Optical nonlinearities in silicon under extreme intensities in the optical communication (C-band) spectrum

Matthias F. Jenne; Isaac Spotts; Christopher M. Collier; Jonathan F. Holzman

doi:10.1117/12.3001964

12 March 2024 Optical nonlinearities in silicon under extreme intensities in the optical communication (C-band) spectrum

Matthias F. Jenne, Isaac Spotts, Christopher M. Collier, Jonathan F. Holzman

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12891, Silicon Photonics XIX; 1289103 (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3001964
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In this work, we explore the manifestation of optical nonlinearities in silicon, given illumination by radiation with wavelengths in the optical communication (C-band) spectrum, near 1550 nm, and extreme intensities, spanning 100-1000 GW/cm². We photoexcite a silicon photodiode with femtosecond-duration 1550-nm laser pulses and observe the resulting optical autocorrelations as a function of the peak pulse intensity. Such measurements in silicon reveal (i) negligible single-photon absorption, suggesting that there are few defect (trap) states in the bandgap that can assist below-bandgap photoexcitation, (ii) significant two-photon absorption at intensities above 100 GW/cm², (iii) growing three-photon absorption at intensities rising above a threshold of 300 GW/cm², and (iv) increasing saturation at intensities rising above a threshold of 650 GW/cm². We attribute this saturation to the extremely high density of charge carriers brought about by three-photon absorption—as this depletes the available electrons in the valence band and the available states in the conduction band. We hope that this work will be a foundation for the future integration of telecom (C-band) technologies and silicon nanostructures.

Conference Presentation

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Matthias F. Jenne, Isaac Spotts, Christopher M. Collier, and Jonathan F. Holzman "Optical nonlinearities in silicon under extreme intensities in the optical communication (C-band) spectrum", Proc. SPIE 12891, Silicon Photonics XIX, 1289103 (12 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3001964

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