Parametric sideband generation in CMOS-compatible oscillators from visible to telecom wavelengths

We present an approach for generating widely separated first sidebands based solely on the four-wave-mixing process in optical parametric oscillators built on complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible photonic chips. Using higher-order transverse modes to perform dispersion engineering, we obtain zero-group-velocity dispersion near 796 nm. By pumping the chip in the normal dispersion region, at 795.6 nm, we generate a signal field in the visible band (at 546.2 nm) and the corresponding idler field in the telecom band (at 1465.3 nm), corresponding to a frequency span of approximately 346 THz. We show that the spectral position of signal and idler can be tailored by exploiting a delicate balance between second- and fourth-order dispersion terms. Furthermore, we explicitly demonstrate a change in the parametric oscillation dynamics when moving the pump field from the anomalous to normal dispersion, where the chip ceases producing multiple sidebands adjacent to the pump field and generates widely separated single sidebands. This provides a chip-scale platform for generating single-sideband fields separated by more than one octave, covering the visible and telecom spectral regions. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

A method is proposed to generate widely separated first sidebands using four-wave mixing in optical parametric oscillators on photonic chips. By exploiting higher-order transverse modes and dispersion engineering, single sideband fields covering visible and telecom spectral regions can be produced. The approach demonstrates a change in parametric oscillation dynamics and the ability to tailor spectral positions of signal and idler fields.