40 Gb/s multimode all-optical regenerator based on the low-loss silicon-based nanowaveguide

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Communications
• Integrated Optics
• Nonlinear Optics

Background:

• All-optical regeneration of multimode signals is vital for increasing network capacity.
• Regenerating higher-order modes presents a significant challenge for current technologies.
• Silicon-based photonics offers a promising platform for integrated optical devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate all-optical regeneration of NRZ-OOK signals in TE0 and TE1 modes.
• To address the limitations of higher-order mode regeneration in multimode systems.
• To develop a practical silicon-based all-optical regenerator for enhanced optical signal processing.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing four-wave mixing (FWM) in a low-loss silicon nanowaveguide.
• Optimizing waveguide parameters to enhance FWM conversion efficiency for dual modes.
• Implementing Euler bending to minimize intermodal crosstalk.

Main Results:

• Achieved 40 Gb/s all-optical regeneration for NRZ-OOK signals in TE0 and TE1 modes.
• Demonstrated low transmission loss (0.3 dB/cm) and high FWM conversion efficiency (-9.6 dB for TE0, -13.0 dB for TE1).
• Obtained an extinction ratio enhancement of approximately 6 dB for both modes post-regeneration.

Conclusions:

• The developed silicon-based all-optical regenerator effectively addresses higher-order mode regeneration challenges.
• This technology shows significant potential for application in advanced all-optical signal processing systems.
• The optimized waveguide design and crosstalk reduction are key to successful multimode signal regeneration.