereby creating reduced symmetry in the structure. The measured group birefringence is in good agreement with the calculated group birefringence from simulations across the fiber guidance band within the telecommunications C-band. At 1550 nm, we measured a group birefringence of 4.4 × 10−5, which corresponds to a phase birefringence of 2.5 × 10−5. The measured loss of the fiber was 0.46 dB/m at 1550 nm. The measured polarization extinction ratio of the fiber at 1550 nm was 23.1 dB (25.7 dB) along the x-(y-) polarization axis, relating to an h-parameter of 9.8 × 10−4 (5.3 × 10−4).

Polarization splitting directional coupler using tilted subwavelength gratings.

Abstract: On-chip polarization splitters are key elements for coherent optical communication systems and polarization diversity circuits. These devices are often implemented with directional couplers that are symmetric for one polarization and strongly asymmetric for the other polarization. To achieve this asymmetry, highly dissimilar waveguides are used in each coupler arm, often requiring additional material layers or etch steps. Here we demonstrate polarization splitting with a directional coupler composed of two fully etched subwavelength waveguides, differing only in the tilt angle of the silicon segments. Our device exhibits deep-UV compatible feature sizes, is 14 µm long, and covers a 72 nm bandwidth with insertion losses below 1 dB and an extinction ratio in excess of 15 dB.