Demonstration of a mid infrared silicon Raman amplifier

TL;DR

This paper reports the first demonstration of a mid-infrared silicon Raman amplifier achieving 12 dB gain at 3.39 microns, highlighting silicon's potential for mid-infrared photonics applications.

Contribution

The paper introduces the first silicon Raman amplifier operating in the mid-infrared, demonstrating significant gain and showcasing silicon's suitability for mid-IR photonics.

Findings

Achieved 12 dB amplification at 3.39 microns

Used a 2.5 cm silicon sample pumped with 5 ns pulses

Silicon's low nonlinear losses enable effective mid-IR amplification

Abstract

We demonstrate for the first time a mid infrared silicon Raman amplifier. Amplification of 12 dB is reported for a signal at 3.39 micron wavelength. The active medium was a 2.5 cm long silicon sample that was pumped with 5ns pulses at 2.88 micron. The absence of the nonlinear losses which severely limit the performance of silicon Raman devices in the near infrared combined with unsurpassed crystal quality, high thermal conductivity render silicon a very attractive Raman medium. Such a technology can potentially extend silicon photonics application beyond data communication in the near infrared and into the mid infrared world of remote sensing, biochemical detection and laser medicine.