Ultra-narrow-linewidth erbium-doped lasers on a silicon photonics platform

Nanxi Li; Purnawirman Purnawirman; E. Salih Magden; Gurpreet Singh; Neetesh Singh; Anna Baldycheva; Ehsan S. Hosseini; Jie Sun; Michele Moresco; Thomas N. Adam; Gerald Leake; Douglas Coolbaugh; Jonathan D. B. Bradley; Michael R. Watts

doi:10.1117/12.2288791

22 February 2018 Ultra-narrow-linewidth erbium-doped lasers on a silicon photonics platform

Nanxi Li, Purnawirman Purnawirman, E. Salih Magden, Gurpreet Singh, Neetesh Singh, Anna Baldycheva, Ehsan S. Hosseini, Jie Sun, Michele Moresco, Thomas N. Adam, Gerald Leake, Douglas Coolbaugh, Jonathan D. B. Bradley, Michael R. Watts

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10537, Silicon Photonics XIII; 1053712 (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2288791
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2018, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

We report ultra-narrow-linewidth erbium-doped aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃:Er³⁺) distributed feedback (DFB) lasers with a wavelength-insensitive silicon-compatible waveguide design. The waveguide consists of five silicon nitride (SiN_x) segments buried under silicon dioxide (SiO₂) with a layer Al₂O₃:Er³⁺ deposited on top. This design has a high confinement factor (> 85%) and a near perfect (> 98%) intensity overlap for an octave-spanning range across near infrared wavelengths (950–2000 nm). We compare the performance of DFB lasers in discrete quarter phase shifted (QPS) cavity and distributed phase shifted (DPS) cavity. Using QPS-DFB configuration, we obtain maximum output powers of 0.41 mW, 0.76 mW, and 0.47 mW at widely spaced wavelengths within both the C and L bands of the erbium gain spectrum (1536 nm, 1566 nm, and 1596 nm). In a DPS cavity, we achieve an order of magnitude improvement in maximum output power (5.43 mW) and a side mode suppression ratio (SMSR) of > 59.4 dB at an emission wavelength of 1565 nm. We observe an ultra-narrow linewidth of ΔνDPS = 5.3 ± 0.3 kHz for the DPS-DFB laser, as compared to ΔγQPS = 30.4 ± 1.1 kHz for the QPS-DFB laser, measured by a recirculating self-heterodyne delayed interferometer (RSHDI). Even narrower linewidth can be achieved by mechanical stabilization of the setup, increasing the pump absorption efficiency, increasing the output power, or enhancing the cavity Q.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Nanxi Li, Purnawirman Purnawirman, E. Salih Magden, Gurpreet Singh, Neetesh Singh, Anna Baldycheva, Ehsan S. Hosseini, Jie Sun, Michele Moresco, Thomas N. Adam, Gerald Leake, Douglas Coolbaugh, Jonathan D. B. Bradley, and Michael R. Watts "Ultra-narrow-linewidth erbium-doped lasers on a silicon photonics platform", Proc. SPIE 10537, Silicon Photonics XIII, 1053712 (22 February 2018); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2288791

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available