Shen L, Healy N, Mehta P, Day T D, Sparks J R, Badding J V, Peacock A C
Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
Opt Express. 2013 Jun 3;21(11):13075-83. doi: 10.1364/OE.21.013075.
The nonlinear transmission properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) core fibers are characterized from the near-infrared up to the edge of the mid-infrared regime. The results show that this material exhibits linear losses on the order of a few dB/cm, or less, over the entire wavelength range, decreasing down to a value of 0.29 dB/cm at 2.7μm, and negligible nonlinear losses beyond the two-photon absorption (TPA) edge ~ 1.7μm. By measuring the dispersion of the nonlinear Kerr and TPA parameters we have found that the nonlinear figure of merit (FOM(NL)) increases dramatically over this region, with FOM(NL) > 20 around 2μm and above. This characterization demonstrates the potential for a-Si:H fibers and waveguides to find use in nonlinear applications extending beyond telecoms and into the mid-infrared regime.
氢化非晶硅（a-Si:H）芯光纤的非线性传输特性在从近红外到中红外波段边缘的范围内得到了表征。结果表明，这种材料在整个波长范围内呈现出几dB/cm或更低的线性损耗，在2.7μm处降至0.29dB/cm，并且在双光子吸收（TPA）边缘~1.7μm之外的非线性损耗可忽略不计。通过测量非线性克尔和TPA参数的色散，我们发现在该区域非线性品质因数（FOM(NL)）急剧增加，在2μm及以上时FOM(NL)>20。这一表征证明了a-Si:H光纤和波导在超越电信领域并进入中红外波段的非线性应用中的潜在用途。
