Low-power continuous-wave nonlinear optics in doped silica glass integrated waveguide structures

Photonic integrated circuits are a key component(1) of future telecommunication networks, where demands for greater bandwidth, network flexibility, and low energy consumption and cost must all be met. The quest for all-optical components has naturally targeted materials with extremely large nonlinearity, including chalcogenide glasses(2) and semiconductors, such as silicon(3) and AlGaAs (ref. 4). However, issues such as immature fabrication technology for chalcogenide glass and high linear and nonlinear losses for semiconductors motivate the search for other materials. Here we present the first demonstration of nonlinear optics in integrated silica-based glass waveguides using continuous-wave light. We demonstrate four-wave mixing, with low (5 mW) continuous-wave pump power at lambda = 1,550 nm, in high-index, doped silica glass ring resonators(5). The low loss, design flexibility and manufacturability of our device are important attributes for low-cost, high-performance, nonlinear all-optical photonic integrated circuits.