Pulse compression in adiabatically tapered silicon photonic wires

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Silicon photonic wire waveguides (Si-PhWWGs) are crucial for integrated optics.
• Pulse compression is vital for various optical applications, including spectroscopy and telecommunications.
• Understanding carrier dynamics is key to optimizing waveguide performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze pulse compression in Si-PhWWGs at telecom and mid-IR wavelengths.
• To investigate the coupled dynamics of optical fields and photogenerated free carriers.
• To explore the impact of waveguide geometry on pulse compression efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical and computational modeling of pulse propagation.
• Analysis of coupled optical field and free carrier dynamics.
• Simulation of adiabatically tapered Si-PhWWGs with varying physical and geometrical parameters.

Main Results:

• Achieved over 10x pulse compression in millimeter-long Si-PhWWGs.
• Demonstrated the influence of waveguide width engineering on linear and nonlinear optical properties.
• Identified inter-dependencies between pulse characteristics and compression efficiency.

Conclusions:

• Adiabatically tapered Si-PhWWGs offer a promising platform for significant pulse compression.
• Engineering waveguide geometry is an effective strategy to enhance pulse manipulation capabilities.
• The findings are relevant for both soliton and non-soliton pulse propagation regimes.