Strongly enhanced second-order optical nonlinearity in CMOS-compatible Al1-xScxN thin films

Silicon photonics has enabled large-scale production of integrated optical devices for a vast array of applications. However, extending its use to nonlinear devices is difficult since silicon does not exhibit an intrinsic second-order nonlinearity. While heterogeneous integration of strongly nonlinear materials is possible, it often requires additional procedures since these materials cannot be directly grown on silicon. On the other hand, CMOS-compatible materials often suffer from weaker nonlinearities, compromising efficiency. A promising alternative to current material platforms is scandium-doped aluminum nitride (Al1-xScxN), which maintains the CMOS compatibility of aluminum nitride (AlN) and has been used in electrical devices for its enhanced piezoelectricity. Here, we observe enhancement in optical second-order susceptibility (chi((2))) in CMOS-compatible Al1-xScxN thin films with varying Sc concentrations. For Al0.64Sc0.36N, the chi((2)) component d(33) is enhanced to 62.3 & PLUSMN; 5.6 pm/V, which is 12 times stronger than intrinsic AlN and twice as strong as lithium niobate. Increasing the Sc concentration enhances both chi((2)) components, but loss increases with a higher Sc concentration as well, with Al0.64Sc0.36N exhibiting 17.2 dB/cm propagation loss at 1550 nm and Al0.80Sc0.20N exhibiting 8.2 dB/cm at 1550 nm. Since other material properties of this alloy are also affected by Sc, tuning the Sc concentration can balance strong nonlinearity, loss, and other factors depending on the needs of specific applications. As such, Al1-xScxN could facilitate low cost development of nonlinear integrated photonic devices.

Automated summary

Silicon photonics has enabled large-scale production of integrated optical devices for various applications, but faces challenges when used in nonlinear devices. Scandium-doped aluminum nitride thin films exhibit enhanced optical second-order susceptibility, offering potential advantages for developing CMOS-compatible devices with strong nonlinearity.