title: Pushing the limits of CMOS optical parametric amplifiers with USRN:Si7N3above the two-photon absorption edge.
abstract: CMOS platforms operating at the telecommunications wavelength either reside within the highly dissipative two-photon regime in silicon-based optical devices, or possess small nonlinearities. Bandgap engineering of non-stoichiometric silicon nitride using state-of-the-art fabrication techniques has led to our development of USRN (ultra-silicon-rich nitride) in the form of Si7N3, that possesses a high Kerr nonlinearity (2.8 × 10-13cm2W-1), an order of magnitude larger than that in stoichiometric silicon nitride. Here we experimentally demonstrate high-gain optical parametric amplification using USRN, which is compositionally tailored such that the 1,550 nm wavelength resides above the two-photon absorption edge, while still possessing large nonlinearities. Optical parametric gain of 42.5 dB, as well as cascaded four-wave mixing with gain down to the third idler is observed and attributed to the high photon efficiency achieved through operating above the two-photon absorption edge, representing one of the largest optical parametric gains to date on a CMOS platform.
authors.affiliation: Photonics Devices and Systems Group, SUTD-MIT International Design Center, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, Singapore.
authors.forename: K J A
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Ooi
authors.affiliation: Data Storage Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way #08-01, Innovis 138634, Singapore.
authors.forename: D K T
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Photonics Devices and Systems Group, SUTD-MIT International Design Center, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, Singapore.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.|Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: A K L
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chee
authors.affiliation: Data Storage Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way #08-01, Innovis 138634, Singapore.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Data Storage Institute, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way #08-01, Innovis 138634, Singapore.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Photonics Devices and Systems Group, SUTD-MIT International Design Center, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, Singapore.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Ang
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.|Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.|Microphotonics Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Kimerling
authors.affiliation: Photonics Devices and Systems Group, SUTD-MIT International Design Center, Singapore University of Technology and Design, 8 Somapah Road, Singapore 487372, Singapore.
authors.forename: D T H
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Tan