Four-wave mixing and nonlinear losses in thick silicon waveguides

Opt Lett. 2016 Jun 1;41(11):2418-21. doi: 10.1364/OL.41.002418.

Abstract

We experimentally investigate four-wave mixing and nonlinear losses in low-loss 3 μm thick silicon strip waveguides. Adiabatic bends allow for single-mode operation in an ultra-compact 35 cm long spiral. The waveguides exhibited reduced nonlinear losses due to the large mode area of 2.75 μm2. The nonlinear coefficient γ was measured as 5.5 m-1 W-1. These features, along with the low propagation loss of 0.17 dB/cm, enable large idler power generation at 1550 nm.