Photon recycling in Fabry-Perot micro-cavities based on Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides

TL;DR

This paper investigates photon recycling in Si3N4 waveguide Fabry-Perot micro-cavities through numerical analysis and preliminary experiments, aiming to enhance cavity quality factors by optimizing reflectors and understanding mode coupling effects.

Contribution

It introduces a multiparametric optimization method to reduce insertion loss in Si3N4 Fabry-Perot micro-cavities and models radiative mode recycling to explain observed phenomena.

Findings

Optimized reflector design reduces insertion loss.

Mode coupling explains photon recycling effects.

Preliminary experimental results support the model.

Abstract

We present a numerical analysis and preliminary experimental results on one-dimensional Fabry-Perot micro-cavities in Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides. The Fabry-Perot micro-cavities are formed by two distributed Bragg reflectors separated by a straight portion of waveguide. The Bragg reflectors are composed by a few air slits produced within the Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides. In order to increase the quality factor of the micro-cavities, we have minimized, with a multiparametric optimization tool, the insertion loss of the reflectors by varying the length of their first periods (those facing the cavity). To explain the simulation results the coupling of the fundamental waveguide mode with radiative modes in the Fabry-Perot micro-cavities is needed. This effect is described as a recycling of radiative modes in the waveguide. To support the modelling, preliminary experimental results of micro-cavities in Si$_3$N$_4$ waveguides realized with Focused Ion Beam technique are reported.