Toward integrated synchronously pumped optical parametric oscillators in silicon nitride

Abstract: We present a tunable, hybrid waveguide-fiber optical parametric oscillator (OPO) synchronously pumped by an ultra-fast fiber laser exploiting four-wave mixing (FWM) generated in silicon nitride waveguides. Parametric oscillation results in a 35 dB enhancement of the idler spectral power density in comparison to spontaneous FWM, with the ability of wide wavelength tuning over 86 nm in the O-band. Measurements of the oscillation threshold and the efficiency of the feedback loop reveal how an integration of the OPO on a single silicon nitride chip can be accomplished at standard repetition rates of pump lasers in the order of 100 MHz.