Pump-degenerate phase-sensitive amplification in amorphous silicon waveguides.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Semiconductor devices
• Nonlinear optics

Background:

• Phase-sensitive amplification is crucial for optical signal processing and quantum information.
• Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) offers a promising platform for integrated photonics due to its compatibility with CMOS technology.
• Four-wave mixing (FWM) is a key nonlinear optical process enabling wavelength conversion and amplification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate phase-sensitive amplification in hydrogenated amorphous silicon photonic waveguides.
• To investigate the performance of phase-sensitive amplification under continuous-wave (CW) and pulsed (90 MHz and 10 GHz) operation.
• To characterize the phase-sensitive extinction ratio (ER) achieved at different operating conditions.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing pump-degenerate four-wave mixing in a-Si:H photonic waveguides.
• Operating the system under continuous-wave (CW) conditions.
• Operating the system under pulsed conditions at repetition rates of 90 MHz and 10 GHz.
• Measuring the phase-sensitive extinction ratio (ER) as a function of pump power.

Main Results:

• Achieved phase-sensitive amplification in a-Si:H waveguides.
• Demonstrated amplification at CW, 90 MHz, and 10 GHz pulsed operations.
• Obtained an 11.7 dB phase-sensitive extinction ratio (ER) at 90 MHz pulsed operation with 1.6 W peak pump power.
• Achieved a 6.6 dB phase-sensitive ER at 10 GHz pulsed operation with 0.5 W peak pump power.
• Recorded a 1.6 dB ER at CW operation with 38 mW pump power.

Conclusions:

• Phase-sensitive amplification is feasible in hydrogenated amorphous silicon photonic waveguides.
• The achieved ER varies significantly with operating mode (CW vs. pulsed) and repetition rate.
• These results highlight the potential of a-Si:H for integrated optical amplification applications.