Nonlinear Applications using Silicon Nanophotonic Wires
This thesis is concerned with an emerging set of nonlinear-optical applications using silicon nanophotonic "wires" fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator photonic chip. These deeply scaled silicon nanophotonic wires are capable of confining the telecom and mid-infrared (mid-IR) light tightly into an optical-modal area ~ 0.1 μm2. The tight optical confinement leads to many advantageous physical properties including enhanced effective nonlinearity, flexible control of waveguide dispersion, and short free-carrier lifetime. All these advantages make silicon nanophotonic wires an ideal platform for a variety of nonlinear applications. The first part of my thesis study is focused on nonlinear applications in the telecom bands. In Chapter 3, I study the frequency dependence of optical nonlinearity in silicon nanophotonic wires, and its influence on the propagation of ultra-short optical pulses in such wires. I show that silicon nanophotonic wires possess a remarkably large characteristic time associated with the self-steepening effect and optical-shock formation
Thesis, Dissertation, English, 2011
[publisher not identified], [New York, N.Y.?], 2011