Characterization of third order nonlinearities in TiO₂ waveguides at 1550 nm

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.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Shtyrkova, Katia

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Erich P. Ippen.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/79232

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/79232