Open AccessTwo-octave spanning supercontinuum generation in stoichiometric silicon nitride waveguides pumped at telecom wavelengths
Author(s) -
M.A. Garcia Porcel,
Florian Schepers,
Jörn P. Epping,
Tim Hellwig,
Marcel Hoekman,
René Heideman,
Petrus J.M. van der Slot,
Chris Lee,
Robert Schmidt,
Rudolf Bratschitsch,
Carsten Fallnich,
Klaus-J. Boller
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.001542
Subject(s) - supercontinuum , optics , materials science , wavelength , laser , waveguide , optoelectronics , dispersion (optics) , physics , photonic crystal fiber
We demonstrate supercontinuum generation in stoichiometric silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 in SiO 2 ) integrated optical waveguides, pumped at telecommunication wavelengths. The pump laser is a mode-locked erbium fiber laser at a wavelength of 1.56 µm with a pulse duration of 120 fs. With a waveguide-internal pulse energy of 1.4 nJ and a waveguide with 1.0 µm × 0.9 µm cross section, designed for anomalous dispersion across the 1500 nm telecommunication range, the output spectrum extends from the visible, at around 526 nm, up to the mid-infrared, at least to 2.6 µm, the instrumental limit of our detection. This output spans more than 2.2 octaves (454 THz at the -30 dB level). The measured output spectra agree well with theoretical modeling based on the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The infrared part of the supercontinuum spectra shifts progressively towards the mid-infrared, well beyond 2.6 µm, by increasing the width of the waveguides.