Four-wave-mixing in the loss low submicrometer Ta₂O₅ channel waveguide

A degenerate four-wave-mixing (FWM) operation in the Ta2O5 submicrometer channel waveguide has been successfully demonstrated. The propagation loss of 1.5  dB/cm and total insertion loss of 5.1 dB are realized in a 12.6 mm long waveguide with inverse taper structure. The wavelength and quadratic pumping power-dependent measurements on optical transmission confirm FWM performance and characterize the nonlinearity of waveguide. The conversion efficiency of -50  dB at coupled pump power of 40 mW is observed, suggesting that the nonlinear refractive index of Ta2O5 waveguide at 1550 nm is estimated to be 1×10(-14)  cm2/W. Our primary results indicate that the Ta2O5 submicrometer channel waveguide has great potential in developing nonlinear waveguide applications.