Abstract
We propose a system of coupled microring resonators for the generation frequency combs and dissipative Kerr solitons in silicon at telecommunication frequencies. By taking advantage of structural slow-light, the effective non-linearity of the material is enhanced, thus relaxing the requirement of ultra-high quality factors that currently poses a major obstacle to the realization of silicon comb devices. We demonstrate a variety of frequency comb solutions characterized by threshold power in the 10-milliwatt range and a small footprint of 0.1 mm2, and study their robustness to structural disorder. The results open the way to the realization of low-power compact comb devices in silicon at the telecom band.
Highlights
Kerr frequency combs in microresonators have been the object of intense research during the last decade, due to their wide range of applications in science and engineering [1,2,3,4]
We have studied the formation of frequency combs and dissipative Kerr solitons (DKS) in a coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) made of silicaencapsulated ring resonators, operating at telecommunication frequencies
Thanks to slow-light enhancement of the non-linear response of the CROW, combs and DKSs can be generated for significantly lower values of the quality factor, than those typically required by a microring resonator
Summary
Kerr frequency combs in microresonators have been the object of intense research during the last decade, due to their wide range of applications in science and engineering [1,2,3,4]. The threshold excitation power for the onset of DKSs is proportional to the squared photon loss rate This makes microring resonators one of the most employed platforms for comb generation, as ultra-high quality factors are achieved with almost no geometry optimization effort. While Si3N4 has become the standard platform for DKS generation in silicon photonics, the Kerr non-linearity of this material is relatively small, requiring such ultra-low loss resonances for low-power operation. It consists in a silica-encapsulated (SiO2) coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) formed by coupled single-mode silicon microrings This configuration takes advantage of structural slow-light [27,28,29] to effectively enhance the non-linearity of the material and decrease the threshold power required to trigger cascaded FWM [30,31,32,33,34,35].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
