Slow light enhancement of nonlinear effects in silicon engineered photonic crystal waveguides

We report nonlinear measurements on 80microm silicon photonic crystal waveguides that are designed to support dispersionless slow light with group velocities between c/20 and c/50. By launching picoseconds pulses into the waveguides and comparing their output spectral signatures, we show how self ph...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2009-02, Vol.17 (4), p.2944-2953
Main Authors: Monat, Christelle, Corcoran, Bill, Ebnali-Heidari, Majid, Grillet, Christian, Eggleton, Benjamin J, White, Thomas P, O'Faolain, Liam, Krauss, Thomas F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer Simulation
Computer-Aided Design
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Light
Models, Theoretical
Nonlinear Dynamics
Optical Devices
Photons
Refractometry - instrumentation
Refractometry - methods
Reproducibility of Results
Scattering, Radiation
Sensitivity and Specificity
Silicon - chemistry
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Summary:We report nonlinear measurements on 80microm silicon photonic crystal waveguides that are designed to support dispersionless slow light with group velocities between c/20 and c/50. By launching picoseconds pulses into the waveguides and comparing their output spectral signatures, we show how self phase modulation induced spectral broadening is enhanced due to slow light. Comparison of the measurements and numerical simulations of the pulse propagation elucidates the contribution of the various effects that determine the output pulse shape and the waveguide transfer function. In particular, both experimental and simulated results highlight the significant role of two photon absorption and free carriers in the silicon waveguides and their reinforcement in the slow light regime.
ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/oe.17.002944