Probing material absorption and optical nonlinearity of integrated photonic materials

Maodong Gao, Qi-Fan Yang, Qing-Xin Ji, Heming Wang, Lue Wu, Boqiang Shen, Junqiu Liu, Guanhao Huang, Lin Chang, Weiqiang Xie, Su-Peng Yu, Scott B. Papp (), John E. Bowers (), Tobias J. Kippenberg () and Kerry J. Vahala ()
Additional contact information
Maodong Gao: California Institute of Technology
Qi-Fan Yang: California Institute of Technology
Qing-Xin Ji: California Institute of Technology
Heming Wang: California Institute of Technology
Lue Wu: California Institute of Technology
Boqiang Shen: California Institute of Technology
Junqiu Liu: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Guanhao Huang: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Lin Chang: University of California Santa Barbara
Weiqiang Xie: University of California Santa Barbara
Su-Peng Yu: National Institute of Standards and Technology
Scott B. Papp: National Institute of Standards and Technology
John E. Bowers: University of California Santa Barbara
Tobias J. Kippenberg: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)
Kerry J. Vahala: California Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Optical microresonators with high quality (Q) factors are essential to a wide range of integrated photonic devices. Steady efforts have been directed towards increasing microresonator Q factors across a variety of platforms. With success in reducing microfabrication process-related optical loss as a limitation of Q, the ultimate attainable Q, as determined solely by the constituent microresonator material absorption, has come into focus. Here, we report measurements of the material-limited Q factors in several photonic material platforms. High-Q microresonators are fabricated from thin films of SiO2, Si3N4, Al0.2Ga0.8As, and Ta2O5. By using cavity-enhanced photothermal spectroscopy, the material-limited Q is determined. The method simultaneously measures the Kerr nonlinearity in each material and reveals how material nonlinearity and ultimate Q vary in a complementary fashion across photonic materials. Besides guiding microresonator design and material development in four material platforms, the results help establish performance limits in future photonic integrated systems.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30966-5

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