Coupled-mode phase matching on a silicon chip

Phase matching lies at the heart of the classical nonlinear process for frequency conversion and all-optical processing, as well as the spontaneous parametric process for the quantum light sources generation. In this work, we experimentally demonstrate the coupled-mode phase-matching (CMPM) engineered by the two-paralleled-coupled waveguides on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) chip, extending the converted beam and entangled photons to the S band and L band. We measure the spectrum and efficiency of wavelength conversion, which successfully validates the designed CMPM scheme. We further measure the pairs generation rate of the biphoton based on the spontaneous four-wave mixing, which features a narrow bandwidth consistent well with the theoretical simulations. Multiple CMPM conditions can be achieved by exploiting the combinations of even and odd supermodes of the coupled system and tuned by designing a proper coupling gap between the two waveguides. The CMPM can extend the FWM nonlinear process ranging from the O band to the U band and even the midinfrared, enriching the working wavelength to a large extent. In addition, the CMPM features a discrete-band narrow bandwidth, which will greatly enhance the encoding density of frequency and the spectral purity of generated photon. In addition, our methods can be easily extended to a wide range of materials such as silicon nitride, dispensing with the dispersion engineering for phase matching.