142 research outputs found
Photodetection in silicon beyond the band edge with surface states
Silicon is an extremely attractive material platform for integrated optics at
telecommunications wavelengths, particularly for integration with CMOS
circuits. Developing detectors and electrically pumped lasers at telecom
wavelengths are the two main technological hurdles before silicon can become a
comprehensive platform for integrated optics. We report on the generation of
free carriers in unimplanted SOI ridge waveguides, which we attribute to
surface state absorption. By electrically contacting the waveguides, a
photodetector with a responsivity of 36 mA/W and quantum efficiency of 2.8% is
demonstrated. The photoconductive effect is shown to have minimal falloff at
speeds of up to 60 Mhz
Design of a tunable, room temperature, continuous-wave terahertz source and detector using silicon waveguides
We describe the design of a silicon-based source for radiation in the 0.5-14 THz regime. This new class of devices will permit continuously tunable, milliwatt scale, cw, room temperature operation, a substantial advance over currently available technologies. Our silicon terahertz generator consists of a silicon waveguide for near-infrared radiation, contained within a metal waveguide for terahertz radiation. A nonlinear polymer cladding permits two near-infrared lasers to mix, and through difference-frequency generation produces terahertz output. The small dimensions of the design greatly increase the optical fields, enhancing the nonlinear effect. The design can also be used to detect terahertz radiation
Where Nanophotonics and Microfluidics Meet
A new generation of photonic devices has recently emerged that relies on using geometries of
sub-wavelength microstructures within a high refractive index contrast materials system. These
geometries are used to confine and manipulate light within very small volumes. High optical field
densities can be obtained within such structures, and these in turn can amplify optical
nonlinearities. Moreover, many of these structures, as for example photonic crystals and slotted
waveguides, can be engineered for the efficient localization of light within the low-index regions of
high index contrast microstructures. When such structures are back-filled nonlinear polymers or
liquids, devices can be tuned and novel phenomena can be observed. In particular, such devices
are very interesting when constructed from silicon on insulator (SOI) material in which the optical
waveguide also serves as a transparent electrical contact. Here we show examples of the design,
fabrication and testing of optical microstructures in which the electro-optic (χ2) and photorefractive
(χ3) nonlinearities are used for electro-optic tuning, frequency mixing, optical
rectification, and high-speed switching of light
Genuine Counterfactual Communication with a Nanophotonic Processor
In standard communication information is carried by particles or waves.
Counterintuitively, in counterfactual communication particles and information
can travel in opposite directions. The quantum Zeno effect allows Bob to
transmit a message to Alice by encoding information in particles he never
interacts with. The first suggested protocol not only required thousands of
ideal optical components, but also resulted in a so-called "weak trace" of the
particles having travelled from Bob to Alice, calling the scalability and
counterfactuality of previous proposals and experiments into question. Here we
overcome these challenges, implementing a new protocol in a programmable
nanophotonic processor, based on reconfigurable silicon-on-insulator waveguides
that operate at telecom wavelengths. This, together with our telecom
single-photon source and highly-efficient superconducting nanowire
single-photon detectors, provides a versatile and stable platform for a
high-fidelity implementation of genuinely trace-free counterfactual
communication, allowing us to actively tune the number of steps in the Zeno
measurement, and achieve a bit error probability below 1%, with neither
post-selection nor a weak trace. Our demonstration shows how our programmable
nanophotonic processor could be applied to more complex counterfactual tasks
and quantum information protocols.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Optical modulation and detection in slotted Silicon waveguides
We demonstrate a novel mechanism for low power optical detection and modulation in a slotted waveguide geometry filled with nonlinear electro-optic polymers. The nanoscale confinement of the optical mode, combined with its close proximity to electrical contacts, enables the direct conversion of optical energy to electrical energy, without external bias, via optical rectification, and also enhances electro-optic modulation. We demonstrate this process for power levels in the sub-milliwatt regime, as compared to the kilowatt regime in which optical nonlinear effects are typically observed at short length scales. Our results suggest that a new class of detectors based on nonlinear optics may be practical
The importance of deep, basinwide measurements in optimised Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation observing arrays
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a key process in the global redistribution of heat. The AMOC is defined as the maximum of the overturning stream function, which typically occurs near 30°N in the North Atlantic. The RAPID mooring array has provided full-depth, basinwide, continuous estimates of this quantity since 2004. Motivated by both the need to deliver near real-time data and optimization of the array to reduce costs, we consider alternative configurations of the mooring array. Results suggest that the variability observed since 2004 could be reproduced by a single tall mooring on the western boundary and a mooring to 1500 m on the eastern boundary. We consider the potential future evolution of the AMOC in two generations of the Hadley Centre climate models and a suite of additional CMIP5 models. The modeling studies show that deep, basinwide measurements are essential to capture correctly the future decline of the AMOC. We conclude that, while a reduced array could be useful for estimates of the AMOC on subseasonal to decadal time scales as part of a near real-time data delivery system, extreme caution must be applied to avoid the potential misinterpretation or absence of a climate time scale AMOC decline that is a key motivation for the maintenance of these observations
Where Nanophotonics and Microfluidics Meet
A new generation of photonic devices has recently emerged that relies on using geometries of
sub-wavelength microstructures within a high refractive index contrast materials system. These
geometries are used to confine and manipulate light within very small volumes. High optical field
densities can be obtained within such structures, and these in turn can amplify optical
nonlinearities. Moreover, many of these structures, as for example photonic crystals and slotted
waveguides, can be engineered for the efficient localization of light within the low-index regions of
high index contrast microstructures. When such structures are back-filled nonlinear polymers or
liquids, devices can be tuned and novel phenomena can be observed. In particular, such devices
are very interesting when constructed from silicon on insulator (SOI) material in which the optical
waveguide also serves as a transparent electrical contact. Here we show examples of the design,
fabrication and testing of optical microstructures in which the electro-optic (χ2) and photorefractive
(χ3) nonlinearities are used for electro-optic tuning, frequency mixing, optical
rectification, and high-speed switching of light
Terahertz All-Optical Modulation in a Silicon-Polymer Hybrid System
Although Gigahertz-scale free-carrier modulators have been previously
demonstrated in silicon, intensity modulators operating at Terahertz speeds
have not been reported because of silicon's weak ultrafast optical
nonlinearity. We have demonstrated intensity modulation of light with light in
a silicon-polymer integrated waveguide device, based on the all-optical Kerr
effect - the same ultrafast effect used in four-wave mixing. Direct
measurements of time-domain intensity modulation are made at speeds of 10 GHz.
We showed experimentally that the ultrafast mechanism of this modulation
functions at the optical frequency through spectral measurements, and that
intensity modulation at frequencies in excess of 1 THz can be obtained in this
device. By integrating optical polymers through evanescent coupling to
high-mode-confinement silicon waveguides, we greatly increase the effective
nonlinearity of the waveguide for cross-phase modulation. The combination of
high mode confinement, multiple integrated optical components, and high
nonlinearities produces all-optical ultrafast devices operating at
continuous-wave power levels compatible with telecommunication systems.
Although far from commercial radio frequency optical modulator standards in
terms of extinction, these devices are a first step in development of
large-scale integrated ultrafast optical logic in silicon, and are two orders
of magnitude faster than previously reported silicon devices.Comment: Under consideration at Nature Material
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Trace-free counterfactual communication with a nanophotonic processor
Abstract: In standard communication information is carried by particles or waves. Counterintuitively, in counterfactual communication particles and information can travel in opposite directions. The quantum Zeno effect allows Bob to transmit a message to Alice by encoding information in particles he never interacts with. A first remarkable protocol for counterfactual communication relied on thousands of ideal optical operations for high success rate performance. Experimental realizations of that protocol have thus employed post-selection to demonstrate counterfactuality. This post-selection, together with arguments concerning a so-called “weak trace” of the particles traveling from Bob to Alice, have led to a discussion regarding the counterfactual nature of the protocol. Here we circumvent these controversies, implementing a new, and fundamentally different, protocol in a programmable nanophotonic processor, based on reconfigurable silicon-on-insulator waveguides that operate at telecom wavelengths. This, together with our telecom single-photon source and highly efficient superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, provides a versatile and stable platform for a high-fidelity implementation of counterfactual communication with single photons, allowing us to actively tune the number of steps in the Zeno measurement, and achieve a bit error probability below 1%, without post-selection and with a vanishing weak trace. Our demonstration shows how our programmable nanophotonic processor could be applied to more complex counterfactual tasks and quantum information protocols
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