Investigation of germanium Raman lasers for the mid-infrared

In this paper we present a detailed theoretical investigation of integrated racetrack Raman lasers based on the germanium material system operating in the mid-infrared beyond the germanium two-photon absorption cut-off wavelength of 3.17 mu m. The effective Raman gain has been estimated in waveguides based on germanium-on-silicon, germanium-on-SOI and germanium-on-Si3N4 technology platforms as a function of their crystallographic orientations. Furthermore, general design guidelines have been determined by means of a comparative analysis of Raman laser performance, i.e. the threshold power, polarization and directionality of the excited Stokes signals as a function of racetrack cavity length and directional-coupler dimensions. Finally, the emitted Raman laser power has been evaluated as a function of overall propagation losses and operative wavelengths up to 3.8 mu m, while the time dynamics of Raman lasers has been simulated assuming continuous and pulse waves as input pump signals. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America