All-optical switching in silicon-on-insulator photonic wire nano-cavities

We report on experimental demonstration of all-optical switching in a silicon-on-insulator photonic wire nanocavity operating at telecom wavelengths. The switching is performed with a control pulse energy as low as approximately 0.1 pJ on a cavity device that presents very high signal transmission,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics express 2010-01, Vol.18 (2), p.1450-1461
Main Authors: Belotti, Michele, Galli, Matteo, Gerace, Dario, Andreani, Lucio Claudio, Guizzetti, Giorgio, Md Zain, Ahmad R, Johnson, Nigel P, Sorel, Marc, De La Rue, Richard M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electric Conductivity
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Nanotechnology - instrumentation
Nanotubes - chemistry
Nanotubes - ultrastructure
Optical Devices
Photons
Refractometry - instrumentation
Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted - instrumentation
Silicon - chemistry
Transducers
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Summary:We report on experimental demonstration of all-optical switching in a silicon-on-insulator photonic wire nanocavity operating at telecom wavelengths. The switching is performed with a control pulse energy as low as approximately 0.1 pJ on a cavity device that presents very high signal transmission, an ultra-high quality-factor, almost diffraction-limited modal volume and a footprint of only 5 microm(2). High-speed modulation of the cavity mode is achieved by means of optical injection of free carriers using a nanosecond pulsed laser. Experimental results are interpreted by means of finite-difference time-domain simulations. The possibility of using this device as a logic gate is also demonstrated.
ISSN:1094-4087
1094-4087
DOI:10.1364/oe.18.001450