On-Chip Mid-Infrared Supercontinuum Generation from 3 to 13 μm Wavelength

Midinfrared spectroscopy is a universal way to identify chemical and biological substances. Indeed, when interacting with a light beam, most molecules are responsible for absorption at specific wavelengths in the mid-IR spectrum, allowing to detect and quantify small traces of substances. On-chip broadband light sources in the mid-infrared are thus of significant interest for compact sensing devices. In that regard, supercontinuum generation offers a mean to efficiently perform coherent light conversion over an ultrawide spectral range, in a single and compact device. This work reports the experimental demonstration of on-chip two-octave supercontinuum generation in the mid-infrared wavelength, ranging from 3 to 13 μm (that is larger than 2500 cm-1) and covering almost the full transparency window of germanium. Such an ultrawide spectrum is achieved thanks to the unique features of Ge-rich graded SiGe waveguides, which allow second-order dispersion tailoring and low propagation losses over a wide wavelength range. The influence of the pump wavelength and power on the supercontinuum spectra has been studied. A good agreement between the numerical simulations and the experimental results is reported. Furthermore, a very high coherence is predicted in the entire spectrum. These results pave the way for wideband, coherent, and compact mid-infrared light sources by using a single device and compatible with large-scale fabrication processes.