Large time-bandwidth photonic waveguide coupled light storage

Darrick E. Chang, Amir H. Safavi‐Naeini, Mohammad Hafezi +2 more

The ability to coherently store and retrieve optical information in a rapidly tunable manner is an important ingredient for all‐optical information processing. In the classical domain, this optical buffering is necessary to manage information flow in complex networks. In quantum information processing, such a system can also serve as a long‐term memory capable of storing the full quantum information contained in an optical pulse. Here we suggest a novel approach to light storage involving an optical waveguide coupled to an optomechanical crystal array, where light in the waveguide can be dynamically and reversibly mapped into long‐lived mechanical vibrations in the array. This technique enables large bandwidths and long storage and delay times in a compact, on‐chip platform.

Yan Xue, Wei Liu, Yiwei Gu +1 more

Toshihiko Baba, Takashi Kawaaski, Hirokazu Sasaki +2 more

This paper reports two advances in a slow light device consisting of chirped photonic crystal slab coupled waveguide on SOI substrate. One is concerning the delay-bandwidth product, indicating the buffering capacity of the device. We experimentally evaluated a record high value of 57 (a 40 ps delay and a 1.4 THz bandwidth). We also observed ~1 ps wide optical pulse transmission in the cross-correlation measurement. Regarding the pulse as a signal and considering the broadening of the pulse width due to the imperfect dispersion compensation in the device, storage of more than 12 signal bits was confirmed. The other is a wide-range tuning of the pulse delay. We propose a technique for externally controlling the chirping to permit variable delay. We demonstrate tuning of the pulse delay up to 23 ps, corresponding to a ~7 mm extension of the free space length.

Qianfan Xu, Po Dong, Michal F. Lipson

Darrick E. Chang, Amir H. Safavi‐Naeini, Mohammad Hafezi +1 more

One of the major advances needed to realize all-optical information processing of light is the ability to delay or coherently store and retrieve optical information in a rapidly tunable manner. In the classical domain, this optical buffering is expected to be a key ingredient of managing the flow of information over complex optical networks. Such a system also has profound implications for quantum information processing, serving as a long-term memory that can store the full quantum information contained in an optical pulse. Here, we suggest a novel approach to light storage involving an optical waveguide coupled to an optomechanical crystal array, where light in the waveguide can be dynamically and coherently transferred into long-lived mechanical vibrations of the array. Under realistic conditions, this system is capable of achieving large bandwidths and storage/delay times in a compact, on-chip platform.

A. Wixforth, C. Rocke, Sven Zimmermann +1 more