We derive propagation equations modeling third-order susceptibility-induced nonlinear interaction and linear mode coupling in waveguides. We model material susceptibility with Raman and electronic response which include approximations suited for optical communications. We validate our model by comparing numerical integration of the propagation equations to continuous wave measurements of a silicon on insulator waveguide.

Flexible, ultra-broadband, optical wavelength conversion will be one of the key issues in future optical multiband networks that make use of the full low-attenuation bandwidth of Standard Single-Mode Fibers (SSMF). This chapter outlines the authors’ work to realize broadband wavelength conversion between extreme optical wavelength bands using optimized multimodal optical waveguides with high cubic nonlinearity. In a first part, the physical principles of ultra-broadband optical wavelength conversion in a highly nonlinear multimodal Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) waveguide, and methods to model and optimize its functionality, are explained. Subsequently, examples of optimized SOI waveguide designs are presented that enable ultra-broadband conversion of signals within, or between various low-attenuation wavelength bands of an optical fiber. In a second paragraph, the fabrication of SOI waveguides is delineated in general, and measured key parameters of samples of various generations of optimized waveguides are revealed. In a final section, the performance of the developed optical converters is demonstrated exemplarily in laboratory experiments.

We derive propagation equations modeling third-order susceptibility-induced nonlinear interaction and linear mode coupling in waveguides. We model material susceptibility with Raman and electronic response which include approximations suited for optical communications. We validate our model by comparing numerical integration of the propagation equations to continuous wave measurements of a silicon on insulator waveguide.