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Slow Light Devices and Their Applications to Microwaves and Photonics

Marco Santagiustina, G. Eisenstein, Luc Thévenaz A, J. Capmany, Jesper Mørk, Johann Peter Reithmaier, Alfredo De Rossi, Salvador Sales, Kresten Yvind, Sylvain Combrié, Jérôme Bourderionnet

Published Feb 1, 2012• 21 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Recently developed, highly effective technologies enabling slow light propagation as a tunable feature in photonic devices, are reviewed. Several applications in ICT are also demonstrated. Controlling the group velocity of light offers a broadband solution to a necessary functionality in microwave and millimeter wave systems: a tunable time-delay/phase-shift line. Moreover, slow light can highly enhance the nonlinearity, thus opening the way to on chip, nonlinear photonics.

Related papers

Governing the speed of light: Recent advances and future perspectives of slow and fast light in microwave-photonics

Marco Santagiustina

The control of the group velocity of optical signals has been widely demonstrated using various optical phenomena and different media. Slow and fast light is achieved in a controllable manner by modifying the refractive index dispersion through light induced modifications of the material or the structural properties of the medium. The potential for a continuous tuning of the phase or time delay of broadband microwave signals modulating the optical carrier opens previously unexplored horizons. The talk will review the recent advancements and the future directions of slow and fast light research with an emphasis on microwave-photonics applications.

International Topical Meeting on Microwave Photonics•Dec 1, 2009•6 citations

Major Accomplishments in 2009 on Slow Light

Robert W. Boyd, John R. Lowell

We present a brief overview of recent advances in the field of “slow light,” the field that studies means for controllably reducing the group velocity of light to values much smaller than its vacuum velocity,$c$. Some of the results summarized here include electrooptic modulation of single photons, all-optical switching within an atomic-vapor-filled hollow fiber, large induced phase shifts for microwave photonics, slow-light-enhanced nonlinear optical interactions, and highly controllable time delays in semiconductor optical amplifiers, parametric delay-dispersion tuners, and arrays of active microresonators

IEEE photonics journal•Apr 1, 2010•0 citations

Dispersion-Controlled Slow Light in Photonic Crystal Waveguides

Toshihiko Baba, Hirokazu Sasaki, J. Adachi +4 more

Slow light with a markedly low group velocity is a promising solution for optical buering and advanced time-domain optical signal processing.It is also anticipated to enhance linear and nonlinear eects and so miniaturize functional photonic devices because slow light compresses optical energy in space.Photonic crystal waveguide devices generate on-chip slow light at room temperature with a wide bandwidth and low dispersion suitable for short pulse transmission.This paper rst explains the delay-bandwidth product, fractional delay, and tunability as crucial criteria for buering capacity of slow light devices.Then the paper describes experimental observations of slow light pulse, exhibiting their record high values.It also demonstrates the nonlinear enhancement based on slow light pulse transmission.

Advances in Optical Sciences Congress•Jan 1, 2009•2 citations

Slow and Fast Light in Semiconductor Quantum-Well and Quantum-Dot Devices

Connie J. Chang-Hasnain, Shun Lien Chuang

The ability to manipulate the speed of light has recently become one of the most exciting emergent topics in optics. There are several experimental demonstrations showing the capability to slow down light more than six orders of magnitude in a variety of media, ranging from atomic vapor, solid state crystal, to semiconductors. These results have led to intensive research into new materials, devices, and system studies that examine their impact to new applications. It is believed that we are on the verge of a dramatic change in the way we envision and construct communication, processing and control systems. One direct application of slow and fast light devices is in the area of communications. One grand challenge remaining in information technology today is to store and buffer optical signals directly in optical format. As such, optical signals must be converted to electronic signals to route, switch, or be processed. This resulted in significant latencies and traffic congestions in current networks. In addition, keeping the data in optical domain during the routing process can greatly reduce the power, complexity and size of the routers. To this end, a controllable optical delay line can effectively function as an optical buffer, and the storage is proportional to the variability of the group velocity. In addition to optical buffers, slow and fast light devices can be used as tunable true-time delay elements in microwave photonics, which are important for remotely controlling phased array antenna. Other novel applications include nonlinear optics, optical signal processing, and quantum information processing. There are various approaches that can be used to vary the optical group velocity. Ultraslow or fast group velocity may result from a large material dispersion, waveguide dispersion, or both. In this paper, the authors provide a review of recent progress of slow and fast light using semiconductor devices. Specifically, they will discuss results obtained using semiconductor quantum-well/quantum-dot absorber and optical amplifiers. Slow and fast light are controllable electrically by changing the bias current or voltage as well as optically by changing the pump laser intensity and wavelength. Delay-bandwidth tradeoff and other figures of merits are analyzed

Journal of Lightwave Technology•Dec 1, 2006•131 citations

Review dispersion-controlled slow light in photonic crystal waveguides

Baba, Toshihiko, Adachi, Jun, Ishikura, Norihiro +4 more

Slow light with a markedly low group velocity is a promising solution for optical buffering and advanced time-domain optical signal processing. It is also anticipated to enhance linear and nonlinear effects and so miniaturize functional photonic devices because slow light compresses optical energy in space. Photonic crystal waveguide devices generate on-chip slow light at room temperature with a wide bandwidth and low dispersion suitable for short pulse transmission. This paper first explains the delay-bandwidth product, fractional delay, and tunability as crucial criteria for buffering capacity of slow light devices. Then the paper describes experimental observations of slow light pulse, exhibiting their record high values. It also demonstrates the nonlinear enhancement based on slow light pulse transmission.

•Jan 1, 2009•0 citations

Dispersion-controlled slow light in photonic crystal waveguides

Toshihiko Baba, Jun ADACHI, Norihiro Ishikura +4 more

Slow light with a markedly low group velocity is a promising solution for optical buffering and advanced time-domain optical signal processing. It is also anticipated to enhance linear and nonlinear effects and so miniaturize functional photonic devices because slow light compresses optical energy in space. Photonic crystal waveguide devices generate on-chip slow light at room temperature with a wide bandwidth and low dispersion suitable for short pulse transmission. This paper first explains the delay-bandwidth product, fractional delay, and tunability as crucial criteria for buffering capacity of slow light devices. Then the paper describes experimental observations of slow light pulse, exhibiting their record high values. It also demonstrates the nonlinear enhancement based on slow light pulse transmission.

Proceedings of the Japan Academy Series B•Jan 1, 2009•28 citations
Recently developed, highly effective technologies enabling slow light propagation as a tunable feature in photonic devices, are reviewed. Several applications in ICT are also demonstrated. Controlling the group velocity of light offers a broadband solution to a necessary functionality in microwave and millimeter wave systems: a tunable time-delay/phase-shift line. Moreover, slow light can highly enhance the nonlinearity, thus opening the way to on chip, nonlinear photonics.
The control of the group velocity of optical signals has been widely demonstrated using various optical phenomena and different media. Slow and fast light is achieved in a controllable manner by modifying the refractive index dispersion through light induced modifications of the material or the structural properties of the medium. The potential for a continuous tuning of the phase or time delay of broadband microwave signals modulating the optical carrier opens previously unexplored horizons. The talk will review the recent advancements and the future directions of slow and fast light research with an emphasis on microwave-photonics applications.
We present a brief overview of recent advances in the field of “slow light,” the field that studies means for controllably reducing the group velocity of light to values much smaller than its vacuum velocity,ccc. Some of the results summarized here include electrooptic modulation of single photons, all-optical switching within an atomic-vapor-filled hollow fiber, large induced phase shifts for microwave photonics, slow-light-enhanced nonlinear optical interactions, and highly controllable time delays in semiconductor optical amplifiers, parametric delay-dispersion tuners, and arrays of active microresonators
Slow light with a markedly low group velocity is a promising solution for optical buering and advanced time-domain optical signal processing.It is also anticipated to enhance linear and nonlinear eects and so miniaturize functional photonic devices because slow light compresses optical energy in space.Photonic crystal waveguide devices generate on-chip slow light at room temperature with a wide bandwidth and low dispersion suitable for short pulse transmission.This paper rst explains the delay-bandwidth product, fractional delay, and tunability as crucial criteria for buering capacity of slow light devices.Then the paper describes experimental observations of slow light pulse, exhibiting their record high values.It also demonstrates the nonlinear enhancement based on slow light pulse transmission.
The ability to manipulate the speed of light has recently become one of the most exciting emergent topics in optics. There are several experimental demonstrations showing the capability to slow down light more than six orders of magnitude in a variety of media, ranging from atomic vapor, solid state crystal, to semiconductors. These results have led to intensive research into new materials, devices, and system studies that examine their impact to new applications. It is believed that we are on the verge of a dramatic change in the way we envision and construct communication, processing and control systems. One direct application of slow and fast light devices is in the area of communications. One grand challenge remaining in information technology today is to store and buffer optical signals directly in optical format. As such, optical signals must be converted to electronic signals to route, switch, or be processed. This resulted in significant latencies and traffic congestions in current networks. In addition, keeping the data in optical domain during the routing process can greatly reduce the power, complexity and size of the routers. To this end, a controllable optical delay line can effectively function as an optical buffer, and the storage is proportional to the variability of the group velocity. In addition to optical buffers, slow and fast light devices can be used as tunable true-time delay elements in microwave photonics, which are important for remotely controlling phased array antenna. Other novel applications include nonlinear optics, optical signal processing, and quantum information processing. There are various approaches that can be used to vary the optical group velocity. Ultraslow or fast group velocity may result from a large material dispersion, waveguide dispersion, or both. In this paper, the authors provide a review of recent progress of slow and fast light using semiconductor devices. Specifically, they will discuss results obtained using semiconductor quantum-well/quantum-dot absorber and optical amplifiers. Slow and fast light are controllable electrically by changing the bias current or voltage as well as optically by changing the pump laser intensity and wavelength. Delay-bandwidth tradeoff and other figures of merits are analyzed
Slow light with a markedly low group velocity is a promising solution for optical buffering and advanced time-domain optical signal processing. It is also anticipated to enhance linear and nonlinear effects and so miniaturize functional photonic devices because slow light compresses optical energy in space. Photonic crystal waveguide devices generate on-chip slow light at room temperature with a wide bandwidth and low dispersion suitable for short pulse transmission. This paper first explains the delay-bandwidth product, fractional delay, and tunability as crucial criteria for buffering capacity of slow light devices. Then the paper describes experimental observations of slow light pulse, exhibiting their record high values. It also demonstrates the nonlinear enhancement based on slow light pulse transmission.
Slow light with a markedly low group velocity is a promising solution for optical buffering and advanced time-domain optical signal processing. It is also anticipated to enhance linear and nonlinear effects and so miniaturize functional photonic devices because slow light compresses optical energy in space. Photonic crystal waveguide devices generate on-chip slow light at room temperature with a wide bandwidth and low dispersion suitable for short pulse transmission. This paper first explains the delay-bandwidth product, fractional delay, and tunability as crucial criteria for buffering capacity of slow light devices. Then the paper describes experimental observations of slow light pulse, exhibiting their record high values. It also demonstrates the nonlinear enhancement based on slow light pulse transmission.