arXiv subjects

Daniele Caimi

Publications and source records attributed to Daniele Caimi.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Absorption loss and Kerr nonlinearity in barium titanate waveguides

Because of its exceptionally large Pockels coefficient, barium titanate (BaTiO$_3$) is a promising material for various photonic applications at both room and cryogenic temperatures, including electro-optic modulation, frequency comb generation, and microwave-optical transduction. These applications rely on devices with low optical loss to achieve high efficiency. Material absorption sets a lower limit to optical loss and is thus a crucial property to determine, particularly for integrated photonic devices. Using cavity-enhanced photothermal spectroscopy, we measure the absorption loss of BaTiO$_3$ ridge waveguides at wavelengths near 1550~nm to be $α_{\mathrm{abs}} = 10.9$~{\raisebox{0.5ex}{\tiny$^{+5.8}_{-0.4}$}} dB~m$^{-1}$, well below the propagation losses due to other sources, such as scattering. We simultaneously determine that BaTiO$_3$ has a large Kerr nonlinear refractive index of $n_{\mathrm{2,BaTiO_3}}$ = 1.8 {\raisebox{0.5ex}{\tiny$^{+0.3}_{-0.3}$}} $\times$ 10$^{-18}$ m$^2$ W$^{-1}$. Considering these results, photonic integrated circuits utilizing BaTiO$_3$ have the potential to achieve significantly higher efficiency than demonstrated to date and are especially interesting for applications exploiting the combination of Pockels and Kerr effects.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Bidirectional microwave-optical conversion with an integrated soft-ferroelectric barium titanate transducer

Efficient, low-noise, and high-bandwidth transduction between optical and microwave photons is key to long-range quantum communication between distant superconducting quantum processors. Recent demonstrations of microwave-optical transduction using the broadband direct electro-optic (Pockels) effect in optical thin films made of AlN or LiNbO$_3$ have shown promise. To improve efficiency and added noise, materials with larger Pockels coefficients, such as the soft ferroelectrics BaTiO$_3$ or SrTiO$_3$, are required. However, these materials require adapted designs and fabrication approaches due to their nonlinear and, in some cases, hysteretic electro-optic response. Here, we engineer an on-chip, triply resonant transducer comprising low-loss BaTiO$_3$-on-SiO$_2$ waveguides monolithically integrated with a superconducting microwave resonator made of Nb. We demonstrate bidirectional microwave-optical transduction and reach total off-chip efficiencies of $1\times10^{-6}$ using pulsed pumping. Our novel device concept permits in-situ poling of the ferroelectric material without introducing excess microwave loss, using a fully subtractive fabrication process with superconducting air bridges. In addition, we investigate optically induced heating, revealing fast thermalization and quasiparticle resilience of the microwave resonator. Our transducer concept and fabrication process are applicable to other materials with a large bias-induced Pockels effect and pave the way for efficient, low-power quantum interconnects.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Perovskite nanocrystal self-assemblies in 3D hollow templates

Highly ordered nanocrystal (NC) assemblies, namely superlattices (SLs), have been investigated as novel building blocks of optical and optoelectronic devices due to their unique properties based on interactions among neighboring NCs. In particular, lead halide perovskite NC SLs have attracted significant attention, owing to their extraordinary optical characteristics of individual NCs and collective emission processes like superfluorescence (SF). So far, the primary method for preparing perovskite NC SLs has been the drying-mediated self-assembly method, in which the colloidal NCs spontaneously assemble into SLs during solvent evaporation. However, this method lacks controllability because NCs form random-sized SLs at random positions on the substrate rendering NC assemblies in conjunction with device structures such as photonic waveguides or microcavities challenging. Here, we demonstrate template-assisted self-assembly to deterministically place perovskite NC SLs and control their geometrical properties. A solution of CsPbBr3 NCs is drop-casted on a substrate with lithographically-defined hollow structures. After solvent evaporation and removal of excess NCs from the substrate surface, NCs only remain in the templates thereby defining the position and size of these NC assemblies. We performed photoluminescence (PL) measurements on these NC assemblies and observed signatures of SF, similar as in spontaneously assembled SLs. Our findings are crucial for optical devices that harness embedded perovskite NC assemblies and prepare fundamental studies on how these collective effects can be tailored through the SL geometry.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2022

A heterogeneously integrated lithium niobate-on-silicon nitride photonic platform

The availability of thin-film lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) and advances in processing have led to the emergence of fully integrated LiNbO3 electro-optic devices, including low-voltage, high-speed modulators, electro-optic frequency combs, and microwave-optical transducers. Yet to date, LiNbO3 photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have mostly been fabricated using non-standard etching techniques that lack the reproducibility routinely achieved in silicon photonics. Widespread future application of thin-film LiNbO3 requires a reliable and scalable solution using standard processing and precise lithographic control. Here we demonstrate a heterogeneously integrated LiNbO3 photonic platform that overcomes the abovementioned challenges by employing wafer-scale bonding of thin-film LiNbO3 to planarized low-loss silicon nitride (Si3N4) photonic integrated circuits, a mature foundry-grade integrated photonic platform. The resulting devices combine the substantial Pockels effect of LiNbO3 with the scalability, high-yield, and complexity of the underlying Si3N4 PICs. Importantly, the platform maintains the low propagation loss (<0.1 dB/cm) and efficient fiber-to-chip coupling (<2.5 dB per facet) of the Si3N4 waveguides. We find that ten transitions between a mode confined in the Si3N4 PIC and the hybrid LiNbO$_3$ mode produce less than 0.8 dB additional loss, corresponding to a loss per transition not exceeding 0.1 dB. These nearly lossless adiabatic transitions thus link the low-loss passive Si3N4 photonic structures with electro-optic components. We demonstrate high-Q microresonators, optical splitters, electrically tunable photonic dimers, electro-optic frequency combs, and carrier-envelope phase detection of a femtosecond laser on the same platform, thus providing a reliable and foundry-ready solution to low-loss and complex LiNbO3 integrated photonic circuits.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2022

Ultrafast tunable lasers using lithium niobate integrated photonics

Recent advances in the processing of thin-film LNOI have enabled low-loss photonic integrated circuits, modulators with improved half-wave voltage, electro-optic frequency combs and novel on-chip electro-optic devices, with applications ranging from 5G telecommunication and microwave photonics to microwave-to-optical quantum interfaces. Lithium niobate integrated photonic circuits could equally be the basis of integrated narrow-linewidth frequency-agile lasers. Pioneering work on polished lithium niobate crystal resonators has led to the development of electrically tunable narrow-linewidth lasers. Here we report low-noise frequency-agile lasers based on lithium niobate integrated photonics and demonstrate their use for coherent laser ranging. This is achieved through heterogeneous integration of ultra-low-loss silicon nitride photonic circuits with thin-film lithium niobate via direct wafer bonding. This platform features low propagation loss of 8.5 dB/m enabling narrow-linewidth lasing (intrinsic linewidth of 3 kHz) by self-injection locking to a III-V semiconductor laser diode. The hybrid mode of the resonator allows electro-optical laser frequency tuning at a speed of 12 PHz/s with high linearity, low hysteresis and while retaining narrow linewidth. Using this hybrid integrated laser, we perform a proof-of-concept FMCW LiDAR ranging experiment, with a resolution of 15 cm. By fully leveraging the high electro-optic coefficient of lithium niobate, with further improvements in photonic integrated circuits design, these devices can operate with CMOS-compatible voltages, or achieve mm-scale distance resolution. Endowing low loss silicon nitride integrated photonics with lithium niobate, gives a platform with wide transparency window, that can be used to realize ultrafast tunable lasers from the visible to the mid-infrared, with applications from OCT and LiDAR to environmental sensing.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Single-Mode Emission in InP Microdisks on Si using Au Antenna

An important building block for on-chip photonic applications is a scaled emitter. Whispering gallery mode cavities based on III-Vs on Si allow for small device footprints and lasing with low thresholds. However, multimodal emission and wavelength stability over a wider range of temperature can be challenging. Here, we explore the use of Au nanorods on InP whispering gallery mode lasers on Si for single mode emission. We show that by proper choice of the antenna size and positioning, we can suppress the side-modes of a cavity and achieve single mode emission over a wide excitation range. We establish emission trends by varying the size of the antenna and show that the far-field radiation pattern differs significantly for devices with and without antenna. Furthermore, the antenna-induced single mode emission is dominant from room temperature (300 K) down to 200 K, whereas the cavity without an antenna is multimodal and its dominant emission wavelength is highly temperature dependent.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Microwave-to-optical conversion with a gallium phosphide photonic crystal cavity

Electrically actuated optomechanical resonators provide a route to quantum-coherent, bidirectional conversion of microwave and optical photons. Such devices could enable optical interconnection of quantum computers based on qubits operating at microwave frequencies. Here we present a novel platform for microwave-to-optical conversion comprising a photonic crystal cavity made of single-crystal, piezoelectric gallium phosphide integrated on pre-fabricated niobium circuits on an intrinsic silicon substrate. The devices exploit spatially extended, sideband-resolved mechanical breathing modes at $\sim$ 3.2 GHz, with vacuum optomechanical coupling rates of up to $g_0/2π\approx$ 300 kHz. The mechanical modes are driven by integrated microwave electrodes via the inverse piezoelectric effect. We estimate that the system could achieve an electromechanical coupling rate to a superconducting transmon qubit of $\sim$ 200 kHz. Our work represents a decisive step towards integration of piezoelectro-optomechanical interfaces with superconducting quantum processors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2020

Hybrid III-V Silicon Photonic Crystal Cavity Emitting at Telecom Wavelengths

Photonic crystal (PhC) cavities are promising candidates for Si photonics integrated circuits due to their ultrahigh quality (Q)-factors and small mode volumes. Here, we demonstrate a novel concept of a one-dimensional hybrid III-V/Si PhC cavity which exploits a combination of standard silicon-on-insulator technology and active III-V materials. Using template-assisted selective epitaxy, the central part of a Si PhC lattice is locally replaced with III-V gain material. The III-V material is placed to overlap with the maximum of the cavity mode field profile, while keeping the major part of the PhC in Si. The selective epitaxy process enables growth parallel to the substrate and hence, in-plane integration with Si, and in-situ in-plane homo- and heterojunctions. The fabricated hybrid III-V/Si PhCs show emission over the entire telecommunication band from 1.2 μm to 1.6 μm at room temperature validating the device concept and its potential towards fully integrated light sources on silicon.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2020

Scaling of Metal-Clad InP Nanodisk Lasers: Optical Performance and Thermal Effects

A key component for optical on-chip communication is an efficient light source. However, to enable low energy per bit communication and local integration with Si CMOS, devices need to be further scaled down. In this work, we fabricate micro- and nanolasers of different shapes in InP by direct wafer bonding on Si. Metal-clad cavities have been proposed as means to scale dimensions beyond the diffraction limit of light by exploiting hybrid photonic-plasmonic modes. Here, we explore the size scalability of whispering-gallery mode light sources by cladding the sidewalls of the device with Au. The metal clad cavities demonstrate room temperature lasing upon optical excitation for Au-clad devices with InP diameters down to 300 nm, while the purely photonic counterparts show lasing only down to 500 nm. Numerical thermal simulations support the experimental findings and confirm an improved heat-sinking capability of the Au-clad devices, suggesting a reduction in device temperature of 473 K for the metal-clad InP nanodisk laser, compared to the one without Au. This would provide substantial performance benefits even in the absence of a hybrid photonic-plasmonic mode. These results give us insight into the benefits of metal-clad designs to downscale integrated lasers on Si.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2019

Ultra-Low-Power Tuning in Hybrid Barium Titanate-Silicon Nitride Electro-Optic Devices on Silicon

As the optical analogue to integrated electronics, integrated photonics has already found widespread use in data centers in the form of optical interconnects. As global network traffic continues its rapid expansion, the power consumption of such circuits becomes a critical consideration. Electrically tunable devices in photonic integrated circuits contribute significantly to the total power budget, as they traditionally rely on inherently power-consuming phenomena such as the plasma dispersion effect or the thermo-optic effect for operation. Here, we demonstrate ultra-low-power refractive index tuning in a hybrid barium titanate (BTO)-silicon nitride (SiN) platform integrated on silicon. We achieve tuning by exploiting the large electric field-driven Pockels effect in ferroelectric BTO thin films of sub-100 nm thickness. The extrapolated power consumption for tuning a free spectral range (FSR) in racetrack resonator devices is only 106 nW/FSR, several orders of magnitude less than many previous reports. We demonstrate the technological potential of our hybrid BTO-SiN technology by compensating thermally induced refractive index variations over a temperature range of 20 °C and by using our platform to fabricate tunable multiresonator optical filters. Our hybrid BTO-SiN technology significantly advances the field of ultra-low-power integrated photonic devices and allows for the realization of next-generation efficient photonic circuits for use in a variety of fields, including communications, sensing, and computing.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

A BaTiO3-Based Electro-Optic Pockels Modulator Monolithically Integrated on an Advanced Silicon Photonics Platform

To develop a new generation of high-speed photonic modulators on silicon-technology-based photonics, new materials with large Pockels coefficients have been transferred to silicon substrates. Previous approaches focus on realizing stand-alone devices on dedicated silicon substrates, incompatible with the fabrication process in silicon foundries. In this work, we demonstrate monolithic integration of electro-optic modulators based on the Pockels effect in barium titanate (BTO) thin films into the back-end-of-line of a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) platform. Molecular wafer bonding allows fully PIC-compatible integration of BTO-based devices and is, as shown, scalable to 200 mm wafers. The PIC-integrated BTO Mach-Zehnder modulators outperform conventional Si photonic modulators in modulation efficiency, losses, and static tuning power. The devices show excellent VπL (0.2 Vcm) and VπLα (1.3 VdB), work at high speed (25 Gbps), and can be tuned at low static power consumption (100 nW). Our concept demonstrates the possibility of monolithic integration of Pockels-based electro-optic modulators in advanced silicon photonic platforms. {\c} 2019 Optical Society of America. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserved. https://www.osapublishing.org/jlt/abstract.cfm?URI=jlt-37-5-1456 Publication date: March 1, 2019 This work was supported in part by the European Union (EU) under Horizon 2020 grant agreements no. H2020-ICT-2015-25-688579 (PHRESCO) and H2020-ICT-2017-1-780997 (plaCMOS).

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

Plasmonic Ferroelectric Modulators

Integrated ferroelectric plasmonic modulators featuring large bandwidths, broad optical operation range, resilience to high temperature and ultracompact footprint are introduced. Measurements show a modulation bandwidth of 70 GHz and a temperature stability up to 250°C. Mach-Zehnder interferometer modulators with 10-$μ$m-long phase shifters were operated at 116 Gbit/s PAM-4 and 72 Gbit/s NRZ. Wide and open eye diagrams with extinction ratios beyond 15 dB were found. The fast and robust devices are apt to an employment in industrial environments.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2019

An integrated cryogenic optical modulator

Integrated electrical and photonic circuits (PIC) operating at cryogenic temperatures are fundamental building blocks required to achieve scalable quantum computing, and cryogenic computing technologies. Optical interconnects offer better performance and thermal insulation than electrical wires and are imperative for true quantum communication. Silicon PICs have matured for room temperature applications but their cryogenic performance is limited by the absence of efficient low temperature electro-optic (EO) modulation. While detectors and lasers perform better at low temperature, cryogenic optical switching remains an unsolved challenge. Here we demonstrate EO switching and modulation from room temperature down to 4 K by using the Pockels effect in integrated barium titanate (BaTiO3)-based devices. We report the nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of BaTiO3 in a temperature range which has previously not been explored, showing an effective Pockels coefficient of 200 pm/V at 4 K. We demonstrate the largest EO bandwidth (30 GHz) of any cryogenic switch to date, ultra-low-power tuning which is 10^9 times more efficient than thermal tuning, and high-speed data modulation at 20 Gbps. Our results demonstrate a missing component for cryogenic PICs. It removes major roadblocks for the realisation of novel cryogenic-compatible systems in the field of quantum computing and supercomputing, and for interfacing those systems with the real world at room-temperature.

physics.app-ph↗