A SiO2/SiOx/SiO2 strip-loaded waveguide with buried Si quantum dots is optically pumped to provide amplified spontaneous emission centered at 805 nm with spectral linewidth of 140 nm. By top-pumping the 350-nm-thick SiOx with He–Cd laser of 40 mW at 325 nm, the optical gain of 65 cm−1 and loss coefficient of 5 cm−1 are determined. Under a 785 nm small-signal injection diagnosis, the power-dependent gain curve fitting with gain-saturated amplifier model reveals a peak gain of 27 dB (not including waveguide loss) and a net power gain of 9.5 dB for the Si-rich SiOx waveguide amplifier with a length of 5 mm.
The SiO(2)/SiO(x)/SiO(2) strip-loaded waveguide on Si substrate with buried Si nanocrystals (Si-ncs) in SiO(x) layer is demonstrated to show the Si-nc dependent optical gain. The amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) spectrum at 750-850 nm is observed with central wavelength of 805 nm and 3dB spectral linewidth of 140 nm. The optical net modal gain and loss coefficients of 85.7 cm(-1) and 21 cm(-1), respectively, are determined from the waveguide length dependent ASE intensity. By attenuating 785-nm laser diode signal to inject the pumped SiO(2)/SiO(x)/SiO(2) strip-loaded waveguide, a small-signal power gain of 13.5 decibel (dB) is obtained. Increasing the laser diode power shows a significantly reduced power gain with a saturated output power due to the finite density of the optically pumped Si-ncs. The fitting of power-dependent gain with a gain-saturated amplifier model reveals a peak gain of 35 dB and a saturation power of 1.1 nW for the SiO(2)/SiO(x):Si-nc/SiO(2)/Si strip-loaded waveguide. Similar output saturation is also observed with increasing pumping power. With the presence of optical gain in the optically pumped Si-ncs, the intended application will be the monolithic integration of the Si-nc based optical waveguide amplifier with the other on-board photonic integrated circuits for the future optical interconnect communication.
Si-rich SiOX strip-loaded waveguide with silicon (Si) nanocrystals contributed amplified spontaneous emission at 750-850 nm with associated spectral linewidth of 140 nm is characterized. By using variable stripe length (VSL) method we demonstrate the optical gain and loss coefficients of 65 and 5 cm−1, respectively, for such a waveguide amplifier. The optical gain and loss coefficients are observed by fitting the one dimensional amplifier equation. The small-signal power gain of 18.4 dB at wavelength of 805 nm under He-Cd laser pumping of 40 mW at 325 nm is obtained from the SiO2/SiOX/SiO2 waveguide amplifier with length of 1 cm.
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