Integrated optical parametric amplifiers in silicon nitride waveguides incorporated with 2D graphene oxide films

Abstract

Optical parametric amplification (OPA) represents a powerful solution to\nachieve broadband amplification in wavelength ranges beyond the scope of\nconventional gain media, for generating high-power optical pulses, optical\nmicrocombs, entangled photon pairs and a wide range of other applications.\nHere, we demonstrate optical parametric amplifiers based on silicon nitride\n(Si3N4) waveguides integrated with two-dimensional (2D) layered graphene oxide\n(GO) films. We achieve precise control over the thickness, length, and position\nof the GO films using a transfer-free, layer-by-layer coating method combined\nwith accurate window opening in the chip cladding using photolithography.\nDetailed OPA measurements with a pulsed pump for the fabricated devices with\ndifferent GO film thicknesses and lengths show a maximum parametric gain of\n~24.0 dB, representing a ~12.2 dB improvement relative to the device without\nGO. We perform a theoretical analysis of the device performance, achieving good\nagreement with experiment and showing that there is substantial room for\nfurther improvement. This work represents the first demonstration of\nintegrating 2D materials on chips to enhance the OPA performance, providing a\nnew way of achieving high performance photonic integrated OPA by incorporating\n2D materials.\n