Jiajiu Zheng

Nanocavity Integrated van der Waals Heterostructure Light-Emitting Tunneling Diode

Developing a nanoscale, integrable, and electrically pumped single mode light source is an essential step toward on-chip optical information technologies and sensors. Here, we demonstrate nanocavity enhanced electroluminescence in van der Waals heterostructures (vdWhs) at room temperature. The vertically assembled light-emitting device uses graphene/boron nitride as top and bottom tunneling contacts and monolayer WSe2 as an active light emitter. By integrating a photonic crystal cavity on top of the vdWh, we observe the electroluminescence is locally enhanced (>4 times) by the nanocavity. The emission at the cavity resonance is single mode and highly linearly polarized (84%) along the cavity mode. By applying voltage pulses, we demonstrate direct modulation of this single mode electroluminescence at a speed of ∼1 MHz, which is faster than most of the planar optoelectronics based on transition metal chalcogenides (TMDCs). Our work shows that cavity integrated vdWhs present a promising nanoscale optoelectronic platform.

Tunable pattern-free graphene nanoplasmonic waveguides on trenched silicon substrate

Graphene has emerged as a promising material for active plasmonic devices in the mid-infrared (MIR) region owing to its fast tunability, strong mode confinement, and long-lived collective excitation. In order to realize on-chip graphene plasmonics, several types of graphene plasmonic waveguides (GPWGs) have been investigated and most of them are with graphene ribbons suffering from the pattern-caused edge effect. Here we propose a novel nanoplasmonic waveguide with a pattern-free graphene monolayer on the top of a nano-trench. It shows that our GPWG with nanoscale light confinement, relatively low loss and slowed group velocity enables a significant modulation on the phase shift as well as the propagation loss over a broad band by simply applying a single low bias voltage, which is very attractive for realizing ultra-small optical modulators and optical switches for the future ultra-dense photonic integrated circuits. The strong light-matter interaction as well as tunable slow light is also of great interest for many applications such as optical nonlinearities.

Local and Nonlocal Optically Induced Transparency Effects in Graphene–Silicon Hybrid Nanophotonic Integrated Circuits

Graphene is well-known as a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms arrayed in a honeycomb structure. It has some unique and fascinating properties, which are useful for realizing many optoelectronic devices and applications, including transistors, photodetectors, solar cells, and modulators. To enhance light-graphene interactions and take advantage of its properties, a promising approach is to combine a graphene sheet with optical waveguides, such as silicon nanophotonic wires considered in this paper. Here we report local and nonlocal optically induced transparency (OIT) effects in graphene-silicon hybrid nanophotonic integrated circuits. A low-power, continuous-wave laser is used as the pump light, and the power required for producing the OIT effect is as low as ∼0.1 mW. The corresponding power density is several orders lower than that needed for the previously reported saturated absorption effect in graphene, which implies a mechanism involving light absorption by the silicon and photocarrier transport through the silicon-graphene junction. The present OIT effect enables low power, all-optical, broadband control and sensing, modulation and switching locally and nonlocally.

Slotted photonic crystal nanobeam cavity with parabolic modulated width stack for refractive index sensing.

We present the design, fabrication, and the characterization of high-Q slotted 1D photonic crystal (PhC) cavities with parabolic-width stack. Their peculiar geometry enables the location of the resonating mode close to the air-band. The majority of optical field distributes in the slotted low-index area and the light matter interaction with the analytes has been enhanced. Cavities with measured Q-factors ~10(4) have been demonstrated. The refractive index sensing measurement for NaCl solutions with different concentrations shows a sensitivity around 410. Both the achieved Q-factor and the sensitivity are higher than the one reported recently by using 2D slotted PhC cavities. The total size for the sensing part of the present device is reduced to 16.8 × 2.5 μm(2).

Suspended ultra-small disk resonator on silicon for optical sensing.

An ultra-small disk resonator consisting of a suspended silicon disk with a submicron bending radius sitting on an SiO(2) pedestal is demonstrated experimentally. An asymmetrical suspended rib waveguide is integrated as the access waveguide for the suspended submicron disk resonator, which is used to realize an ultra-small optical sensor with an improved sensitivity due to the enhanced evanescent field interaction with the analyte. The present optical sensor also has a large measurement range because of the ultra-large free-spectral range of the submicron-disk resonator. As an example, a suspended submicron disk sensor with a bending radius of 0.8 μm is designed, fabricated, and characterized. The concentration of NaCl aqueous solution and organic liquids is measured with the suspended submicron-disk sensor, and the measured sensitivity is about 130 nm/RIU, which agrees well with the simulation value.

Silicon photonic crystal cavity enhanced second-harmonic generation from monolayer WSe2

Nano-resonators integrated with two-dimensional materials (e.g. transition metal dichalcogenides) have recently emerged as a promising nano-optoelectronic platform. Here we demonstrate resonator-enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) in tungsten diselenide using a silicon photonic crystal cavity. By pumping the device with ultrafast laser pulses near the cavity mode at the telecommunication wavelength, we observe a near visible SHG with a narrow linewidth and near unity linear polarization, originated from the coupling of the pump photon to the cavity mode. The observed SHG is enhanced by factor of ~200 compared to a bare monolayer on silicon. Our results imply the efficacy of cavity integrated monolayer materials for nonlinear optics and the potential of building a silicon-compatible second-order nonlinear integrated photonic platform.

Observation of optically induced transparency effect in silicon nanophotonic wires with graphene

Graphene, a well-known two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms in a honeycomb structure, has many unique and fascinating properties in optoelectronics and photonics. Integration of graphene on silicon nanophotonic wires is a promising approach to enhance light-graphene interactions. In this paper, we demonstrate on-chip silicon nanophotonic wires covered by graphene with CMOS-compatible fabrication processes. Under the illumination of pump light on the graphene sheet, a loss reduction of silicon nanophotonic wires, which is called optically induced transparency (OIT) effect, is observed over a broad wavelength range for the first time. The pump power required to generate the OIT effect is as low as ~0.1mW and the corresponding power density is about 2×103mW/cm2, which is significantly different from the saturated absorption effect of graphene reported previously. The extremely low power density implies a new mechanism for the present OIT effect, which will be beneficial to realize silicon on-chip all-optical controlling in the future. It also suggests a new and efficient approach to tune the carrier concentration (doping level) in graphene optically.

Ultrathin van der Waals Metalenses

Ultrathin and flat optical lenses are essential for modern optical imaging, spectroscopy, and energy harvesting. Dielectric metasurfaces comprising nanoscale quasi-periodic resonator arrays are promising for such applications, as they can tailor the phase, amplitude, and polarization of light at subwavelength resolution, enabling multifunctional optical elements. To achieve 2π phase coverage, however, most dielectric metalenses need a thickness comparable to the wavelength, requiring the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio scattering elements. We report ultrathin dielectric metalenses made of van der Waals (vdW) materials, leveraging their high refractive indices and the incomplete phase design approach to achieve device thicknesses down to ∼λ/10, operating at infrared and visible wavelengths. These materials have generated strong interest in recent years due to their advantageous optoelectronic properties. Using vdW metalenses, we demonstrate near-diffraction-limited focusing and imaging and exploit their layered nature to transfer the fabricated metalenses onto flexible substrates to show strain-induced tunable focusing. Our work enables further downscaling of optical elements and opportunities for the integration of metasurface optics in ultraminiature optoelectronic systems.

Self-electro-optic bistability in hybrid silicon photonic microring resonators

We propose an on-chip self-electro-optic bistable device based on hybrid silicon microring resonators. The device enables bistability at low optical power with the switching energy of only ∼5 fJ and can potentially operate at ∼100 GHz.

Progress in 2D semiconductor optoelectronics

2D semiconductors have recently emerged as promising optoelectronic materials, with high quantum efficiency of photoemission, absorption and nonlinear optical properties. With significant progress in understanding the material science of these atomically thin materials, and building devices with stand-alone monolayer materials, it is an opportune time to integrate these materials with existing optoelectronic platform to realize the full potential of the 2D materials. Here, we highlight our recent progress in 2D semiconductor integrated with nanophotonic resonators. Specifically, we report the operation of an optically pumped laser, cavity enhanced electroluminescence and cavity enhanced second harmonic generation.