Phys.org July 6, 2021
An international team of researchers (Singapore, USA – MIT) succeeded in squeezing light in time by a factor of 11. They demonstrated 3.0× spectral compression of 480 fs pulses while preserving the pulse energy. The strong compression achieved at low powers harnesses advanced on-chip device design, and the strong nonlinear properties of backend-CMOS compatible ultra-silicon-rich nitride, which possesses absence of two-photon absorption and 500× larger nonlinear parameter than in stoichiometric silicon nitride waveguides. By balancing the contributions from the dispersive and nonlinear stages, they could generate strong compression in either time or frequency. The work introduces an important new paradigm for spectro-temporal compression of optical pulses toward turnkey, on-chip integrated systems for all-optical pulse control…read more. Video Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Schematic of the USRN compressor system and comparison with other CMOS-chip based temporal compressors. Credit: Light: Science & Applications volume 10, Article number: 130 (2021)