25Gb/s hybrid silicon switch using a capacitively loaded traveling wave electrode.

We demonstrate a hybrid silicon modulator and switch operating up to 25 Gb/s with over 10 dB extinction ratio. The modulator has voltage-length product of 2.4 V-mm while the switch has switch time less than 35 ps and crosstalk smaller than -12 dB.

Integrated hybrid silicon triplexer.

We demonstrate an integrated triplexer on silicon with a compact size of 1mm by 3.5mm by utilizing a selective area wafer bonding technique. The wavelength demultiplexer on the triplexer chip successfully separates signals at wavelengths of 1310 nm, 1490 nm and 1550 nm with more than 10 dB extinction ratio. The measured 3 dB bandwidth of the integrated laser and photodetectors are 2 GHz and 16 GHz, respectively. Open eye diagrams are also measured for the integrated photodetector up to 12.5 GHz PRBS inputs.

Electrically-pumped compact hybrid silicon microring lasers for optical interconnects.

We demonstrate an electrically-pumped hybrid silicon microring laser fabricated by a self-aligned process. The compact structure (D = 50 microm) and small electrical and optical losses result in lasing threshold as low as 5.4 mA and up to 65 degrees C operation temperature in continuous-wave (cw) mode. The spectrum is single mode with large extinction ratio and small linewidth observed. Application as on-chip optical interconnects is discussed from a system perspective.

Analysis and demonstration of coupling control in polymer microring resonators using photobleaching.

We describe postfabrication trimming of coupling in both laterally and vertically coupled polymer microring resonators (MRRs), using photobleaching. For both cases, a tapered directional-coupler-based simple analytical model is developed to simulate the change in coupling due to a bleaching-induced decrease in refractive index. A tightly focused laser beam spot (a few kilowatts per square centimeter) is used to precisely bleach the coupling region alone. Coupling control is achieved for (1) high-Q passive rings by bleaching the vertically coupled chromophore-doped bus waveguide, and for (2) laterally coupled electro-optic ring modulators, by bleaching both the ring and the waveguide in the coupling region. The power coupling ratio (PCR) of an undercoupled high-Q MRR filter is reduced by 0.54 percentage points for the TE mode, causing the MRR finesse to increase from a value of 72 to 108. For a ring modulator, the PCR was increased by 3.5 percentage points for the TM mode, causing a 6 dB increase in extinction ratio, to achieve a final value of nearly 25 dB. Phase/group-delay characterization confirmed that the ring was trimmed toward critical coupling.

High speed hybrid silicon evanescent electroabsorption modulator.

A new way to make high speed modulators using Si waveguides is demonstrated. The hybrid silicon evanescent electroabsorption modulator with offset AlGaInAs quantum wells has an extinction ratio over 10 dB and modulation bandwidth of 10 GHz. The modulator has a clean open eye at 10 Gb/s with sub-volt drive.

High speed hybrid silicon evanescent Mach-Zehnder modulator and switch.

We demonstrate the first high speed silicon evanescent Mach Zehnder modulator and switch. The modulator utilizes carrier depletion within AlGaInAs quantum wells to obtain V(pi) L of 2 V-mm and clear open eye at 10 Gb/s. The switch exhibits a power penalty of 0.5 dB for all ports at 10 Gb/s modulation.

A distributed feedback silicon evanescent laser.

We report an electrically pumped distributed feedback silicon evanescent laser. The laser operates continuous wave with a single mode output at 1600 nm. The laser threshold is 25 mA with a maximum output power of 5.4 mW at 10 degrees C. The maximum operating temperature and minimum line width of the laser are 50 degrees C, and 3.6 MHz, respectively.

Raman amplification of 40 Gb/s data in low-loss silicon waveguides.

We demonstrate on-chip Raman amplification of an optical data signal at 40 Gb/s in a silicon-on-insulator p-i-n rib waveguide. Using 230 mW of coupled pump power, on/off gain of up to 2.3 dB is observed, while signal integrity is maintained. In addition, the gain is measured as a function of signal wavelength detuning from the Stokes wavelength. The Lorentzian linewidth of the Raman gain profile is determined to be approximately 80 GHz. This provides applicability for the selective amplification of individual DWDM optical channels.

A hybrid AlGaInAs-silicon evanescent preamplifier and photodetector.

We report the integration of a hybrid silicon evanescent waveguide photodetector with a hybrid silicon evanescent optical amplifier. The device operates at 1550 nm with a responsivity of 5.7 A/W and a receiver sensitivity of -17.5 dBm at 2.5 Gb/s. The transition between the passive silicon waveguide and the hybrid waveguide of the amplifier is tapered to increase coupling efficiency and to minimize reflections.

High efficiency wavelength conversion of 10 Gb/s data in silicon waveguides.

Efficient wavelength conversion via four-wave-mixing in silicon-on-isolator p-i-n waveguides has been realized. By reverse biasing the p-i-n diode structure formed along the silicon rib waveguide, the nonlinear absorption due to two photon absorption induced free carrier absorption is significantly reduced, and a wavelength conversion efficiency of -8.5 dB has been achieved in an 8 cm long waveguide at a pump intensity of 40 MW/cm2. A high-speed pseudo-random bit sequence data at 10 Gb/s rate is converted to a new wavelength channel in the C-band with clear open eye diagram and no waveform distortion. Conversion efficiency as functions of pump power, wavelength detuning, and bias voltages, have been investigated. For shorter waveguides of 1.6 cm long, a conversion bandwidth of > 30 nm was achieved.

Monolithic integrated Raman silicon laser.

We present a monolithic integrated Raman silicon laser based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguide race-track ring resonator with an integrated p-i-n diode structure. Under reverse biasing, we achieved stable, single mode, continuous-wave (CW) lasing with output power exceeding 30mW and 10% slope efficiency. The laser emission has high spectral purity with a measured side mode suppression exceeding 70dB and laser linewidth of <100 kHz. This laser architecture allows for on-chip integration with other silicon photonics components to provide a highly integrated and scaleable monolithic device.

Demonstration of wavelength conversion at 40 Gb/s data rate in silicon waveguides.

We report an efficient wavelength conversion via four-wave-mixing in reverse biased silicon-on-isolator p-i-n rib waveguides and demonstrate, for the first time, the conversion of a high-speed optical pseudo-random bit sequence data at 40 Gb/s. Results give a wavelength conversion efficiency of -8.6dB using a 8cm long waveguide with clear open eye on the wavelength converted signal . Conversion efficiency as functions of pump power and bias voltages has also been investigated. We show a slope efficiency close to 2 as predicted by theory.