Ultrafast wavelength conversion via cross-phase modulation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon optical fibers

Opt Express. 2012 Nov 19;20(24):26110-6. doi: 10.1364/OE.20.026110.

Abstract

We present a characterization of the spectral modulation and wavelength shifting induced via cross-phase modulation (XPM) in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) core optical fiber. Pump-probe experiments using picosecond and femtosecond signal pulses are shown to be in good agreement with numerical simulations of the coupled nonlinear propagation equations. The large 10nm red-shifts obtained with the femtosecond probe pulses are attributed to the high Kerr nonlinearity of the a-Si:H material. Extinction ratios as high as 12 dB are measured for the conversion process at telecommunications wavelengths, indicating the potential for high-speed nonlinear optical control in a-Si:H fibers and waveguides.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Computer-Aided Design*
  • Equipment Design
  • Humans
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • Optical Fibers*
  • Photons*
  • Refractometry / instrumentation*
  • Scattering, Radiation*
  • Silicon / chemistry*

Substances

  • Silicon