1. IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598, USA

Correspondence to: Yurii A. Vlasov¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to Y.A.V. (Email: yvlasov@us.ibm.com).

Abstract

It is known that light can be slowed down in dispersive materials near resonances¹. Dramatic reduction of the light group velocity—and even bringing light pulses to a complete halt—has been demonstrated recently in various atomic^{2, 3, 4, 5} and solid state systems^{6, 7, 8}, where the material absorption is cancelled via quantum optical coherent effects^{3, 4, 5, 7}. Exploitation of slow light phenomena has potential for applications ranging from all-optical storage to all-optical switching^{9, 10}. Existing schemes, however, are restricted to the narrow frequency range of the material resonance, which limits the operation frequency, maximum data rate and storage capacity¹⁰. Moreover, the implementation of external lasers, low pressures and/or low temperatures prevents miniaturization and hinders practical applications. Here we experimentally demonstrate an over 300-fold reduction of the group velocity on a silicon chip via an ultra-compact photonic integrated circuit using low-loss silicon photonic crystal waveguides^{11, 12} that can support an optical mode with a submicrometre cross-section^{13, 14}. In addition, we show fast (100 ns) and efficient (2 mW electric power) active control of the group velocity by localized heating of the photonic crystal waveguide with an integrated micro-heater.

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