High-Q silicon photonic crystal cavity for enhanced optical nonlinearities

Journal Article · Mon Sep 08 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4894441· OSTI ID:22311339

Dharanipathy, Ulagalandha Perumal; Tonin, Mario; Houdré, Romuald ^[1]; Minkov, Momchil; Savona, Vincenzo ^[2]

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1. Institut de Physique de la Matière Condensée, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)
2. Laboratory of Theoretical Physics of Nanosystems, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne (Switzerland)

We fabricate and experimentally characterize an H0 photonic crystal slab nanocavity with a design optimized for maximal quality factor, Q = 1.7 × 10{sup 6}. The cavity, fabricated from a silicon slab, has a resonant mode at λ = 1.59 μm and a measured Q-factor of 400 000. It displays nonlinear effects, including high-contrast optical bistability, at a threshold power among the lowest ever reported for a silicon device. With a theoretical modal volume as small as V = 0.34(λ/n){sup 3}, this cavity ranks among those with the highest Q/V ratios ever demonstrated, while having a small footprint suited for integration in photonic circuits.

• OSTI ID: 22311339
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CAVITY RESONATORS
CRYSTALS
EQUIPMENT
EV RANGE
NONLINEAR OPTICS
QUALITY FACTOR
REFRACTIVE INDEX
SILICON
SLABS