Third-harmonic UV generation in silicon nitride nanostructures

Abstract

We report on strong UV third-harmonic generation from silicon nitride films and resonant waveguide gratings. We determine the absolute value of third-order susceptibility of silicon nitride at wavelength of 1064 nm to be χ(³) (-3ω,ω,ω,ω) = (2.8 ± 0.6) × 10⁻²⁰m²/V², which is two orders of magnitude larger than that of fused silica. The third-harmonic generation is further enhanced by a factor of 2000 by fabricating a resonant waveguide grating onto a silicon nitride film. Our results extend the operating range of CMOS-compatible nonlinear materials to the UV spectral regime.