Ultrafast optical switching based on nonlinear polarization rotation in silicon waveguides

doi:10.1364/OE.18.011514

Ultrafast optical switching based on nonlinear polarization rotation in silicon waveguides

Jonathan Y. Lee, Lianghong Yin, Govind P. Agrawal, and Philippe M. Fauchet »View Author Affiliations

Optics Express, Vol. 18, Issue 11, pp. 11514-11523 (2010)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.18.011514

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Abstract
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Abstract

We experimentally realize ultrafast all-optical switching in the 1.5-µm spectral region using cross-phase modulation inside a 5-mm long silicon waveguide. Modulation depths of up to 90% and switching window durations ~1 ps are achieved using 500-fs pump pulses with energies below 10 pJ.

OCIS Codes
(160.6000) Materials : Semiconductor materials
(190.3270) Nonlinear optics : Kerr effect
(190.7110) Nonlinear optics : Ultrafast nonlinear optics
(230.4110) Optical devices : Modulators
(230.7370) Optical devices : Waveguides

ToC Category:
Optical Devices

History
Original Manuscript: March 10, 2010
Revised Manuscript: April 23, 2010
Manuscript Accepted: April 26, 2010
Published: May 14, 2010

Citation
Jonathan Y. Lee, Lianghong Yin, Govind P. Agrawal, and Philippe M. Fauchet, "Ultrafast optical switching based on nonlinear polarization rotation in silicon waveguides," Opt. Express 18, 11514-11523 (2010)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-18-11-11514

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References

Q. Lin, O. J. Painter, and G. P. Agrawal, “Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications,” Opt. Express 15(25), 16604–16644 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. K. Tsang, C. S. Wong, T. K. Liang, I. E. Day, S. W. Roberts, A. Harpin, J. Drake, and M. Asghari, “Optical dispersion, two-photon absorption and self-phase modulation in silicon waveguides at 1.5 μm wavelength,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 80(3), 416–418 (2002). [CrossRef]
I.-W. Hsieh, X. Chen, J. I. Dadap, N. C. Panoiu, R. M. Osgood, S. J. McNab, and Y. A. Vlasov, “Cross-phase modulation-induced spectral and temporal effects on co-propagating femtosecond pulses in silicon photonic wires,” Opt. Express 15(3), 1135–1146 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
N. Matsuda, R. Shimizu, Y. Mitsumori, H. Kosaka, A. Sato, H. Yokoyama, K. Yamada, T. Watanabe, T. Tsuchizawa, H. Fukuda, S. Itabashi, and K. Edamatsu, “All-optical phase modulations in a silicon wire waveguide at ultralow light levels,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 95(17), 171110 (2009). [CrossRef]
V. Raghunathan, D. Borlaug, R. R. Rice, and B. Jalali, “Demonstration of a Mid-infrared silicon Raman amplifier,” Opt. Express 15(22), 14355–14362 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
H. Fukuda, K. Yamada, T. Shoji, M. Takahashi, T. Tsuchizawa, T. Watanabe, J. Takahashi, and S. Itabashi, “Four-wave mixing in silicon wire waveguides,” Opt. Express 13(12), 4629–4637 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
V. R. Almeida, C. A. Barrios, R. R. Panepucci, and M. Lipson, “All-optical control of light on a silicon chip,” Nature 431(7012), 1081–1084 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
M. Waldow, T. Plötzing, M. Gottheil, M. Först, J. Bolten, T. Wahlbrink, and H. Kurz, “25ps all-optical switching in oxygen implanted silicon-on-insulator microring resonator,” Opt. Express 16(11), 7693–7702 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
T. Tanabe, M. Notomi, S. Mitsugi, A. Shinya, and E. Kuramochi, “All-optical switches on a silicon chip realized using photonic crystal nanocavities,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 87(15), 151112 (2005). [CrossRef]
D. J. Moss, L. Fu, I. Littler, and B. J. Eggleton, “Ultrafast all-optical modulation via two-photon absorption in silicon-on-insulator waveguides,” Electron. Lett. 41(6), 320–321 (2005). [CrossRef]
T. K. Liang, L. R. Nunes, T. Sakamoto, K. Sasagawa, T. Kawanishi, M. Tsuchiya, G. R. A. Priem, D. Van Thourhout, P. Dumon, R. Baets, and H. K. Tsang, “Ultrafast all-optical switching by cross-absorption modulation in silicon wire waveguides,” Opt. Express 13(19), 7298–7303 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
O. Boyraz, P. Koonath, V. Raghunathan, and B. Jalali, “All optical switching and continuum generation in silicon waveguides,” Opt. Express 12(17), 4094–4102 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
M. A. Foster, R. Salem, D. F. Geraghty, A. C. Turner-Foster, M. Lipson, and A. L. Gaeta, “Silicon-chip-based ultrafast optical oscilloscope,” Nature 456(7218), 81–84 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
B. G. Lee, A. Biberman, A. C. Turner-Foster, M. A. Foster, M. Lipson, A. L. Gaeta, and K. Bergman, “Demonstration of broadband wavelength conversion at 40 Gb/s in silicon waveguides,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 21(3), 182–184 (2009). [CrossRef]
J. Zhang, Q. Lin, G. Piredda, R. W. Boyd, G. P. Agrawal, and P. M. Fauchet, “Optical solitons in a silicon waveguide,” Opt. Express 15(12), 7682–7688 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
N. M. Wright, D. J. Thomson, K. L. Litvinenko, W. R. Headley, A. J. Smith, A. P. Knights, J. H. B. Deane, F. Y. Gardes, G. Z. Mashanovich, R. Gwilliam, and G. T. Reed, “Free carrier lifetime modification for silicon waveguide based devices,” Opt. Express 16(24), 19779–19784 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
A. C. Turner-Foster, M. A. Foster, J. S. Levy, C. B. Poitras, R. Salem, A. L. Gaeta, and M. Lipson, “Ultrashort free-carrier lifetime in low-loss silicon nanowaveguides,” Opt. Express 18(4), 3582–3591 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
L. Yin, J. Zhang, P. M. Fauchet, and G. P. Agrawal, “Optical switching using nonlinear polarization rotation inside silicon waveguides,” Opt. Lett. 34(4), 476–478 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
J. Y. Lee, L. Yin, G. P. Agrawal, and P. M. Fauchet, “Ultrafast Kerr Switching in a Silicon Waveguide,” in Proceedings of 6th international IEEE Conference on Group IV Photonics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2009), pp. 95–97.
L. Yin, J. Y. Lee, P. M. Fauchet, and G. P. Agrawal, “Realization of an Ultrafast Silicon Kerr Switch,” in Conference on Frontiers in Optics, (Optical Society of America, 2009), paper FML4.
R. H. Stolen and A. Ashkin, “Optical Kerr effect in glass waveguides,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 22(6), 294–296 (1973). [CrossRef]
G. P. Agrawal, Nonlinear Fiber Optics, 4th ed. (Academic Press, Boston, 2007).
S. J. McNab, N. Moll, and Y. A. Vlasov, “Ultra-low loss photonic integrated circuit with membrane-type photonic crystal waveguides,” Opt. Express 11(22), 2927–2939 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
D. Dimitropoulos, R. Jhaveri, R. Claps, J. C. S. Woo, and B. Jalali, “Lifetime of photogenerated carriers in silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 86(7), 071115 (2005). [CrossRef]
Q. Lin, J. Zhang, G. Piredda, R. W. Boyd, P. M. Fauchet, and G. P. Agrawal, “Dispersion of silicon nonlinearities in the near infrared region,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 91(2), 021111 (2007). [CrossRef]
H. Rong, A. Liu, R. Nicolaescu, M. Paniccia, O. Cohen, and D. Hak, “Raman gain and nonlinear optical absorption measurements in a low-loss silicon wave- guide,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 85(12), 2196–2198 (2004). [CrossRef]
A. D. Bristow, N. Rotenberg, and H. M. Van Driel, “Two-photon absorption and Kerr coefficients of silicon for 850-2200 nm,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 90(19), 191104 (2007). [CrossRef]
J. Zhang, Q. Lin, G. Piredda, R. W. Boyd, G. P. Agrawal, and P. M. Fauchet, “Anisotropic nonlinear response of silicon in the near-infrared region,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 91(7), 071113 (2007). [CrossRef]
L. Yin and G. P. Agrawal, “Impact of two-photon absorption on self-phase modulation in silicon waveguides,” Opt. Lett. 32(14), 2031–2033 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
A. B. Fallahkhair, K. S. Li, and T. E. Murphy, “Vector finite-difference mode solver for anisotropic dielectric waveguides,” J. Lightwave Technol. 26(11), 1423–1431 (2008). [CrossRef]
H. Rong, R. Jones, A. Liu, O. Cohen, D. Hak, A. Fang, and M. Paniccia, “A continuous-wave Raman silicon laser,” Nature 433(7027), 725–728 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

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[1] Q. Lin, O. J. Painter, and G. P. Agrawal, “Nonlinear optical phenomena in silicon waveguides: modeling and applications,” Opt. Express 15(25), 16604–16644 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[2] H. K. Tsang, C. S. Wong, T. K. Liang, I. E. Day, S. W. Roberts, A. Harpin, J. Drake, and M. Asghari, “Optical dispersion, two-photon absorption and self-phase modulation in silicon waveguides at 1.5 μm wavelength,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 80(3), 416–418 (2002). [CrossRef]

[3] I.-W. Hsieh, X. Chen, J. I. Dadap, N. C. Panoiu, R. M. Osgood, S. J. McNab, and Y. A. Vlasov, “Cross-phase modulation-induced spectral and temporal effects on co-propagating femtosecond pulses in silicon photonic wires,” Opt. Express 15(3), 1135–1146 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[4] N. Matsuda, R. Shimizu, Y. Mitsumori, H. Kosaka, A. Sato, H. Yokoyama, K. Yamada, T. Watanabe, T. Tsuchizawa, H. Fukuda, S. Itabashi, and K. Edamatsu, “All-optical phase modulations in a silicon wire waveguide at ultralow light levels,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 95(17), 171110 (2009). [CrossRef]

[5] V. Raghunathan, D. Borlaug, R. R. Rice, and B. Jalali, “Demonstration of a Mid-infrared silicon Raman amplifier,” Opt. Express 15(22), 14355–14362 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[6] H. Fukuda, K. Yamada, T. Shoji, M. Takahashi, T. Tsuchizawa, T. Watanabe, J. Takahashi, and S. Itabashi, “Four-wave mixing in silicon wire waveguides,” Opt. Express 13(12), 4629–4637 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[7] V. R. Almeida, C. A. Barrios, R. R. Panepucci, and M. Lipson, “All-optical control of light on a silicon chip,” Nature 431(7012), 1081–1084 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[8] M. Waldow, T. Plötzing, M. Gottheil, M. Först, J. Bolten, T. Wahlbrink, and H. Kurz, “25ps all-optical switching in oxygen implanted silicon-on-insulator microring resonator,” Opt. Express 16(11), 7693–7702 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[9] T. Tanabe, M. Notomi, S. Mitsugi, A. Shinya, and E. Kuramochi, “All-optical switches on a silicon chip realized using photonic crystal nanocavities,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 87(15), 151112 (2005). [CrossRef]

[10] D. J. Moss, L. Fu, I. Littler, and B. J. Eggleton, “Ultrafast all-optical modulation via two-photon absorption in silicon-on-insulator waveguides,” Electron. Lett. 41(6), 320–321 (2005). [CrossRef]

[11] T. K. Liang, L. R. Nunes, T. Sakamoto, K. Sasagawa, T. Kawanishi, M. Tsuchiya, G. R. A. Priem, D. Van Thourhout, P. Dumon, R. Baets, and H. K. Tsang, “Ultrafast all-optical switching by cross-absorption modulation in silicon wire waveguides,” Opt. Express 13(19), 7298–7303 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[12] O. Boyraz, P. Koonath, V. Raghunathan, and B. Jalali, “All optical switching and continuum generation in silicon waveguides,” Opt. Express 12(17), 4094–4102 (2004). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[13] M. A. Foster, R. Salem, D. F. Geraghty, A. C. Turner-Foster, M. Lipson, and A. L. Gaeta, “Silicon-chip-based ultrafast optical oscilloscope,” Nature 456(7218), 81–84 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[14] B. G. Lee, A. Biberman, A. C. Turner-Foster, M. A. Foster, M. Lipson, A. L. Gaeta, and K. Bergman, “Demonstration of broadband wavelength conversion at 40 Gb/s in silicon waveguides,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 21(3), 182–184 (2009). [CrossRef]

[15] J. Zhang, Q. Lin, G. Piredda, R. W. Boyd, G. P. Agrawal, and P. M. Fauchet, “Optical solitons in a silicon waveguide,” Opt. Express 15(12), 7682–7688 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[16] N. M. Wright, D. J. Thomson, K. L. Litvinenko, W. R. Headley, A. J. Smith, A. P. Knights, J. H. B. Deane, F. Y. Gardes, G. Z. Mashanovich, R. Gwilliam, and G. T. Reed, “Free carrier lifetime modification for silicon waveguide based devices,” Opt. Express 16(24), 19779–19784 (2008). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[17] A. C. Turner-Foster, M. A. Foster, J. S. Levy, C. B. Poitras, R. Salem, A. L. Gaeta, and M. Lipson, “Ultrashort free-carrier lifetime in low-loss silicon nanowaveguides,” Opt. Express 18(4), 3582–3591 (2010). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[18] L. Yin, J. Zhang, P. M. Fauchet, and G. P. Agrawal, “Optical switching using nonlinear polarization rotation inside silicon waveguides,” Opt. Lett. 34(4), 476–478 (2009). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[19] J. Y. Lee, L. Yin, G. P. Agrawal, and P. M. Fauchet, “Ultrafast Kerr Switching in a Silicon Waveguide,” in Proceedings of 6th international IEEE Conference on Group IV Photonics (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 2009), pp. 95–97.

[20] L. Yin, J. Y. Lee, P. M. Fauchet, and G. P. Agrawal, “Realization of an Ultrafast Silicon Kerr Switch,” in Conference on Frontiers in Optics, (Optical Society of America, 2009), paper FML4.

[21] R. H. Stolen and A. Ashkin, “Optical Kerr effect in glass waveguides,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 22(6), 294–296 (1973). [CrossRef]

[22] G. P. Agrawal, Nonlinear Fiber Optics, 4th ed. (Academic Press, Boston, 2007).

[23] S. J. McNab, N. Moll, and Y. A. Vlasov, “Ultra-low loss photonic integrated circuit with membrane-type photonic crystal waveguides,” Opt. Express 11(22), 2927–2939 (2003). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[24] D. Dimitropoulos, R. Jhaveri, R. Claps, J. C. S. Woo, and B. Jalali, “Lifetime of photogenerated carriers in silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 86(7), 071115 (2005). [CrossRef]

[25] Q. Lin, J. Zhang, G. Piredda, R. W. Boyd, P. M. Fauchet, and G. P. Agrawal, “Dispersion of silicon nonlinearities in the near infrared region,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 91(2), 021111 (2007). [CrossRef]

[26] H. Rong, A. Liu, R. Nicolaescu, M. Paniccia, O. Cohen, and D. Hak, “Raman gain and nonlinear optical absorption measurements in a low-loss silicon wave- guide,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 85(12), 2196–2198 (2004). [CrossRef]

[27] A. D. Bristow, N. Rotenberg, and H. M. Van Driel, “Two-photon absorption and Kerr coefficients of silicon for 850-2200 nm,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 90(19), 191104 (2007). [CrossRef]

[28] J. Zhang, Q. Lin, G. Piredda, R. W. Boyd, G. P. Agrawal, and P. M. Fauchet, “Anisotropic nonlinear response of silicon in the near-infrared region,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 91(7), 071113 (2007). [CrossRef]

[29] L. Yin and G. P. Agrawal, “Impact of two-photon absorption on self-phase modulation in silicon waveguides,” Opt. Lett. 32(14), 2031–2033 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

[30] A. B. Fallahkhair, K. S. Li, and T. E. Murphy, “Vector finite-difference mode solver for anisotropic dielectric waveguides,” J. Lightwave Technol. 26(11), 1423–1431 (2008). [CrossRef]

[31] H. Rong, R. Jones, A. Liu, O. Cohen, D. Hak, A. Fang, and M. Paniccia, “A continuous-wave Raman silicon laser,” Nature 433(7027), 725–728 (2005). [CrossRef] [PubMed]

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Ultrafast optical switching based on nonlinear polarization rotation in silicon waveguides