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Nonlinear absorption in silicon and the prospects of mid‐infrared silicon Raman lasers
Author(s) -
Raghunathan Varun,
Shori Ramesh,
Stafsudd Oscar M.,
Jalali Bahram
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.200622062
Subject(s) - silicon , optoelectronics , materials science , laser , raman spectroscopy , infrared , silicon photonics , raman amplification , absorption (acoustics) , hybrid silicon laser , free carrier absorption , photonics , wavelength , two photon absorption , amplifier , optics , raman scattering , physics , cmos , composite material
We present the first experimental results of nonlinear absorption in silicon at the mid infrared wavelengths. Nonlinear losses due to two‐photon and free‐carrier absorption that are found to degrade near infrared silicon Raman devices become negligible at photon energies less than half the bandgap (i.e., λ > 2.2 µm in wavelength). Moreover, the low loss window for linear absorption in silicon extends from 1.2 to 6.5 µm. These factors along with the excellent thermal conductivity and high optical damage threshold renders silicon an ideal material for building Raman lasers and amplifiers that operate in the mid infrared wavelengths. This new technology will expand the application space of silicon photonics beyond data communication and into biochemical sensing, laser medicine, and LIDAR. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)