Demonstration of amplified data transmission at 2 µm in a low-loss wide bandwidth hollow core photonic bandgap fiber

Nested hollow-core anti-resonant fiber with elliptical cladding for 2 µm laser transmission

In this work, a nested hollow-core anti-resonant fiber (HC-ARF) with an elliptical cladding for high-power lasers for 2 µm laser transmission was proposed and theoretically investigated. The dual-layer elliptical tubes nested within the fiber enable the low-loss single-mode transmission. The finite element method (FEM) was employed to analyze and optimize the structure of fiber, with a total loss of less than 5 × 10-4 dB/m across the wavelength range of 1920nm to 2040nm. An extremely low loss of 1.22 × 10-5 dB/m at 1948nm was realized. A high-order mode extinction ratio (HOMER) exceeding 3 × 104 was maintained across a significant bandwidth and a size tolerance ratio under 15%. Furthermore, a low loss of 5 × 10-5 dB/m at 1948nm with a bending radius over 15 cm was obtained, indicating high bending resistance. It was demonstrated that the proposed fiber has exceptional transmission performance for 2 µm laser transmission.

Pulsed Optical Vortex Array Generation in a Self-Q-Switched Tm:YALO3 Laser

Optical vortex arrays are characterized by specific orbital angular momentums, and they have important applications in optical trapping and manipulation, optical communications, secure communications, and high-security information processing. Despite widespread research on optical vortex arrays, the 2 μm wavelength range remains underexplored. Pulsed lasers at 2 μm are vital in laser medicine, sensing, communications, and nonlinear optic applications. The need for 2 μm-pulsed structured optical vortices, combining the advantages of this wavelength range and optical vortex arrays, is evident. Therefore, using just three elements in the cavity, we demonstrate a compact self-Q-switched Tm:YALO3 vortex laser by utilizing the self-modulation effect of a laser crystal and a defect spot mirror. By tuning the position of the defect spot and the output coupler, the resonator delivers optical vortex arrays with phase singularities ranging from 1 to 4. The narrowest pulse widths of the TEM00 LG0,-1, two-, three-, and four-vortex arrays are 543, 1266, 1281, 2379, and 1615 ns, respectively. All the vortex arrays in our study have relatively high-power outputs, slope efficiencies, and single-pulse energies. This work paves the way for a 2 μm-pulsed structured light source that has potential applications in optical trapping and manipulation, free-space optical communications, and laser medicine.

Ultra-broadband 1 × 2 3 dB power splitter using a thin-film lithium niobate from 1.2 to 2 µm wave band

The 3 dB power splitters are fundamental building blocks for integrated photonic devices. As data capacity requirements continue to rise, there is a growing interest in integrated devices that can accommodate multiple spectral bands, including the conventional O-, C-, and L-bands, and the emerging 2 µm band. Here we propose and experimentally demonstrate a 3 dB power splitter based on adiabatic mode evolution using a thin-film lithium niobate, with ultra-broadband operation bandwidth from 1200 to 2100 nm. The fabricated power splitter exhibits low insertion losses of 0.2, 0.16, and 0.53 dB for wavelengths at 1310, 1550, and 2000 nm, respectively. The measured 1 dB bandwidth covers 1260-1360, 1480-1640, and 1930-2030 nm, which we believe that the proposed device is capable of operating in both O-, C-, L-, and 2 µm bands.

Silicon-based compact eight-channel wavelength and mode division (de)multiplexer for on-chip optical interconnects

A compact wavelength and mode division (de)multiplexer is proposed for multiplexing a total of eight guided TE modes of a 220 nm thick silicon-on-insulator waveguide with input channels at two wavelengths of 1.55 and 2 µm for wavelength division multiplexing. The (de)multiplexer is composed of four sequentially arranged sections with bus waveguides of increasing widths. The first section uses an asymmetric directional coupler to couple one TE mode at 1.55 µm, while each of the next three sections consists of two collocated directional couplers to simultaneously couple two TE modes of the bus waveguide, one at each wavelength of 1.55 and 2 µm. Three linear adiabatic tapers are designed to connect the consecutive bus waveguides. The fundamental TE mode of the bus waveguide at 1.55 or 2 µm is coupled by using another adiabatic taper from a single-mode input waveguide. The simulation results show that over a broad bandwidth of >100n m the insertion loss and crosstalk for both wavelength bands is <1.15d B and <-27d B, respectively. In addition, a compact device footprint with a total coupling length of ∼61µm is achieved due to the use of collocated directional couplers in three sections.

Silicon photonic flat-top WDM (de)multiplexer based on cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometers for the 2 µm wavelength band

The 2 µm wavelength band has proven to be a promising candidate for the next communication window. Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) transmission at 2 µm can greatly increase the capacity of optical communication systems. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a high-performance silicon photonic flat-top 8-channel WDM (de)multiplexer based on cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometers for the 2 µm wavelength band. A three-stage-coupler scheme is utilized to provide passbands and reduce channel crosstalk, and 11 thermo-optic phase shifters have allowed active compensation of waveguide phase errors. The fabricated device shows low insertion loss (< 0.9 dB), channel crosstalk (< 20.6 dB) and 1-dB bandwidth of 2.3 nm for operating wavelength ranging from 1955nm to 1985nm. The demonstrated (de)multiplexer could potentially be used for WDM optical data communication in the 2 µm spectral band.

Super-broadband on-chip continuous spectral translation unlocking coherent optical communications beyond conventional telecom bands

Today's optical communication systems are fast approaching their capacity limits in the conventional telecom bands. Opening up new wavelength bands is becoming an appealing solution to the capacity crunch. However, this ordinarily requires the development of optical transceivers for any new wavelength band, which is time-consuming and expensive. Here, we present an on-chip continuous spectral translation method that leverages existing commercial transceivers to unlock the vast and currently unused potential new wavelength bands. The spectral translators are continuous-wave laser pumped aluminum gallium arsenide on insulator (AlGaAsOI) nanowaveguides that provide a continuous conversion bandwidth over an octave. We demonstrate coherent transmission in the 2-μm band using well-developed conventional C-band transmitters and coherent receivers, as an example of the potential of the spectral translators that could also unlock communications at other wavelength bands. We demonstrate 318.25-Gbit s-1 Nyquist wavelength-division multiplexed coherent transmission over a 1.15-km hollow-core fibre using this approach. Our demonstration paves the way for transmitting, detecting, and processing signals at wavelength bands beyond the capability of today's devices.

Recent Advances in High Speed Photodetectors for eSWIR/MWIR/LWIR Applications

High speed photodetectors operating at a telecommunication band (from 1260 to 1625 nm) have been well studied with the development of an optical fiber communication system. Recent innovations of photonic systems have raised new requirements on the bandwidth of photodetectors with cutoff wavelengths from extended short wavelength infrared (eSWIR) to long wavelength infrared (LWIR). However, the frequency response performance of photodetectors in these longer wavelength bands is less studied, and the performances of the current high-speed photodetectors in these bands are still not comparable with those in the telecommunication band. In this paper, technical routes to achieve high response speed performance of photodetectors in the extended short wavelength infrared/mid wavelength infrared/long wavelength infrared (eSWIR/MWIR/LWIR) band are discussed, and the state-of-the-art performances are reviewed.

High-order mode conversion in a few-mode fiber via laser-inscribed long-period gratings at 1.55 µm and 2 µm wavebands

We demonstrate high-order mode conversion in a few-mode fiber (FMF) via CO₂ laser inscribed long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) at both the 1.55 µm and 2 µm wavebands. At the 1.55 µm waveband, five high-order core modes (the LP₁₁, LP₂₁, LP₀₂, LP₃₁, and LP₁₂ modes) can be coupled from the LP₀₁ mode with high efficiency by the FMF-LPFGs. The orbital angular momentum beams with different topological charges (±1,±2,±3) are experimentally generated by adjusting the polarization controllers. At the 2 µm waveband, three high-order modes (the LP₁₁, LP₂₁, and LP₀₂ mode) can be coupled by the FMF-LPFGs with different grating periods. The proposed LPFG-based mode converters could have a potential prospects in mode-division multiplexing and multiwindow broadband optical communication applications.

Mid-infrared non-volatile silicon photonic switches using nanoscale Ge2Sb2Te5 embedded in silicon-on-insulator waveguides

We propose and numerically analyze hybrid Si-Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ strip waveguide switches for the mid-infrared wavelength of 2.1 μm. The switches investigated are of one input-one output (on-off) and one input-two outputs (directional coupler) types. The reversible transition between the switch states is achieved by inducing phase transition from crystalline to amorphous and vice-versa by application of voltage pulses. The approach of embedding the nanoscale active material Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ within the Si waveguide is taken to enhance the interaction of light with the active region of the switches. The dimensions of the active regions of the switches are optimized to achieve low insertion loss, low switching energy and high extinction ratio. In the case of the on-off switch, an extinction ratio of 33.79 dB along with an extremely low insertion loss of 0.52 dB is achieved using an optimum Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ length of only 0.92 μm. For the directional coupler switch, an extinction ratio of 10.33 dB and 5.23 dB is obtained in the cross and bar states respectively using an active length of 52 μm. These values of extinction ratio, which are otherwise 18.59 dB and 8.33 dB respectively, are due to the necessity of doping the Si beneath the Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ to facilitate the electrical conduction needed for Joule heating. A suitable gap of 100 nm is maintained between the active and passive arm of the directional coupler switch. Electro-thermal co-simulations confirm that phase change occurs in the whole of the Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ region in both types of switches.

Compact silicon photonic hybrid ring external cavity (SHREC)/InGaSb-AlGaAsSb wavelength-tunable laser diode operating from 1881-1947 nm

In recent years, the 2 µm waveband has been gaining significant attention due to its potential in the realization of several key technologies, specifically, future long-haul optical communications near the 1.9 µm wavelength region. In this work, we present a hybrid silicon photonic wavelength-tunable diode laser with an operating range of 1881-1947 nm (66 nm) for the first time, providing good compatibility with the hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber and thulium-doped fiber amplifier. Room-temperature continuous-wave operation was achieved with a favorable on-chip output power of 28 mW. Stable single-mode lasing was observed with side-mode suppression ratio up to 35 dB. Besides the abovementioned potential applications, the demonstrated wavelength region will find critical purpose in H₂O spectroscopic sensing, optical logic, signal processing as well as enabling the strong optical Kerr effect on Si.

744-nm wavelength conversion of PAM-4 signal using an AlGaAsOI nanowaveguide

Exploring new frequency bands for optical transmission is essential to overcome the capacity crunch. The 2-µm band is becoming a research spotlight due to available broadband thulium-doped fiber amplifiers as well as low-latency, low-loss hollow-core fibers. Yet most of the 2-µm band devices designed for optical communication are still in their infancy. In this Letter, we propose wavelength conversion based on four-wave mixing in a highly nonlinear AlGaAsOI nanowaveguide to bridge the 2-µm band and the conventional bands. Due to the strong light confinement of the AlGaAsOI nanowaveguide, high-order phase match is enabled by dispersion engineering to achieve a large synergetic conversion bandwidth with high conversion efficiency. Simulation results show a possible conversion bandwidth over an octave. An AlGaAsOI nanowaveguide with 3-mm length and a nominal cross-section dimension of $ 320\;{\rm nm} \times 680\;{\rm nm} $320nm×680nm is used for the wavelength conversion of a 10 Gbit/s non-return-to-zero on-off keying signal and a 10 Gbit/s Nyquist-shaped four-level pulse-amplitude modulation signal. A conversion efficiency of $ - {28}\;{\rm dB}$-28dB is achieved using a 17.5-dBm continuous-wave pump in the C band, with 744 nm conversion from 1999.65 to 1255.35 nm.

Slow-light based tunable delay and narrowband comb filtering at 2 μm

Development of coherent sources, wideband thulium-doped fiber amplifiers, and fiber components has opened up the wavelength region around 2000 nm for optical communications, sensing, and medical surgery. However, several key functionalities that are critical to enable these applications are not yet well developed and, therefore, need attention. Here, we present demonstration of two critical signal processing tasks viz: (1) tunable delay and (2) tunable narrowband filter, which are important for enabling optical communications using wavelengths around 2000 nm. We exploit stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in a 100 m long SM1950 fiber to report the first demonstration of slow-light based tunable delay around 2000 nm. For a 35 ns input pulse, we tune the delay up to a maximum of 18.8 ns, which corresponds to a relative delay of ∼0.5, by varying the pump power to achieve a maximum gain of 12.6 dB. For the 1550 nm wavelength regime, it has been shown that the Brillouin slow-light typically results in a delay of 1 ns/dB, which is less than the 1.67 ns/dB obtained at 2000 nm. For the same gain, the large delay at 2 μm compared to 1.55 μm results from the narrow gain bandwidth (∼22  MHz) of the SBS process in this wavelength regime. Using the narrow gain bandwidth of SBS, we present a proof-of-concept experiment to demonstrate filtering of individual comb lines in a comb with frequency spacing <50  MHz. Demonstration of tunable narrowband filter and delay enables optical signal processing and line-by-line control of comb lines at 2 μm.

Nested capillary anti-resonant silica fiber with mid-infrared transmission and low bending sensitivity at 4000 nm

We report a silica glass nested capillary anti-resonant nodeless fiber with transmission and low bending sensitivity in the mid-infrared around 4000 nm. The fiber is characterized in terms of transmission over 1700-4200 nm wavelengths, revealing a mid-infrared 3500-4200 nm transmission window, clearly observable for a 12 m long fiber. Bending loss around 4000 nm is 0.5 dB/m measured over three full turns with 40 mm radius, going up to 5 dB/m for full turns with 15 mm radius. Our results provide experimental evidence of hollow-core silica fibers in which nested, anti-resonant capillaries provide high bend resistance in the mid-infrared. This is obtained for a fiber with a large core diameter of over 60 μm relative to around 30 μm capillaries in the cladding, which motivates its application in gas fiber lasers or fiber-based mid-infrared spectroscopy of CO_x or N_xO analytes.

Performance evaluation of continuous-wave mid-infrared wavelength conversion in silicon waveguides

Continuous-wave (CW) mid-infrared (MIR) wavelength conversion is experimentally demonstrated using degenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) between two thulium-doped fiber (TDF) lasers in a silicon waveguide. One TDF laser is homemade with a high power and tunable wavelength, while the other one is a commercial product. The conversion efficiency is measured with respect to the pump power and the signal wavelength detuning. In the 2 μm MIR band, the measured 3 dB conversion bandwidth is 52 nm. It verifies the feasibility of FWM-based wavelength conversion based on silicon waveguides in future MIR optical communication systems.

Fiber-optic transmission and networking: the previous 20 and the next 20 years [Invited]

Celebrating the 20^th anniversary of Optics Express, this paper reviews the evolution of optical fiber communication systems, and through a look at the previous 20 years attempts to extrapolate fiber-optic technology needs and potential solution paths over the coming 20 years. Well aware that 20-year extrapolations are inherently associated with great uncertainties, we still hope that taking a significantly longer-term view than most texts in this field will provide the reader with a broader perspective and will encourage the much needed out-of-the-box thinking to solve the very significant technology scaling problems ahead of us. Focusing on the optical transport and switching layer, we cover aspects of large-scale spatial multiplexing, massive opto-electronic arrays and holistic optics-electronics-DSP integration, as well as optical node architectures for switching and multiplexing of spatial and spectral superchannels.

Multistage single clad 2 μm TDFA with a shared L-band pump source

We report the experimental performance and simulation of a multiwatt two-stage TDFA using an L-band (1567 nm) shared pump source. We focus on the behavior of the amplifier for the parameters of output power P_out, gain G, noise figure NF, signal wavelength λ_s, and dynamic range. We measure the spectral performance of the TDFA for three specific wavelengths (λ_s=1909, 1952, and 2004 nm) chosen to cover the low-, mid-, and upper-wavelength operating regions of the wideband amplifier. We also compare the performance of the two-stage shared pump TDFA with a representative one-stage shared pump amplifier. A comparison of experimental results with simulation is presented.

Demonstration of High-Speed Optical Transmission at 2 µm in Titanium Dioxide Waveguides

We demonstrate the transmission of a 10-Gbit/s optical data signal in the 2 µm waveband into titanium dioxide waveguides. Error-free transmissions have been experimentally achieved taking advantage of a 23-dB insertion loss fiber-to-fiber grating-based injection test-bed platform.

Ultra-compact MMI-based beam splitter demultiplexer for the NIR/MIR wavelengths of 1.55 μm and 2 μm

Based on restricted interferences mechanism in a 1x2 MMI beam splitter, we theoretically investigate and experimentally demonstrate an ultra-compact MMI-based demultiplexer for the NIR/MIR wavelengths of 1.55 μm and 2 μm. The device is fabricated on 340 nm SOI platform, with a footprint of 293x6 μm². It exhibits extremely low insertion losses of 0.14 dB and 1.2 dB at the wavelengths of 1.55 μm and 2 μm, respectively, with contrasts of approximately 20 dB for both wavelengths, and a cross-talk of 18.83 dB.

Double-Wall Carbon Nanotube Hybrid Mode-Locker in Tm-doped Fibre Laser: A Novel Mechanism for Robust Bound-State Solitons Generation

The complex nonlinear dynamics of mode-locked fibre lasers, including a broad variety of dissipative structures and self-organization effects, have drawn significant research interest. Around the 2 μm band, conventional saturable absorbers (SAs) possess small modulation depth and slow relaxation time and, therefore, are incapable of ensuring complex inter-pulse dynamics and bound-state soliton generation. We present observation of multi-soliton complex generation in mode-locked thulium (Tm)-doped fibre laser, using double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWNT-SA) and nonlinear polarisation evolution (NPE). The rigid structure of DWNTs ensures high modulation depth (64%), fast relaxation (1.25 ps) and high thermal damage threshold. This enables formation of 560-fs soliton pulses; two-soliton bound-state with 560 fs pulse duration and 1.37 ps separation; and singlet+doublet soliton structures with 1.8 ps duration and 6 ps separation. Numerical simulations based on the vectorial nonlinear Schr¨odinger equation demonstrate a transition from single-pulse to two-soliton bound-states generation. The results imply that DWNTs are an excellent SA for the formation of steady single- and multi-soliton structures around 2 μm region, which could not be supported by single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The combination of the potential bandwidth resource around 2 μm with the soliton molecule concept for encoding two bits of data per clock period opens exciting opportunities for data-carrying capacity enhancement.

High speed single-wavelength modulation and transmission at 2 μm under bandwidth-constrained condition

The 2-μm optical band has gained much attention recently due to its potential applications in optical fiber communication systems. One constraint in this wavelength region is that the electrical bandwidth of components like modulators and photodetectors is limited by the immature manufacturing technologies. Here we experimentally demonstrated the high-speed signal generation and transmission under bandwidth-constrained scenario at 2-μm. It is enabled by the direct-detection optical filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) modulation technique with constant amplitude zero autocorrelation (CAZAC) equalization. We achieved a single wavelength 80 Gbit/s data rate using the 16-QAM FBMC modulation format which is the highest single channel bit rate at 2-μm according to our best knowledge. The signal is transmitted through a 100m-long solid-core fiber designed for single-mode transmission at 2-μm. The measured bit error rates of the signals are below the forward error correction limit of 3.8 × 10^-3, and the 100m-fiber transmission brings negligible penalty.

Compact GaSb/silicon-on-insulator 2.0x μm widely tunable external cavity lasers

2.0x µm widely tunable external cavity lasers realized by combining a GaSb gain chip with a silicon photonics waveguide circuit for wavelength selection are demonstrated. Wavelength tuning over 58 nm from 2.01 to 2.07 µm is demonstrated. In the silicon photonic integrated circuit, laser feedback is realized by using a silicon Bragg grating and continuous tuning is realized by using two thermally tuned silicon microring resonators (MRRs) and a phase section. The uncooled laser has maximum output power of 7.5 mW and threshold current density of 0.8 kA/cm². The effect of the coupling gap of the MRRs on tunable laser performance is experimentally assessed. A side mode suppression ratio better than 52 dB over the full tuning range and in the optimum operation point of more than 60 dB is achieved for the laser with weakly coupled MRRs.

Broadband silica-based thulium doped fiber amplifier employing multi-wavelength pumping

A multi-wavelength pumped thulium doped fiber amplifier is investigated to extend the spectral gain coverage of the amplifier in the 1.7-1.9μm wavelength range. Through the use of a combination of 791 nm, 1240 nm, and 1560 nm laser diode pumping, the amplifier gain can be improved significantly and overall gain bandwidth enhancement of ~47% as compared to single-wavelength pumping achieved. A nominal gain of 15 dB is achieved over a bandwidth of more than 250 nm spanning from 1700 to 1950 nm with a maximum gain of 29 dB and a noise figure of less than 5 dB.

Kerr nonlinearity and dispersion characterization of core-pumped thulium-doped fiber at 2 μm

A nonlinear coefficient of 3.6-4.1  W^-1  km^-1 and group velocity dispersion of -20  ps²/km of a commercial core-pumped thulium-doped fiber have been evaluated using degenerate four-wave mixing at 2 μm. The anomalous dispersion behavior of the fiber has been confirmed by linear measurements with an all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). Additionally, no pump-induced dispersion changes due to excitation of Tm³⁺ cations have been detected. These characteristics make these fibers attractive for pulsed fiber laser applications. A nonlinear-polarization rotation mode-locked laser involving nonlinear polarization evolution directly in the doped fiber is demonstrated.

High gain holmium-doped fibre amplifiers

We investigate the operation of holmium-doped fibre amplifiers (HDFAs) in the 2.1 µm spectral region. For the first time we demonstrate a diode-pumped HDFA. This amplifier provides a peak gain of 25 dB at 2040 nm with a 15 dB gain window spanning the wavelength range 2030 - 2100 nm with an external noise figure (NF) of 4-6 dB. We also compare the operation of HDFAs when pumped at 1950 nm and 2008 nm. The 1950 nm pumped HDFA provides 41 dB peak gain at 2060 nm with 15 dB of gain spanning the wavelength range 2050 - 2120 nm and an external NF of 7-10 dB. By pumping at the longer wavelength of 2008 nm the gain bandwidth of the amplifier is shifted to longer wavelengths and using this architecture a HDFA was demonstrated with a peak gain of 39 dB at 2090 nm and 15 dB of gain spanning the wavelength range 2050 - 2150 nm. The external NF over this wavelength range was 8-14 dB.

Novel Ge waveguide platform on Ge-on-insulator wafer for mid-infrared photonic integrated circuits

We present Ge rib waveguide devices fabricated on a Ge-on-insulator (GeOI) wafer as a proof-of-concept Ge mid-infrared photonics platform. Numerical analysis revealed that the driving current for a given optical attenuation in a carrier-injection Ge waveguide device at a 1.95 μm wavelength can be approximately five times smaller than that in a Si device, enabling in-line carrier-injection Ge optical modulators based on free-carrier absorption. We prepared a GeOI wafer with a 2-μm-thick buried oxide layer (BOX) by wafer bonding. By using the GeOI wafer, we fabricated Ge rib waveguides. The Ge rib waveguides were transparent to 2 μm wavelengths and the propagation loss was found to be 1.4 dB/mm, which may have been caused by sidewall scattering. We achieved a negligible bend loss in the Ge rib waveguide, even with a 5 μm bend radius, owing to the strong optical confinement in the GeOI structure. We also formed a lateral p-i-n junction along the Ge rib waveguide to explore the capability of absorption modulation by carrier injection. By injecting current through the lateral p-i-n junction, we achieved optical intensity modulation in the 2 μm band based on the free-carrier absorption in Ge.

III-V-on-silicon 2-µm-wavelength-range wavelength demultiplexers with heterogeneously integrated InP-based type-II photodetectors

2-µm-wavelength-range silicon-on-insulator (SOI) arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) with heterogeneously integrated InP-based type-II quantum well photodetectors are presented. Low insertion loss (2.5-3 dB) and low crosstalk (-30 to -25 dB) AWGs are realized. The InP-based type-II photodetectors are integrated with the AWGs using two different coupling approaches. Adiabatic-taper-based photodetectors show a responsivity of 1.6 A/W at 2.35 µm wavelength and dark current of 10 nA at -0.5 V, while photodetectors using grating-assisted coupling have a responsivity of 0.1 A/W and dark current of 5 nA at -0.5 V. The integration of the photodetector array does not degrade the insertion loss and crosstalk of the device. The photodetector epitaxial stack can also be used to realize the integration of a broadband light source, thereby enabling fully integrated spectroscopic systems.

Optical side scattering radiometry for high resolution, wide dynamic range longitudinal assessment of optical fibers

Current optical reflectometric techniques used to characterize optical fibers have to trade-off longitudinal range with spatial resolution and therefore struggle to provide simultaneously wide dynamic range (>20dB) and high resolution (<10cm). In this work, we develop and present a technique we refer to as Optical Side Scattering Radiometry (OSSR) capable of resolving discrete and distributed scattering properties of fibers along their length with up to 60dB dynamic range and 5cm spatial resolution. Our setup is first validated on a standard single mode telecoms fiber. Then we apply it to a record-length 11km hollow core photonic band-gap fiber (HC-PBGF) the characterization requirements of which lie far beyond the capability of standard optical reflectometric instruments. We next demonstrate use of the technique to investigate and explain the unusually high loss observed in another HC-PBGF and finally demonstrate its flexibility by measuring a HC-PBGF operating at a wavelength of 2µm. In all of these examples, good agreement between the OSSR measurements and other well-established (but more limited) characterization methods, i.e. cutback loss and OTDR, was obtained.

2 μm wavelength range InP-based type-II quantum well photodiodes heterogeneously integrated on silicon photonic integrated circuits

The heterogeneous integration of InP-based type-II quantum well photodiodes on silicon photonic integrated circuits for the 2 µm wavelength range is presented. A responsivity of 1.2 A/W at a wavelength of 2.32 µm and 0.6 A/W at 2.4 µm wavelength is demonstrated. The photodiodes have a dark current of 12 nA at -0.5 V at room temperature. The absorbing active region of the integrated photodiodes consists of six periods of a "W"-shaped quantum well, also allowing for laser integration on the same platform.

Accurate modelling of fabricated hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers

We report a novel approach to reconstruct the cross-sectional profile of fabricated hollow-core photonic bandgap fibers from scanning electron microscope images. Finite element simulations on the reconstructed geometries achieve a remarkable match with the measured transmission window, surface mode position and attenuation. The agreement between estimated scattering loss from surface roughness and measured loss values indicates that structural distortions, in particular the uneven distribution of glass across the thin silica struts on the core boundary, have a strong impact on the loss. This provides insight into the differences between idealized models and fabricated fibers, which could be key to further fiber loss reduction.

Ultra-short wavelength operation of a thulium fibre laser in the 1660-1750 nm wavelength band

Ultra-short wavelength operation of a thulium fibre laser is investigated. Through use of core pumping and high feedback efficiency wavelength selection, a continuously-tunable fibre laser source operating from 1660 nm to 1720 nm is demonstrated in a silica host. We discuss the range of applications within this important wavelength band such as polymer materials processing and medical applications targeting characteristic C-H bond resonance peaks. As a demonstration of the power scalability of thulium fibre lasers in this band, fixed wavelength operation at 1726 nm with output power up 12.6 W and with slope efficiency > 60% is also shown.

Electro-optical phase-change 2 × 2 switching using three- and four-waveguide directional couplers

Theoretical modeling and numerical simulation have been performed at λ=2100  nm on silicon-on-insulator channel-waveguide directional couplers in which the outer two Si waveguides are passive and the central waveguide(s) are electro-optical (EO) "islands." The EO channel(s) utilize a 10 nm layer of Ge2Sb2Te5 phase-change-material sited at midlevel of a doped Si channel. A voltage-driven phase change produces a large change in the effective index of the TE(o) and TM(o) modes, thereby inducing crossbar 2×2 switching. A mode-matching method is employed to estimate EO switching performance in the limit of strong interguide coupling. Low-loss switching is predicted for cross-to-bar and bar-to-cross coupling lengths. These "self-holding" switches had active lengths of 500-1000 μm, which are shorter than those in couplers relying upon free-carrier injection. The four-waveguide devices had lower cross talk but higher loss than the three-waveguide devices. For the crystalline phase we sometimes used an active length that was smaller than that for the amorphous phase.

A two-stage photonic crystal fiber / silicon photonic wire short-wave infrared wavelength converter/amplifier based on a 1064 nm pump source

We demonstrate a two-stage wavelength converter that uses compact near-infrared sources to amplify and convert short-wave infrared signals. The first stage consists of a photonic crystal fiber wavelength converter pumped by a Q-switched 1064 nm pump source, while the second stage consists of a silicon photonic wire waveguide wavelength converter. The system enables on-chip amplification and conversion of up to 30 dB . We demonstrate amplification in a broad wavelength range around 2344 nm using temporally long pulses (>300ps).

10 Gb/s InP-based Mach-Zehnder modulator for operation at 2 μm wavelengths

We report on the first InP-based Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM) employing quantum-confined Stark effect (QCSE) for operation around 2000 nm. The polarization sensitive device is based on 15 compressively strained quantum wells and achieves an electro-optic (EO) bandwidth of at least 9 GHz, with a DC extinction ratio of ~9 dB, and a V(π)L ~9.6 V.mm. We demonstrate back-to-back communication with a 10 Gb/s pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) of length 2(7)-1 at a wavelength around 2000 nm.

100 Gbit/s WDM transmission at 2 µm: transmission studies in both low-loss hollow core photonic bandgap fiber and solid core fiber

We show for the first time 100 Gbit/s total capacity at 2 µm waveband, using 4 × 9.3 Gbit/s 4-ASK Fast-OFDM direct modulation and 4 × 15.7 Gbit/s NRZ-OOK external modulation, spanning a 36.3 nm wide wavelength range. WDM transmission was successfully demonstrated over 1.15 km of low-loss hollow core photonic bandgap fiber (HC-PBGF) and over 1 km of solid core fiber (SCF). We conclude that the OSNR penalty associated with the SCF is minimal, while a ~1-2 dB penalty was observed after the HC-PBGF probably due to mode coupling to higher-order modes.

Hybrid Brillouin/thulium multiwavelength fiber laser with switchable single- and double-Brillouin-frequency spacing

We demonstrate a multiwavelength laser at 2 µm based on a hybrid gain scheme consisting of a Brillouin gain medium and a thulium-doped fiber. The laser has switchable frequency spacing, corresponding to the single and double Brillouin frequency shifts. In the 20 dB bandwidth, seven lasing channels with a frequency spacing of 0.1 nm (7.62 GHz) and eleven channels with a double-spacing of 0.2 nm (15.24 GHz) are obtained. A wavelength tunability of 1.3 nm is realized for both laser configurations by shifting the pump wavelength. Strong four wave mixing is observed in the double-spacing laser resulting in an improved performance: larger number of channels and better temporal stability.

Broadly tunable source around 2050 nm based on wideband parametric conversion and thulium-holmium amplification cascade

We report the design of a short-wave infrared continuous-wave light source featuring a 20 mW average output power, and with a wavelength that can be freely selected in the 2000-2100 nm range amid a low power ripple. The operating principle relies on the simultaneous broadband parametric conversion of two seeds in a highly nonlinear silica fiber pumped in the L-band followed by amplification and equalization in an appended thulium- and holmium- doped fiber cascade directly pumped by their respective previous stage.

High-power parametric conversion from near-infrared to short-wave infrared

We report the design of an all-fiber continuous wave Short-Wave Infrared source capable to output up to 700 mW of power at 1940 nm. The source is tunable over wavelength intervals comprised between 1850 nm and 2070 nm depending on its configuration. The output can be single or multimode while the optical signal to noise ratio ranges from 25 and 40 dB. The architecture is based on the integrated association of a fiber optical parametric amplifier and a Thulium doped fiber amplifier.

First demonstration of a 2μm few-mode TDFA for mode division multiplexing

We report the first demonstration of an inline few-mode thulium doped fiber amplifier (TDFA) operating at 2μm for mode division multiplexed transmission. Similar gain and noise figure performance for both the LP(01) and LP(11) modes are obtained in a cladding pumped 2-mode group TDFA. A maximum gain of 18.3dB was measured at 1970nm with a 3dB gain bandwidth of 75nm while the average noise figure was measured to be between 7 and 8dB for wavelengths longer than 1970nm.