Si-rich SiNx based Kerr switch enables optical data conversion up to 12 Gbit/s.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Integrated Circuit Design

Background:

• Silicon photonics is crucial for next-generation integrated circuits, demanding efficient on-chip optical interconnections.
• Optical switches are key components for data processing and signal manipulation in optical communication networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate wavelength and format conversion of optical data using a novel silicon-rich silicon nitride (SiNx) micro-ring.
• To investigate the potential of SiNx micro-rings for high-bit-rate all-optical communication networks.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a Si-rich SiNx micro-ring with embedded Si quantum dots as an optical Kerr switch.
• Employed the field-resonant nonlinear Kerr effect for transient refractive index change.
• Coupled optical data streams into the micro-ring via a bus waveguide to achieve wavelength shifting.

Main Results:

• Achieved wavelength and format conversion of optical on-off-keying data at a bit-rate of 12 Gbit/s.
• Demonstrated format-preserved and format-inverted conversion based on probe resonance.
• Observed a two-order magnitude enhancement in nonlinear Kerr coefficient due to Si quantum dots in Si-rich SiNx.
• Reported a -7 dB transmission penalty for the wavelength-converted probe data stream.

Conclusions:

• The Si-rich SiNx micro-ring optical Kerr switch shows significant potential for all-optical communication networks.
• The enhanced nonlinear Kerr effect in Si-rich SiNx enables high-speed optical data processing functionalities.
• This technology offers a promising pathway for advanced silicon photonic integrated circuits.