Group-velocity-dispersion engineering of tantala integrated photonics

Abstract

Designing integrated photonics, especially to leverage Kerr-nonlinear optics, requires accurate and precise knowledge of the refractive index across the visible to infrared spectral ranges. Tantala ( T a 2 O 5 ) is an emerging material platform for integrated photonics and nanophotonics that offers broadband ultralow loss, moderately high nonlinearity, and advantages for scalable and heterogeneous integration. We present refractive index measurements on a thin film of tantala, and we explore the efficacy of this data for group-velocity-dispersion (GVD) engineering with waveguide and ring-resonator devices. In particular, the observed spectral extent of supercontinuum generation in fabricated waveguides and the wavelength dependence of free spectral range (FSR) in optical resonators provide a sensitive test of our integrated photonics design process. Our work opens up new design possibilities with tantala, including with octave-spanning soliton microcombs.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Feb 09, 2021
Source ID
10.1364/ol.414095

Entities

People

  • David R Carlson
  • Jennifer A. Black
  • Kieran F. Lamee
  • Richelle Streater
  • Scott B. Papp
  • Su-Peng Yu

Organizations

  • ARPA-E
  • Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • University of Colorado

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Optical Physics and Photonics.