Pump-probe experiments at 1.54 μm on silicon-rich silicon oxide waveguides

Optical pump-probe measurements were performed on slab waveguides containing excess silicon in the form of nanoclusters or nanocrystals and erbium. The measurements were performed by prism coupling a 1.54 μm probe beam into a waveguide formed by silicon-rich oxide and monitoring its intensity and temporal response as the waveguide was optically pumped from above with a chopped 477 nm excitation source. Induced absorption (losses) of the 1.54 μm probe beam in erbium-doped and undoped silicon-rich silicon oxide waveguides was observed in all cases. For the samples containing only well-defined nanocrystals, a fast (∼60 μs) induced absorption component associated with free carriers within the silicon nanocrystals is reported, while for samples containing defective nanocrystals or nanoclusters, a much slower (∼10 min) component is observed. The free carrier absorption is shown to be reduced by delaying the probe beam relative to the pump beam in cases where it dominates.