Physical origin of higher-order soliton fission in nanophotonic semiconductor waveguides
Abstract Supercontinuum generation in Kerr media has become a staple of nonlinear optics. It has been celebrated for advancing the understanding of soliton propagation as well as its many applications in a broad range of fields. Coherent spectral broadening of laser light is now commonly performed in laboratories and used in commercial “white light” sources. The prospect of miniaturizing the technology is currently driving experiments in different integrated platforms such as semiconductor on insulator waveguides. Central to the spectral broadening is the concept of higher-order soliton fission. While widely accepted in silica fibers, the dynamics of soliton decay in semiconductor waveguides is yet poorly understood. In particular, the role of nonlinear loss and free carriers, absent in silica, remains an open question. Here, through experiments and simulations, we show that nonlinear loss is the dominant perturbation in wire waveguides, while free-carrier dispersion is dominant in photonic crystal waveguides.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- Argonne National Laboratory, Center for Nanoscale Materials; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); European Research Council (ERC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1619489
- Alternate ID(s):
- OSTI ID: 1559032
- Journal Information:
- Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Vol. 8 Journal Issue: 1; ISSN 2045-2322
- Publisher:
- Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United Kingdom
- Language:
- English
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