Characterization of third order nonlinearities in TiO₂ waveguides at 1550 nm
Author(s)
Shtyrkova, Katia
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Advisor
Erich P. Ippen.
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Polycrystalline anatase titanium dioxide waveguides are investigated as an alternative material for all-optical switching at telecommunications C-band wavelengths. Titanium dioxide does not support two-photon absorption at 1550 nm, has a high refractive index, and a relatively low loss, which allows for high-index-contrast waveguides. The TiO₂ waveguides studied for this thesis were single-mode, with dimensions 200nm x 900nm, deposited on oxidized silicon and overclad with a transparent polymer. The optical Kerr coefficient was measured using two methods: spectral broadening studies and heterodyne pumpprobe experiments. The spectral broadening studies indicated an optical Kerr coefficient of n₂ = 1.82 x 10¹⁵ cm²/W, while the heterodyne pump-probe experiments, yielded a value of n₂ = 1.03 x 10¹⁵ cm²/W. Both techniques and their implementation are described in detail. Split-step code simulations including dispersion and linear loss as well as nonlinearity confirm the internal consistency of each experiment separately. Further experiments are needed to resolve the remaining difference.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2013. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-76).
Date issued
2013Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer SciencePublisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.