Group velocity dispersion and self phase modulation in silicon nitride waveguides

Abstract

The group velocity dispersion (GVD) of silicon nitride waveguides, prepared using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, is studied and characterized experimentally in support of nonlinear optics applications. We show that the dispersion may be engineered by varying the geometry of the waveguide and demonstrate measured anomalous GVD values as high as $-0.57{\text{ps}}^2/\text{m}$ and normal GVD values as high as $0.86{\text{ps}}^2/\text{m}$ . We also experimentally demonstrate the absence of any observed nonlinear loss at the telecommunications wavelength at peak intensities of up to $12\text{GW}/{\text{cm}}^2$ . Spectral broadening due to self phase modulation in silicon nitride waveguides with a nonlinear parameter of $1.4{\text{W}}^{-1}/\text{m}$ is also demonstrated.