Observation of Transparency of Erbium-doped Silicon nitride in photonic crystal nanobeam cavities

One dimensional nanobeam photonic crystal cavities are fabricated in an Er-doped amorphous silicon nitride layer. Photoluminescence from the cavities around 1.54 mu m is studied at cryogenic and room temperatures at different optical pump powers. The resonators demonstrate Purcell enhanced absorption and emission rates, also confirmed by time resolved measurements. Resonances exhibit linewidth narrowing with pump power, signifying absorption bleaching and the onset of stimulated emission in the material at both 5.5 K and room temperature. We estimate from the cavity linewidths that Er has been pumped to transparency at the cavity resonance wavelength. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America