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Title: Optimizing photon-pair generation electronically using a p-i-n diode incorporated in a silicon microring resonator

Abstract

Silicon photonic microchips may be useful for compact, inexpensive, room-temperature optically pumped photon-pair sources, which unlike conventional photon-pair generators based on crystals or optical fibers, can be manufactured using CMOS-compatible processes on silicon wafers. It has been shown that photon pairs can be created in simple structures such as microring resonators at a rate of a few hundred kilohertz using less than a milliwatt of optical pump power, based on the process of spontaneous four-wave mixing. To create a practical photon-pair source, however, also requires some way of monitoring the device and aligning the pump wavelength when the temperature varies, since silicon resonators are highly sensitive to temperature. In fact, monitoring photodiodes are standard components in classical laser diodes, but the incorporation of germanium or InGaAs photodiodes would raise the cost and fabrication complexity. Here, we present a simple and effective all-electronic technique for finding the optimum operating point for the microring used to generate photon pairs, based on measuring the reverse-biased current in a silicon p-i-n junction diode fabricated across the waveguide that constitutes the silicon microring. We show that by monitoring the current, and using it to tune the pump laser wavelength, the photon-pair generation properties of themore » microring can be preserved over a temperature range of more than 30 °C.« less

Authors:
; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22482154
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 107; Journal Issue: 13; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; FABRICATION; GALLIUM ARSENIDES; INDIUM ARSENIDES; JUNCTION DIODES; PHOTODIODES; PHOTONS; RESONATORS; SILICON; TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K; WAVEGUIDES

Citation Formats

Savanier, Marc, Kumar, Ranjeet, and Mookherjea, Shayan. Optimizing photon-pair generation electronically using a p-i-n diode incorporated in a silicon microring resonator. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4932047.
Savanier, Marc, Kumar, Ranjeet, & Mookherjea, Shayan. Optimizing photon-pair generation electronically using a p-i-n diode incorporated in a silicon microring resonator. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4932047
Savanier, Marc, Kumar, Ranjeet, and Mookherjea, Shayan. 2015. "Optimizing photon-pair generation electronically using a p-i-n diode incorporated in a silicon microring resonator". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4932047.
@article{osti_22482154,
title = {Optimizing photon-pair generation electronically using a p-i-n diode incorporated in a silicon microring resonator},
author = {Savanier, Marc and Kumar, Ranjeet and Mookherjea, Shayan},
abstractNote = {Silicon photonic microchips may be useful for compact, inexpensive, room-temperature optically pumped photon-pair sources, which unlike conventional photon-pair generators based on crystals or optical fibers, can be manufactured using CMOS-compatible processes on silicon wafers. It has been shown that photon pairs can be created in simple structures such as microring resonators at a rate of a few hundred kilohertz using less than a milliwatt of optical pump power, based on the process of spontaneous four-wave mixing. To create a practical photon-pair source, however, also requires some way of monitoring the device and aligning the pump wavelength when the temperature varies, since silicon resonators are highly sensitive to temperature. In fact, monitoring photodiodes are standard components in classical laser diodes, but the incorporation of germanium or InGaAs photodiodes would raise the cost and fabrication complexity. Here, we present a simple and effective all-electronic technique for finding the optimum operating point for the microring used to generate photon pairs, based on measuring the reverse-biased current in a silicon p-i-n junction diode fabricated across the waveguide that constitutes the silicon microring. We show that by monitoring the current, and using it to tune the pump laser wavelength, the photon-pair generation properties of the microring can be preserved over a temperature range of more than 30 °C.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4932047},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22482154}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 13,
volume = 107,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}