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New CMOS-compatible platforms based on silicon nitride and Hydex for nonlinear optics

Nature Photonics volume 7, pages 597–607 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Nonlinear photonic chips can generate and process signals all-optically with far superior performance to that possible electronically — particularly with respect to speed. Although silicon-on-insulator has been the leading platform for nonlinear optics, its high two-photon absorption at telecommunication wavelengths poses a fundamental limitation. We review recent progress in non-silicon CMOS-compatible platforms for nonlinear optics, with a focus on Si3N4 and Hydex®. These material systems have opened up many new capabilities such as on-chip optical frequency comb generation and ultrafast optical pulse generation and measurement. We highlight their potential future impact as well as the challenges to achieving practical solutions for many key applications.

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Figure 1: Silicon nitride nanowires and Hydex waveguides.
Figure 2: Integrated optical-parametric-oscillator multiple-wavelength sources in Hydex and SiN ring resonators.
Figure 3: Advanced frequency combs in SiN ring resonators.
Figure 4: Coherence and frequency comb formation dynamics.
Figure 5: Microresonator-based mode-locked fibre loop laser.
Figure 6: Phase and amplitude measurement of ultrafast optical pulses using spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER).

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Australian Research Council Discovery Project and the Centres of Excellence programme, the Canadian Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the National Science Foundation. We would also like to thank A. Pasquazi and M. Peccianti for proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ultrahigh Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS) and the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), School of Physics, University of Sydney, 2006, New South Wales, Australia

    David J. Moss

  2. INRS-EMT, 1650 Boulevard Lionel Boulet, Varennes, J3X 1S2, Québec, Canada

    Roberto Morandotti

  3. School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, New York, USA

    Alexander L. Gaeta

  4. School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, New York, USA

    Michal Lipson

Authors
  1. David J. Moss
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  2. Roberto Morandotti
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  3. Alexander L. Gaeta
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  4. Michal Lipson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David J. Moss.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Moss, D., Morandotti, R., Gaeta, A. et al. New CMOS-compatible platforms based on silicon nitride and Hydex for nonlinear optics. Nature Photon 7, 597–607 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.183

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