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Active control of slow light on a chip with photonic crystal waveguides

Nature volume 438, pages 65–69 (2005)Cite this article

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 atomic2,3,4,5 and solid state systems6,7,8, where the material absorption is cancelled via quantum optical coherent effects3,4,5,7. Exploitation of slow light phenomena has potential for applications ranging from all-optical storage to all-optical switching9,10. 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 waveguides11,12 that can support an optical mode with a submicrometre cross-section13,14. 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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Figure 1: SEM images of a passive unbalanced Mach–Zehnder interferometer using photonic crystal waveguides.
Figure 2: Optical measurements of a passive unbalanced MZI.
Figure 3: Active electrically tunable MZI with lateral electrical contacts to photonic crystal waveguides.
Figure 4: Thermo-optic tuning of the group index in the active unbalanced MZI.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the DARPA DSO Slow Light programme.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    Yurii A. Vlasov, Martin O'Boyle, Hendrik F. Hamann & Sharee J. McNab

Authors
  1. Yurii A. Vlasov
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  2. Martin O'Boyle
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  3. Hendrik F. Hamann
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  4. Sharee J. McNab
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Correspondence to Yurii A. Vlasov.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Methods

Description of process flow and schematic for fabricating the active Mach Zehnder Interferometer. (PDF 291 kb)

Supplementary Discussion

Limitations of the interferometric method for extracting the group indices from the transmission spectra of the Mach-Zehnder Interferometer. (PDF 12 kb)

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Vlasov, Y., O'Boyle, M., Hamann, H. et al. Active control of slow light on a chip with photonic crystal waveguides. Nature 438, 65–69 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04210

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