Silicon nitride on-chip C-band spontaneous emission generation based on lanthanide doped microparticles

TL;DR

This paper presents a scalable hybrid integration method for embedding lanthanide-doped microparticles into silicon nitride photonic circuits, enabling broadband emission in the C-band suitable for telecommunications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel fabrication process for integrating luminescent particles into silicon nitride waveguides, overcoming material incompatibilities and enabling broadband emission.

Findings

Broadband emission in the 1500-1600 nm range achieved

Average coupling efficiency of 0.25% into waveguide mode

Scalable integration approach demonstrated for telecom applications

Abstract

The integration of active light-emitting elements into planar photonic circuits on a silicon nitride platform remains challenging due to material incompatibilities and high-temperature processing. Proposed hybrid method embeds monodisperse luminescent particles into lithographically defined wells above a 200 nm-thick silicon nitride taper coupler. A fabrication process involving wells etching, particle deposition, and planarization enables precise integration while maintaining waveguide integrity. When pumped at 950 nm with a diode laser, the device emits broadband radiation in the 1500-1600 nm range, covering the optical telecommunication C-band. Numerical simulations yield an average coupling efficiency of 0.25% into the fundamental waveguide mode, suggesting significant potential for further device optimization. The approach provides a scalable route for integrating broadband telecommunications emitters on a silicon nitride platform.