Abstract
Dispersion engineering in optical waveguides allows applications relying on the precise control of phase matching conditions to be implemented. Although extremely effective over relatively narrow band spectral regions, dispersion control becomes increasingly challenging as the bandwidth of the process of interest increases. Phase matching can also be achieved by exploiting the propagation characteristics of waves exciting different spatial modes of the same waveguide. Phase matching control in this case relies on achieving very similar propagation characteristics across two, and even more, waveguide modes over the wavelengths of interest, which may be rather far from one another. We demonstrate here that broadband (>40 nm) four-wave mixing can be achieved between pump waves and a signal located in different bands of the communications spectrum (separated by 50 nm) by exploiting interband nonlinearities. Our demonstration is carried out in the silicon-rich silicon nitride material platform, which allows flexible device engineering, allowing for strong effective nonlinearity at telecommunications wavelengths without deleterious nonlinear-loss effects.
Highlights
The insatiable demand for communication traffic necessitates the adoption of radically new approaches in the implementation of optical transmission systems
Phase matching can be obtained between the TE00 and TE10 modes, e.g., at λTE00 1550 nm and λTE10 1601 nm, respectively. By considering these wavelengths and modes, we numerically simulated the bandwidth of Bragg scattering (BS) IM-four-wave mixing (FWM) efficiency [for both the I BS,r and the I BS,r, efficiency defined as ηIM−FWM PPidSle rL L, where Pidler L and Psignal L are the power of the idler I BS,r or I BS,b and the signal S measured at the end of the waveguide, respectively] as a function of the pump and signal wavelength detuning values
The pumps were maintained in the fundamental (LP01-shaped) mode, while the signal was converted into the LP11-shaped mode using a mode-multiplexer (MMUX) based on a bulk optic phase plate (PP)
Summary
The insatiable demand for communication traffic necessitates the adoption of radically new approaches in the implementation of optical transmission systems. Solutions that exploit wavelengths outside the conventional C-band spectrum (1530–1565 nm) are actively being explored, and the first long-haul transmission systems utilizing the adjacent L-band (1565–1625 nm) have recently been deployed In these new systems, the ability to generate and manipulate wavelength components that are placed at extremely distant positions in the spectrum with respect to a common source placed in the C-band is highly desirable. Considerable efforts have been devoted to the realization of wavelength converters and synthesizers, based either on optical fibers [1] or integrated waveguides [2,3], that are capable of operating over a broad wavelength span These devices have exploited nonlinear processes arising. Further material developments are needed to reduce the waveguide losses This would enable use of longer waveguide sections, allowing use of lower pump power levels and possibly achieving higher conversion efficiency values
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