Excitation of surface plasmons at a SiO2/Ag interface by silicon quantum dots: Experiment and theory

The excitation of surface plasmons (SPs) by optically excited silicon quantum dots (QDs) located near a Ag interface is studied both experimentally and theoretically for different QD-interface separations. The Si QDs are formed in the near-surface region of an SiO2 substrate by Si ion implantation and thermal annealing. Photoluminescence decay-rate distributions, as derived from an inverse Laplace transform of the measured decay trace, are determined for samples with and without a Ag cover layer. For the smallest, investigated Si-QDs-to-interface distance of 44 nm the average decay rate at lambda=750 nm is enhanced by 80% due to the proximity of the Ag-glass interface, with respect to an air-glass interface. Calculations based on a classical dipole oscillator model show that the observed decay rate enhancement is mainly due to the excitation of surface plasmons that are on the SiO2/Ag interface. By comparing the model calculations to the experimental data, it is determined that Si QDs have a very high internal emission quantum efficiency of (77±17)%. At this distance they can excite surface plasmons at a rate of (1.1±0.2)×104 s¿1. From the model it is also predicted that by using thin metal films the excitation of surface plasmons by Si QDs can be further enhanced. Si QDs are found to preferentially excite symmetric thin-film surface plasmons

Ultrafast optical switching of three-dimensional Si inverse opal photonic band gap crystals

We present ultrafast optical switching experiments on 3D photonic band gap crystals. Switching the Si inverse opal is achieved by optically exciting free carriers by a two-photon process. We probe reflectivity in the frequency range of second order Bragg diffraction where the photonic band gap is predicted. We find good experimental switching conditions for free-carrier plasma frequencies between 0.3 and 0.7 times the optical frequency: we thus observe a large frequency shift of up to D omega/omega= 1.5% of all spectral features including the peak that corresponds to the photonic band gap. We deduce a corresponding large refractive index change of Dn'_Si/n'_Si= 2.0% and an induced absorption length that is longer than the sample thickness. We observe a fast decay time of 21 ps, which implies that switching could potentially be repeated at GHz rates. Such a high switching rate is relevant to future switching and modulation applications

Purcell factor enhanced scattering efficiency in silicon nanocrystal doped micro-cavities

Scattering induced by nano-particles in a microcavity is investigated for the case of silicon nanocrystal doped microtoroids and a significant enhancement of scattering into the originally doubly-degenerate cavity eigenmodes is found, exceeding >99.42%

Ultralow-threshold erbium-implanted toroidal microlaser on silicon

We present an erbium-doped microlaser on silicon operating at a wavelength of 1.5 mum that operates at a launched pump threshold as low as 4.5 muW. The 40 mum diameter toroidal microresonator is made using a combination of erbium ion implantation, photolithography, wet and dry etching, and laser annealing, using a thermally grown SiO2 film on a Si substrate as a starting material. The microlaser, doped with an average Er concentration of 2x10^(19) cm(-3), is pumped at 1480 nm using an evanescently coupled tapered optical fiber. Cavity quality factors as high as 3.9x10^(7) are achieved, corresponding to a modal loss of 0.007 dB/cm, and single-mode lasing is observed

Demonstration of an erbium doped microdisk laser on a silicon chip

An erbium doped micro-laser is demonstrated utilizing $\mathrm{SiO_{2}}$ microdisk resonators on a silicon chip. Passive microdisk resonators exhibit whispering gallery type (WGM) modes with intrinsic optical quality factors of up to $6\times{10^{7}}$ and were doped with trivalent erbium ions (peak concentration $\mathrm{\sim3.8\times{10^{20}cm^{-3})}}$ using MeV ion implantation. Coupling to the fundamental WGM of the microdisk resonator was achieved by using a tapered optical fiber. Upon pumping of the $^{4}I_{15/2}\longrightarrow$ $^{4}I_{13/2}$ erbium transition at 1450 nm, a gradual transition from spontaneous to stimulated emission was observed in the 1550 nm band. Analysis of the pump-output power relation yielded a pump threshold of 43 $\mathrm{\mu}$W and allowed measuring the spontaneous emission coupling factor: $\beta\approx1\times10^{-3}$

Purcell factor enhanced scattering efficiency in optical microcavities

Scattering processes in an optical microcavity are investigated for the case of silicon nanocrystals embedded in an ultra-high Q toroid microcavity. Using a novel measurement technique based on the observable mode-splitting, we demonstrate that light scattering is highly preferential: more than 99.8% of the scattered photon flux is scattered into the original doubly-degenerate cavity modes. The large capture efficiency is attributed to an increased scattering rate into the cavity mode, due to the enhancement of the optical density of states over the free space value and has the same origin as the Purcell effect in spontaneous emission. The experimentally determined Purcell factor amounts to 883

Fabrication and characterization of erbium-doped toroidal microcavity lasers

Erbium-doped SiO2 toroidal microcavity lasers are fabricated on a Si substrate using a combination of optical lithography, etching, Er ion implantation, and CO2 laser reflow. Erbium is either preimplanted in the SiO2 base material or postimplanted into a fully fabricated microtoroid. Three-dimensional infrared confocal photoluminescence spectroscopy imaging is used to determine the spatial distribution of optically active Er ions in the two types of microtoroids, and distinct differences are found. Microprobe Rutherford backscattering spectrometry indicates that no macroscopic Er diffusion occurs during the laser reflow for preimplanted microtoroids. From the measured Er doping profiles and calculated optical mode distributions the overlap factor between the Er distribution and mode profile is calculated: Gamma=0.066 and Gamma=0.02 for postimplanted and preimplanted microtoroids, respectively. Single and multimode lasing around 1.5 µm is observed for both types of microtoroids, with the lowest lasing threshold (4.5 µW) observed for the preimplanted microtoroids, which possess the smallest mode volume. When excited in the proper geometry, a clear mode spectrum is observed superimposed on the Er spontaneous emission spectrum. This result indicates the coupling of Er ions to cavity modes

Photoluminescence quantum efficiency of dense silicon nanocrystal ensembles in SiO2

The photoluminescence decay characteristics of silicon nanocrystals in dense ensembles fabricated by ion implantation into silicon dioxide are observed to vary in proportion to the calculated local density of optical states. A comparison of the experimental 1/e photoluminescence decay rates to the expected spontaneous emission rate modification yields values for the internal quantum efficiency and the intrinsic radiative decay rate of silicon nanocrystals. A photoluminescence quantum efficiency as high as 59%±9% is found for nanocrystals emitting at 750 nm at low excitation power. A power dependent nonradiative decay mechanism reduces the quantum efficiency at high pump intensity

Erbium-implanted high-Q silica toroidal microcavity laser on a silicon chip

Lasing from an erbium-doped high-Q silica toroidal microcavity coupled to a tapered optical fiber is demonstrated and analyzed. Average erbium ion concentrations were in the range 0.009–0.09 at. %, and a threshold power as low as 4.5 µW and an output lasing power as high as 39.4 µW are obtained from toroidal cavities with major diameters in the range 25–80 µm. Controlling lasing wavelength in a discrete way at each whispering-gallery mode was possible by changing the cavity loading, i.e., the distance between the tapered optical fiber and the microcavity. Analytic formulas predicting threshold power and differential slope efficiency are derived and their dependence on cavity loading, erbium ion concentration, and Q factor is analyzed. It is shown that the experimental results are in good agreement with the derived formulas

Towards spectral-domain optical coherence tomography on a silicon chip

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a widely used optical imaging technology, particularly in the medical field, since it can provide non-invasive, sub-micrometer resolution diagnostic images of tissue. Current OCT systems contain optical fibers and free-space optical components which make these instruments bulky and costly. A significant decrease in the size and cost of an OCT system is possible through the use of integrated optics, allowing for compact and low-cost OCT systems, especially suited for applications in which instrument size may play an important role. In this work, we present a miniaturized spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) system. We design an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) spectrometer in silicon oxynitride for the 1300-nm spectral range. The spectral range of the SD-OCT system near 1300 nm is specifically selected for skin imaging. We aim at 18-μm depth resolution (determined by the full width at half maximum values of the transmission spectrum of the AWG) and a 1-mm depth range (determined by the wavelength spacing per output waveguide). The free spectral range of 78 nm and wavelength resolution of 0.4 nm of the AWG are determined to meet these requirements. We use ahe fiber-based SD-OCT system with AWG spectrometer. The Michelson interferometer is illuminated using a superluminescent diode which has a Gaussian-like spectrum with a bandwidth of 40 nm and a central wavelength of 1300 nm. Via a circulator the light is coupled into a 90/10 beamsplitter. Polarization controllers are placed into both, sample and reference arm. The backreflected light is redirected through the optical circulator to the AWG spectrometer. The collimated beam is imaged with a camera lens onto a 46 kHz CCD linescan camera. The acquired spectra are processed by first subtracting the reference arm spectrum, then compensating the dispersion, and finally resampling to k-space. We achieve a depth range of 1mm. The measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is 75 dB. The axial resolution (FWHM) is determined from a Gaussian fit to the point spread function in amplitude at various depths. A slight decrease in depth resolution is observed at higher depth ranges, which we attribute to misalignment and lens aberrations. As a demonstration of OCT imaging using the AWG spectrometer, an image of a layered phantom is recorded. The phantom consists of three layers of scattering medium (µs = 4 mm-1, refractive index n = 1.41) interleaved with non-scattering tape. We can observe all three scattering layers up to the maximum imaging depth of 1 mm