Integrated optics technology study

The status and near term potential of materials and processes available for the fabrication of single mode integrated electro-optical components are discussed. Issues discussed are host material and orientation, waveguide formation, optical loss mechanisms, wavelength selection, polarization effects and control, laser to integrated optics coupling fiber optic waveguides to integrated optics coupling, sources, and detectors. Recommendations of the best materials, technology, and processes for fabrication of integrated optical components for communications and fiber gyro applications are given

Mid-Infrared ultra-high-Q resonators based on fluoride crystalline materials

Decades ago, the losses of glasses in the near infrared (near-IR) were investigated in views of developments for optical telecommunications. Today, properties in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) are of interest for molecular spectroscopy applications. In particular, high-sensitivity spectroscopic techniques based on high-finesse mid-IR cavities hold high promise for medical applications. Due to exceptional purity and low losses, whispering gallery mode microresonators based on polished alkaline earth metal fluoride crystals (i.e the $\mathrm{XF_2}$ family, where X $=$ Ca, Mg, Ba, Sr,...) have attained ultra-high quality (Q) factor resonances (Q$>$10$^{8}$) in the near-IR and visible spectral ranges. Here we report for the first time ultra-high Q factors in the mid-IR using crystalline microresonators. Using an uncoated chalcogenide (ChG) tapered fiber, light from a continuous wave quantum cascade laser (QCL) is efficiently coupled to several crystalline microresonators at 4.4 $\mu$m wavelength. We measure the optical Q factor of fluoride crystals in the mid-IR using cavity ringdown technique. We observe that $\mathrm{MgF_2}$ microresonators feature quality factors that are very close to the fundamental absorption limit, as caused by the crystal's multiphonon absorption (Q$\sim$10$^{7}$), in contrast to near-IR measurements far away from these fundamental limits. Due to lower multiphonon absorption in $\mathrm{BaF_2}$ and $\mathrm{SrF_2}$, we show that ultra-high quality factors of Q $\geqslant$ 1.4 $\times 10^{8}$ can be reached at 4.4 $\mu$m. This corresponds to an optical finesse of $\mathcal{F}>$4$\cdot$ 10$^{4}$, the highest value achieved for any type of mid-IR resonator to date, and a more than 10-fold improvement over the state-of-the-art. Such compact ultra-high Q crystalline microresonators provide a route for narrow linewidth frequency-stabilized QCL or mid-IR Kerr comb generation.Comment: C. Lecaplain and C. Javerzac-Galy contributed equally to this wor

Three-dimensional femtosecond laser nanolithography of crystals

Nanostructuring hard optical crystals has so far been exclusively feasible at their surface, as stress induced crack formation and propagation has rendered high precision volume processes ineffective. We show that the inner chemical etching reactivity of a crystal can be enhanced at the nanoscale by more than five orders of magnitude by means of direct laser writing. The process allows to produce cm-scale arbitrary three-dimensional nanostructures with 100 nm feature sizes inside large crystals in absence of brittle fracture. To showcase the unique potential of the technique, we fabricate photonic structures such as sub-wavelength diffraction gratings and nanostructured optical waveguides capable of sustaining sub-wavelength propagating modes inside yttrium aluminum garnet crystals. This technique could enable the transfer of concepts from nanophotonics to the fields of solid state lasers and crystal optics.Comment: Submitted Manuscript and Supplementary Informatio

Chalcogenide-glass polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber for mid-infrared supercontinuum generation

In this paper, we report the design and fabrication of a highly birefringent polarization-maintaining photonic crystal fiber (PM-PCF) made from chalcogenide glass, and its application to linearly-polarized supercontinuum (SC) generation in the mid-infrared region. The PM fiber was drawn using the casting method from As38Se62 glass which features a transmission window from 2 to 10 $\mu m$ and a high nonlinear index of 1.13.10$^{-17}$m$^{2}$W$^{-1}$. It has a zero-dispersion wavelength around 4.5 $\mu m$ and, at this wavelength, a large birefringence of 6.10$^{-4}$ and consequently strong polarization maintaining properties are expected. Using this fiber, we experimentally demonstrate supercontinuum generation spanning from 3.1-6.02 $\mu m$ and 3.33-5.78 $\mu m$ using femtosecond pumping at 4 $\mu m$ and 4.53 $\mu m$, respectively. We further investigate the supercontinuum bandwidth versus the input pump polarization angle and we show very good agreement with numerical simulations of the two-polarization model based on two coupled generalized nonlinear Schr\"odinger equations.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Diamond Integrated Optomechanical Circuits

Diamond offers unique material advantages for the realization of micro- and nanomechanical resonators due to its high Young's modulus, compatibility with harsh environments and superior thermal properties. At the same time, the wide electronic bandgap of 5.45eV makes diamond a suitable material for integrated optics because of broadband transparency and the absence of free-carrier absorption commonly encountered in silicon photonics. Here we take advantage of both to engineer full-scale optomechanical circuits in diamond thin films. We show that polycrystalline diamond films fabricated by chemical vapour deposition provide a convenient waferscale substrate for the realization of high quality nanophotonic devices. Using free-standing nanomechanical resonators embedded in on-chip Mach-Zehnder interferometers, we demonstrate efficient optomechanical transduction via gradient optical forces. Fabricated diamond resonators reproducibly show high mechanical quality factors up to 11,200. Our low cost, wideband, carrier-free photonic circuits hold promise for all-optical sensing and optomechanical signal processing at ultra-high frequencies

Flexible Polymer Planar Optical Waveguides

We report about design, fabrication and properties of flexible polymer optical planar waveguides made of Epoxy Novolak Resin as planar waveguides deposited on various foil substrates. The design of the presented planar waveguides was realized on the bases of modified dispersion equation and was schemed for 633 nm, 850 nm, 1310 nm and 1550 nm wavelength. Propagation optical loss measurements were done by the fibre probe technique at wavelegnth 633 nm (He-Ne laser) and samples have optical losses lower than 2 dB/cm. Unlike the up-to-now presented structures our constructin is fully flexible what makes it possible to be used in innovative photonics structures

Ultrafast optical control using the Kerr nonlinearity in hydrogenated amorphous silicon microcylindrical resonators

Microresonators are ideal systems for probing nonlinear phenomena at low thresholds due to their small mode volumes and high quality (Q) factors. As such, they have found use both for fundamental studies of light-matter interactions as well as for applications in areas ranging from telecommunications to medicine. In particular, semiconductor-based resonators with large Kerr nonlinearities have great potential for high speed, low power all-optical processing. Here we present experiments to characterize the size of the Kerr induced resonance wavelength shifting in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon resonator and demonstrate its potential for ultrafast all-optical modulation and switching. Large wavelength shifts are observed for low pump powers due to the high nonlinearity of the amorphous silicon material and the strong mode confinement in the microcylindrical resonator. The threshold energy for switching is less than a picojoule, representing a significant step towards advantageous low power silicon-based photonic technologies