Ultra-high-Q wedge-resonator on a silicon chip

TL;DR

This paper reports the development of a silicon chip-based wedge resonator with a record Q factor of 875 million, combining ultra-high quality with compatibility for integrated photonic systems.

Contribution

It introduces a new on-chip wedge resonator with a record Q factor that avoids complex processing steps, enabling better integration with other photonic devices.

Findings

Achieved a Q factor of 875 million surpassing previous microtoroids.

Provided a fabrication process compatible with conventional semiconductor techniques.

Enabled integration of ultra-high-Q resonators with diverse photonic systems.

Abstract

Ultra-high-Q optical resonators are being studied across a wide range of research subjects including quantum information, nonlinear optics, cavity optomechanics, and telecommunications. Here, we demonstrate a new, resonator on-a-chip with a record Q factor of 875 million, surpassing even microtoroids. Significantly, these devices avoid a highly specialized processing step that has made it difficult to integrate microtoroids with other photonic devices and to also precisely control their size. Thus, these devices not only set a new benchmark for Q factor on a chip, but also provide, for the first time, full compatibility of this important device class with conventional semiconductor processing. This feature will greatly expand the possible kinds of system on a chip functions enabled by ultra-high-Q devices.