Polymer-Silica Hybrid On-Chip Amplifier with Vertical Pumping Method.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• On-chip optical amplifiers are crucial for photonic integrated circuits.
• Existing amplifiers face challenges in integration and performance.
• Hybrid approaches offer potential for improved characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate a multilayer polymer-silica hybrid amplifier.
• To utilize mode division multiplexing for efficient light coupling.
• To optimize gain characteristics for on-chip loss compensation.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a multilayer structure with silica and polymer waveguides.
• Implementation of a vertical pumping scheme via mode division multiplexing.
• Calculation and optimization of parameters like doping rates and waveguide lengths.

Main Results:

• Achieved a maximum gain of 33.89 dB/cm.
• Optimized amplifier design with three position-optimized pumping lights.
• Demonstrated effective isolation between signal and pumping light.

Conclusions:

• The polymer-silica hybrid amplifier shows significant potential for on-chip loss compensation.
• This technology is promising for 3D photonic integrated circuits and all-optical transistors.
• The developed amplifier offers high gain and efficient light management.