Integrated photonics has attracted much attention because of its potential for providing a monolithically integrated optoelectronic platform. Recent establishment of the AIM Photonics Institute in Rochester is likely to accelerate progress in this area. Silicon photonics has been a topic of interest for more than a decade and will continue to do so in near future.
Silicon-on Insulator Waveguides
Our group was among the first to study nonlinear phenomena in silicon waveguides. We showed in 2006 that ultrabroadband parametric generation and wavelength conversion can be realized with an SOI waveguide. The use of dual-pump configuration permitted multiband operation with high efficiency over a broad spectral region extending over 300 nm. Such waveguides can also be used to generate a supercontinuum by launching femtosecond pulses and propagating them as higher-order solitons. In contrast with optical fibers, stimulated Raman scattering played a relatively minor role.
LiNbO3-Based Microring Resonators
Since 2018, my group is working on a joint project with Prof. Cardenas related to LiNbO3 micro-ring resonators that is funded by the NSF and makes use of the nanofabrication facility at Cornell University. The objective is to realize wavelength shifts through electrically induced changes in the refractive index and a dynamic fashion. See the figure above for a schematic of such a device.
For a list of recent publications, visit our publications page.