Phase-Resolved Observations Of Optical Pulse Propagation In Chip-Scale Silicon Nanowires

We report phase-resolved temporal measurements of picosecond pulse propagation in silicon chip-scale nanowire waveguides. The nonlinear ultrafast phenomena are examined experimentally with frequency-resolved optical gating and numerically with nonlinear Schrodinger pulse modeling. Pulse broadening and higher-order pulse splitting were observed experimentally and matched remarkably with numerical predictions. The contributions of self-phase modulation and group velocity dispersion, as well as two-photon absorption, free-carrier dispersion, and absorption, are described and discussed, in support of chip-scale nonlinear signal processing and ultrafast processes. (C) 2013 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.