Four-wave mixing and nonlinear losses in thick silicon waveguides

We experimentally investigate four-wave mixing and nonlinear losses in low-loss 3 μm thick silicon strip waveguides. Adiabatic bends allow for single-mode operation in an ultra-compact 35 cm long spiral. The waveguides exhibited reduced nonlinear losses due to the large mode area of 2.75  μm². The nonlinear coefficient γ was measured as 5.5  m^-1  W^-1. These features, along with the low propagation loss of 0.17 dB/cm, enable large idler power generation at 1550 nm.