Superspontaneous Four-Wave Mixing in an Array of Silicon Microresonators

Composite optical systems can show compelling collective dynamics. For instance, the cooperative decay of quantum emitters into a common radiation mode can lead to super-radiance, where the emission rate of the ensemble is larger than the sum of the rates of the individual emitters. Here, we report experi-mental evidence of super spontaneous four-wave mixing, an analogous effect for the generation of photon pairs in a parametric nonlinear process on an integrated photonic device. We study this phenomenon in an array of microring resonators on a silicon photonic chip coupled to bus waveguides. We measure a cooperative pair-generation rate that always exceeds the incoherent sum of the rates of the individual res-onators. We investigate the physical mechanisms underlying this collective behavior, clarify the impact of loss, and address the aspects of fundamental and technological relevance of our results.

Automated summary

This research reports on the phenomenon of super spontaneous four-wave mixing in a composite optical system, which is analogous to the generation of photon pairs in an integrated photonic device. The researchers provide experimental evidence by studying an array of microring resonators on a silicon photonic chip, showing that the cooperative pair-generation rate always exceeds the incoherent sum of the rates of the individual resonators.