All-optical switching in silicon-on-insulator photonic wire nano-cavities

Belotti, M., Galli, M., Gerace, D., Andreani, L.C., Guizzetti, G., Md Zain, A.R., Johnson, N.P., Sorel, M. and De La Rue, R.M. (2010) All-optical switching in silicon-on-insulator photonic wire nano-cavities. Optics Express, 18(2), pp. 1450-1461. (doi: 10.1364/OE.18.001450)

Abstract

We report on experimental demonstration of all-optical switching in a silicon-on-insulator photonic wire nanocavity operating at telecom wavelengths. The switching is performed with a control pulse energy as low as similar to 0.1 pJ on a cavity device that presents very high signal transmission, an ultra-high quality-factor, almost diffraction-limited modal volume and a footprint of only 5 mu m(2). High-speed modulation of the cavity mode is achieved by means of optical injection of free carriers using a nanosecond pulsed laser. Experimental results are interpreted by means of finite-difference time-domain simulations. The possibility of using this device as a logic gate is also demonstrated.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Chip, crystal microcavities, device, electrooptic modulator, energy, enhancement, light, logic, nanocavity, quality-factor, resonators, silicon-on-insulator, simulation, soi, transmission, wave-guides, wavelengths
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Johnson, Dr Nigel and Sorel, Professor Marc and De La Rue, Professor Richard and md zain, mr ahmad rifqi
• Authors: Belotti, M., Galli, M., Gerace, D., Andreani, L.C., Guizzetti, G., Md Zain, A.R., Johnson, N.P., Sorel, M., and De La Rue, R.M.
• Subjects: Q Science > QC Physics
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Electronics and Nanoscale Engineering
• Journal Name: Optics Express
• Journal Abbr.: Opt. express
• Publisher: Optical Society of America
• ISSN: 1094-4087
• ISSN (Online): 1094-4087