Understanding the contribution of mode area and slow light to the effective Kerr nonlinearity of waveguides.
We resolve the ambiguity in existing definitions of the effective area of a waveguide mode that have been reported in the literature by examining which definition leads to an accurate evaluation of the effective Kerr nonlinearity. We show that the effective nonlinear coefficient of a waveguide mode can be written as the product of a suitable average of the nonlinear coefficients of the waveguide's constituent materials, the mode's group velocity and a new suitably defined effective mode area. None of these parameters on their own completely describe the strength of the nonlinear effects of a waveguide.
Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), The University of Adelaide, 5005, Australia. shahraam.afshar@adelaide.edu.au
Shahraam
S
Afshar V
T M
TM
Monro
C Martijn
CM
de Sterke
D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008027:Light; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*