Quantum memories are key components in photonics-based quantum information processing networks. Their ability to store and retrieve information on demand makes repeat-until-success strategies scalable. Warm alkali-metal vapours are interesting candidates for the implementation of such memories, thanks to their very long storage times as well as their experimental simplicity and versatility. Operation with the Raman memory protocol enables high time-bandwidth products, which denote the number of possible storage trials within the memory lifetime. Since large time-bandwidth products enable multiple synchronisation trials of probabilistically operating quantum gates via memory-based temporal multiplexing, the Raman memory is a promising tool for such tasks. Particularly, the broad spectral bandwidth allows for direct and technologically simple interfacing with other photonic primitives, such as heralded single photon sources. Here, this kind of light-matter interface is implemented using a warm caesium vapour Raman memory. Firstly, we study the storage of polarisation-encoded quantum information, a common standard in quantum information processing. High quality polarisation preservation for bright coherent state input signals can be achieved, when operating the Raman memory in a dual-rail configuration inside a polarisation interferometer. Secondly, heralded single photons are stored in the memory. To this end, the memory is operated on-demand by feed-forward of source heralding events, which constitutes a key technological capability for applications in temporal multiplexing. Prior to storage, single photons are produced in a waveguide-based spontaneous parametric down conversion source, whose bespoke design spectrally tailors the heralded photons to the memory acceptance bandwidth. The faithful retrieval of stored single photons is found to be currently limited by noise in the memory, with a signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 0.3 in the memory output. Nevertheless, a clear influence of the quantum nature of an input photon is observed in the retrieved light by measuring the read-out signal's photon statistics via the g⁽²⁾-autocorrelation function. Here, we find a drop in g⁽²⁾ by more than three standard deviations, from g⁽²⁾ ~ 1.69 to g⁽²⁾ ~ 1.59 upon changing the input signal from coherent states to heralded single photons. Finally, the memory noise processes and their scalings with the experimental parameters are examined in detail. Four-wave-mixing noise is determined as the sole important noise source for the Raman memory. These experimental results and their theoretical description point towards practical solutions for noise-free operation.

La décohérence dans les solides est un problème majeur vers la réalisation d'un processeur quantique basé sur l'utilisation de boîtes quantiques (BQs) semiconductrices comme qubits optiquement actifs. Mesurer et contrôler la cohérence optique de tels qubits s'avère donc primordial, tant d'un point de vue technologique que fondamental. Cependant, leurs tailles nanométriques, associées aux temps de vie sub-nanosecondes de leurs transitions optiques, rendent les mesures expérimentales très délicates.Ce travail de thèse propose une étude détaillée des mécanismes de déphasage et de couplage cohérent de complexes excitoniques fortement confinés dans des BQs InAs/GaAs individuelles. Pour réaliser ces mesures, j'ai développé une expérience de mélange à quatre ondes hétérodyne sensible à l'amplitude et à la phase du champ électrique émis par une BQ unique. Ce dispositif permet de mesurer le temps de vie et de cohérence d'un exciton unique, même en présence d'élargissement inhomogène. Pour augmenter l'interaction lumière-matière et l'efficacité d'extraction du signal, l'utilisation de nanostructures photoniques s'est avérée indispensable. La sensibilité optique du dispositif m'a permis d'étudier en détail les mécanismes d'interaction exciton-phonon, source importante de décohérence dans les solides, comme la formation du polaron acoustique, le couplage quadratique aux phonons acoustiques, et le déphasage induit pendant l'excitation. Par ailleurs, la réalisation de spectres bidimensionnels m'a permis de révéler le couplage cohérent entre différentes transitions excitoniques. Enfin, je présente un nouveau protocole de mélange multi-ondes permettant de contrôler la réponse cohérente d'un exciton unique que je propose d'appliquer sur une paire de BQs pour contrôler le couplage radiatif longue distance, étape fondamentale vers la réalisation d'une porte logique quantique dans les solides. / Decoherence in solids is a major issue towards the realization of a quantum processor based on semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) as optically active qubits. Measuring and controlling the optical coherence of such qubits is required in their fundamental studies, paving a way for technological applications. However, their nanometer size combined to the sub-nanosecond lifetime of their optical transitions, render experimental measurements very challenging.This thesis presents a detailed study of the dephasing mechanisms and the coherent coupling of excitonic complexes strongly confined in individual InAs/GaAs QDs. To achieve these measurements, I developed an heterodyne four-wave mixing experiment sensitive to the amplitude and phase of the electric field emitted by a single QD. With this setup one can measure the lifetime and the coherence time of a single exciton, even in the presence of inhomogeneous broadening. To increase the light-matter interaction and the extraction efficiency of the signal, the use of photonic nanostructures has proved to be necessary. The optical sensitivity of the setup allowed me to study in detail the mechanisms of exciton-phonon interaction, which is an important source of decoherence in solids, like the acoustic polaron formation, the quadratic coupling to acoustic phonons, and the excitation-induced dephasing. Furthermore, by inferring two-dimensional spectra, I demonstrate coherent couplings between various exciton complexes. Finally, I highlight a new multi-wave mixing protocol to control the coherent response of a single exciton, and I propose to employ it to control long-range radiative coupling between two QDs, which is a fundamental step towards achieving a quantum logic gate in solids.

Orientador: Hugo Luis Fragnito / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T21:00:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marconi_JorgeDiego_D.pdf: 6438397 bytes, checksum: df80d0a6babab0366b1839d4344573fa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Esta tese apresenta um estudo teórico e experimental sobre Amplificadores Paramétricos a Fibra Óptica. Mostramos primeiramente a potencialidade do amplificador em termos de largura de banda plana, necessária para aplicações em sistemas WDM. Foram desenvolvidas equações do ripple para os diferentes tipos de espectro de alto ganho possíveis. Usando fibras de dispersão deslocada e fibras altamente não-lineares curtas, construímos amplificadores de dois bombeios com uma banda plana de amplificação de 52 nm e 84 nm, respectivamente. Em ambos os casos, a banda obtida foi comparável à obtida com outras tecnologias como Érbio ou Raman. Pesquisamos também o crosstalk entre canais em amplificadores paramétricos. Mostramos como as variações de ë 0 ao longo da fibra aumentam o crosstalk, pois se incrementam os processos de mistura de quatro ondas espúrios. Em amplificadores de dois bombeios, obtivemos os melhores resultados para aplicações WDM com fibras curtas (L ~ 0.8 km). Finalmente, a partir da análise da penalidade do fator de mérito Q do sinal, estudamos como os efeitos da modulação de fase do/s laser/s de bombeio, necessária para suprimir o espalhamento Brillouin estimulado, são prejudiciais para a performance destes amplificadores. Com base nesse resultado, procuramos eliminar o espalhamento Brillouin com um método alternativo que consiste na aplicação de distribuições de deformação mecânica ao longo da fibra. Obtivemos um aumento de 10.7 dB em 285 m de fibra altamente não-linear, o que é da ordem dos valores obtidos modulando a fase do/s bombeio/s. Aplicamos a técnica em dispositivos paramétricos obtendo um conversor de comprimento de onda com um sinal convertido de largura de banda estreito, sintonizável ao longo de 70 nm de comprimento de onda do sinal de entrada / Abstract: This thesis presents a theoretical and experimental study on fiber optics parametric amplifiers. For the double-pumped case, we show the performance of the amplifier in terms of spectral bandwidth and gain uniformity, both fundamental properties for WDM applications. By using short dispersion shifted fibers and highly non-linear fibers, we made parametric amplifiers with 52 and 84 nm of flat bandwidth, respectively. In both cases, the bandwidth is similar to the one obtained with optical amplifiers based on other technologies such as doped fibers, Raman gain or semiconductors. We also deduced equations of the gain ripple for all the possible types of high gain spectra. We also investigated the inter-channel crosstalk in parametric amplifiers. We showed that the variations of the zero dispersion wavelength along the fiber increase the crosstalk because those variations enhances the spurious four wave mixing tones. Finally, the degradation of the signal quality factor (Q) was studied for both, single and double-pumped parametric amplifiers. We showed that the phase modulation applied to the pump lasers to suppress the stimulated Brillouin backscattering can strongly degrade the performance of the amplifier. One alternative technique that we developed was based on applying different mechanical stress distributions along the fiber length. We experimentally demonstrated, using 285 m of highly non-linear fibers, that the backscattering threshold can be increased by 10.7 dB. This value is similar to that obtained using the phase modulation schema. The method was successfully applied to parametric devices. In particular we made a narrow linewidth wavelength converter with 70 nm of signal tuning band / Doutorado / Física / Doutor em Ciências

Orientador: Hugo Luis Fragnito / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T18:29:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CastanedaTutestar_JuanAndres_M.pdf: 6184459 bytes, checksum: 92c32f647e9f3cbb607992b021c7924d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Estudamos a interação entre laser e ruído em fibras ópticas, sua dependência com dispersão cromática e sua aplicação para caracterizar flutuações dos parâmetros de dispersao ao longo da fibra. A interacao é governada pela polarização não-linear de terceira ordem e, nesta tese, consideramos especificamente o processo de mistura de quatro ondas ou FMW (de Four-Wave Mixing) descrito por termos de ordem cúbica na amplitude do campo elétrico aplicado. Em particular, nós estamos interessados em termos que são lineares na amplitude do laser e quadraticos na do ruído. Devido a este processo, são geradas novas ondas que apresentam picos bem definidos no espectro e muito sensíveis aos parâmetros de dispersão de alta ordem (até quarta ordem e demonstrada nesta tese). Medidas com pulsos de curta duração (~ 100 ps para o laser e ~ 40 ps para o ruído em nossos experimentos) nos permitem caracterizar como os parâmetros de dispersão variam ao longo da fibra com boa resolução espacial (< 1 km). Apresentamos também uma resolução numérica das equações exatas para determinar como os parâmetros de dispersão, em fibras de perfil de índice degrau, dependem do raio do núcleo da fibra. Encontramos que variações de 0.1 µm (± 1%) do raio do núcleo da fibra produzem mudancas no comprimento de onda de dispersão nula (?0) e no pico de FWM (?FWM) que são consistentes com os resultados experimentais. Também verificamos a existencia de um valor do raio do núcleo da fibra o qual oferece propriedades de dispersao robustas para processos paramétricos. Este trabalho visa contribuir para a compreensão dos processos nao-lineares e campos estocásticos e, do ponto de vista prático, para o desenvolvimento de um método eficiente para medir variações na dispersão de alta ordem ao longo da fibra / Abstract: We study the interaction between laser and noise in optical fibers, its dependence on chromatic dispersion and its application to characterize the parameters of dispersion fluctuations along the fiber. The interaction is governed by the nonlinear polarization of the third-order and, in this thesis, we consider specifically the process of four-wave mixing (FWM) described by cubical terms in the amplitude of the applied electric field. In particular, we concern linear terms in the amplitude of the laser and quadratic in the noise. Due to this process, new waves are generated that have well-defined peaks in the spectrum and very sensitive to the parameters of highorder dispersion (up to fourth order is demonstrated in this thesis). Measurements with pulses of short duration (~ 100 ps for the laser and ~ 40 ps for the noise in our experiments) allow us to characterize how the dispersion parameters vary along the fiber with good spatial resolution (< 1 km). We also present an exact numerical solution of the equations to determine how the parameters of dispersion, in a stepindex fiber, depending on the radius of the fiber core. We found that variations of 0.1µ m (± 1%) of the fiber core radius produce changes in the wavelength of zero dispersion (?0) and at the peak of FWM (?FWM) that are consistent with experimental results. We also verified the existence of a value of the radius of the fiber core which provides robust dispersion properties for parametric processes. This work aims to contribute to the understanding of nonlinear processes and stochastic fields, and the practical point of view, to develop an efficient method for measuring variations in the high-order dispersion along the fiber / Mestrado / Mestre em Física

Silicon photonics as a one of the most promising photonic integration technologies has attracted many attentions in recent years. The major feature of this technology is its compatibility with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) processes which makes it possible to integrate optical and electronic devices in a same chip and reduce the cost significantly. Another reason of using silicon photonics is the high index contrast between the silicon core and silicon dioxide cladding which ensures the high density integration of photonic devices on a single chip. Monolithic integration with electronic and optical circuits makes silicon photonics technology suitable for numerous applications. One example is microwave photonics (MWP). MWP is an area that studies the interaction between microwave and optical signal for the generation, processing, control and distribution of microwave signals by means of photonics. Silicon photonics offers a reduction in footprint, losses, packaging cost and power dissipation in MWP systems. This research in this thesis is focused on the design and fabrication of the silicon photonic devices for MWP signal processing and generation. Four MWP systems based on silicon photonic devices are proposed and experimentally demonstrated. 1) A single pass-band frequency-tunable MWP filter based on phase-modulation to intensity-modulation conversion in an optically pumped silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microring resonator (MRR) is designed and experimentally demonstrated. In the proposed filter, a phase-modulated optical signal is filtered by the SOI MRR, to have one first-order sideband suppressed by the MRR notch. The phase-modulated optical signal is converted to an intensity-modulated single-sideband (SSB) signal and detected at a photodetector (PD). The entire operation is equivalent to a single pass-band filter. The frequency tunability is achieved by tuning the resonance wavelength of the MRR, which is realized by optically pumping the MRR. A single pass-band MWP filter with a tunable center frequency from 16 to 23 GHz is experimentally demonstrated. 2) A broadband optically tunable MWP phase shifter with a tunable phase shift using three cascaded SOI MRRs that are optically pumped is designed and experimentally demonstrated. A microwave signal to be phase shifted is applied to an optical single-sideband (OSSB) modulator to generate an optical carrier and an optical sideband. The phase shift is introduced to the optical carrier by placing the optical carrier within the bandwidth of one resonance of the three cascaded MRRs. The experimental results show that by optically pumping the cascaded MRRs, a broadband MWP phase shifter with a bandwidth of 7 GHz with a tunable phase shift covering the entire 360o phase shift range is achieved. 3) A multi tap MWP filter with positive and negative coefficients using a silicon ring resonator modulator (RRM) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The RRM is designed and fabricated to operate based on the carrier depletion effect. The positive and negative coefficients are obtained by using opposite slopes of the modulation transmission response of the RRM. Two filter responses with two and three taps are experimentally demonstrated, showing the proof-of-principle for frequencies up to 18 GHz. 4) An approach to generate microwave signal based on enhanced four wave mixing (FWM) in an active silicon waveguide (SiWG) is studied. This SiWG is designed and fabricated, and the use of the active SiWG for MWP frequency multiplication to generate a frequency-sextupled millimeter-wave signal is experimentally demonstrated. Thanks to a reverse-biased p-n junction across the SiWG, the conversion efficiency of the FWM is improved, which leads to the improvement of the microwave frequency multiplication efficiency.

Le moment orbital angulaire (OAM) de la lumière est une grandeur quantifiée associée à la phase d’un vortex optique et est actuellement une des variables explorées pour les technologies quantiques.Dans ce contexte, cette thèse étudie expérimentalement la conversion de vortex optiques par une vapeur de rubidium, via la transition Raman stimulée à deux photons 5S₁/₂ − 5D₅/₂. Quand les atomes sont soumis à deux lasers respectivement à 780 nm et 776 nm, ils génèrent des rayonnements cohérents, infrarouge à 5,23 μm et bleu à 420 nm. On examine le rayonnement bleu lorsque l’un des lasers ou les deux sont des vortex, en particulier des modes de Laguerre-Gauss. Dans une première partie nous montrons que si l’OAM est porté par le laser à 776 nm, alors le rayonnement bleu émis porte un OAM qui respecte l’accord de phase azimutale et de phase de Gouy. Nous montrons aussi que la conversion est efficace sur une grande plage d’OAM allant de -50 à +50, que l’efficacité est gouvernée par le produit des intensités des lasers incidents et que le rayonnement bleu se comporte comme un mode de Laguerre-Gauss pur. Dans une deuxième partie nous montrons qu’il est possible de convertir une superposition de vortex ou une paire de vortex coaxiaux et que l’OAM du rayonnement bleu émis obéit à la règle de somme des OAM incidents. Pour les cas étudiés, nous proposons un modèle de mélange à quatre ondes qui établit les règles de sélection du processus de conversion d’OAM. Ce travail ouvre la voie vers la conversion d’OAM utilisant des transitions vers des niveaux atomiques plus élevés. / The orbital angular momentum of light (OAM) is a quantized quantity arising from the azimuthal phase carried by optical vortices and is well-known for quantum technology applications. Its set of values is theoretically infinite.In this context this thesis experimentally study the conversion of optical vortices in a rubidium vapor through the 5S₁/₂ − 5D₅/₂ stimulated Raman transition. When the atoms are illuminated with laser beams at 780 nm and 776 nm they generate two coherent light beams at 5,23 μm and 420 nm. We investigate the blue light when one laser or both are optical vortices, in particular Laguerre-Gaussian modes. In a first part we show that if the laser at 776 nm carries an OAM the blue light is an optical vortex with an OAM which respects azimutal and Gouy phase matchings. We further show that the conversion is efficient on a large set of OAM from -50 to +50, that the efficiency is governed by the product of the input laser intensities and that the blue light behaves like a pure Laguerre-Gaussian mode. In a second part we demonstrate the conversion of a vortex superposition or a pair of coaxial vortices and that the OAM of the emitted light obeys the conservation rule of total OAM. For each studied case we propose a four wave mixing model establishing selection rules for the conversion process. This work opens possibilities towards OAM conversion using higher atomic levels.

Since its inception, the field of nonlinear optics has only increased in importance as a result of a growing number of applications. The efficiency of all parametric nonlinear optical processes is limited by challenges associated with phase-matching requirements. To address this constraint, a variety of approaches, such as quasi-phase-matching, birefringent phase matching, and higher-order-mode phase matching have historically been used to phase-match interactions. However, the methods demonstrated to date suffer from the inconvenience of only being phase-matched for one specific arrangement of beams, typically co-propagating along the same axis. This stringency of the phase-matching requirement results in cumbersome optical configurations and large footprints for integrated devices. In this thesis, we show that phase-matching requirements in parametric nonlinear optical processes may be satisfied for all orientations of input and output beams when using zero-index media: a condition of omnidirectional phase matching. To validate this theory, we perform experimental demonstrations of phase matching for five separate FWM beam configurations to confirm this phenomenon. Our measurements constitute the first experimental observation of the simultaneous generation of a forward- and backward-propagating signal with respect to the pump beams in a medium longer than a free-space optical wavelength, allowing us to determine the coherence length of our four-wave-mixing process. Our demonstration includes nonlinear signal generation from spectrally distinct counter-propagating pump and probe beams, as well as the excitation of a parametric process with the probe beam's wave vector orthogonal to the wave vector of the pump beam. By sampling all of these beam configurations, our results explicitly demonstrate that the unique properties of zero-index media relax traditional phase-matching constraints, and provide strong experimental evidence for the existence of omnidirectional phase matching in zero-index media. This property can be exploited to facilitate nonlinear interactions and miniaturize nonlinear devices, and adds to the established exceptional properties of low-index materials.

Der photorefraktive Effekt in Bariumtitanat-Kristallen ist Gegenstand zahlreicher Forschungsarbeiten. Der Grund sind die großen elektrooptischen Koeffizienten dieses Materials, die nur von wenigen, kommerziell noch nicht erhältlichen Kristallen übertroffen werden, z.B. von tetragonalem Kalium-Tantalat-Niobat. Beleuchtet man diese Materialien mit Laserstrahlen, treten einzigartige Effekte auf. So erzeugen z.B. photorefraktive parametrische Verstärkungsprozesse charakteristische kreis- oder linienförmige Streulichtfiguren. Faszinierende Möglichkeiten bieten diese parametrischen Prozesse bei der Verstärkung und Phasenkonjugation von Lichtwellen. In dieser Arbeit werden alle 57 photorefraktiven parametrischen Prozesse, die in den untersuchten Materialien auftreten können, zunächst phänomenologisch analysiert. Das Lösen der gekoppelten Wellengleichungen filtert aus der Vielzahl der Prozesse diejenigen heraus, die eine besonders effiziente Wechselwirkung einfallender Lichtwellen versprechen. Für diese Prozesse werden anschließend explizit Verstärkungsfaktoren berechnet. Durch die Berücksichtigung elastooptischer, piezoelektrischer und raumladungsbegrenzender Effekte können die Einfallswinkel der Lichtstrahlen und die Orientierungen der Kristalle für die Signalstrahlverstärkung und die Phasenkonjugation optimiert werden. Auf der Basis dieser theoretischen Vorarbeiten gelingt im experimentellen Teil dieser Arbeit zum ersten Mal die Verstärkung eines Laserstrahls durch einen photorefraktiven parametrischen Prozeß. Die Verstärkung beträgt in einem 3,2 Millimeter dicken Bariumtitanat-Kristall 9000. Eine Besonderheit der angewandten Verstärkungsprozesse ist die sehr geringe räumliche Bandbreite. Die daraus folgende große Winkelselektivität verspricht viele Anwendungsmöglichkeiten in der optischen Meßtechnik, schränkt den Einsatz zur Bildverstärkung jedoch erheblich ein. Ebenfalls zum ersten Mal wird die Phasenkonjugation durch einen phototrefraktiven parametrischen Prozeß demonstriert. Die Intensitäten der erzeugten phasenkonjugierten Wellen entsprechen denen der verstärkten Signalstrahlen. Es lassen sich also Reflektivitäten bis zu 9000 realisieren. Zudem kann durch eine spezielle Konfiguration mit frequenzverstimmten Signalstrahlen ein prinzipielles Problem der photorefraktiven Wellenmischung gelöst werden: Die Verstärkung sehr schwacher Signalstrahlen. Durch die neu entwickelte Methode der Rauschunterdrückung gelingt es, Lichtwellen mit Leistungen unter einem Nanowatt um mehrere Größenordnungen zu verstärken. Zum Abschluß werden die parametrischen Prozesse noch in Kalium-Tantalat-Niobat untersucht. Bei diesen ersten Untersuchungen gelingt der Nachweis von fünf Prozessen. Die beobachteten ausgeprägten Effekte und die gemessenen riesigen elektrooptischen Koeffizienten zeigen, daß tetragonale Kalium-Tantalat-Niobat-Kristalle ebenfalls sehr interessant für die photorefraktive Wellenmischung sind.

L’évolution actuelle des systèmes de communications optiques est telle que la circulation d’information n’est plus exclusivement limitée par les liens longues distances transocéaniques ou par les réseaux cœurs. De nombreuses applications courtes distances comme les réseaux d’accès où les débits des systèmes amenant la fibre chez l’abonné doivent être maximisés et les connexions internes et externes des centres de données transportent un trafic de données important produit en partie par les applications de type « Big Data ». Les critères imposés par ces nouvelles architectures notamment en termes de coût et consommation énergétique doivent être pris en compte en particulier par le déploiement de nouveaux composants d’extrémités. Grâce au très fort confinement des porteurs, les lasers à boites quantiques constituent une classe d’oscillateurs présentant des caractéristiques remarquables notamment en termes de courant de seuil et de stabilité thermique. En particulier, l’application d’une perturbation optique externe permet d’exploiter les nonlinéarités optiques des boîtes quantiques pour la réalisation de convertisseurs en longueur d’onde performants ou de transmetteurs à haut-débit fonctionnant sans isolateur optique. Ce dernier point est particulièrement critique dans les réseaux courtes distances où l’utilisation de sources modulées directement reste une solution technologique importante.Ce travail de thèse réalisé sur des structures lasers à base d’Arséniure de Gallium (GaAs) et de Phosphure d’Indium (InP) montre la possibilité d’améliorer l’efficacité de conversion non-linéaire par injection optique et de générer de nombreuses dynamiques dans des oscillateurs rétroactionnés et émettant sur différents états quantiques. Par ailleurs, le déploiement massif des systèmes cohérents mais également la conception des futures horloges atomiques sur puces nécessite l’utilisation de sources optiques à faible largeur de raie et ce afin de limiter la sensibilité de la réception au bruit de phase du transmetteur et de l’oscillateur local et induire un taux d’erreur binaire important. La conception de laser à faible largeur spectrale constitue un autre objectif de ce travail thèse. Les avantages de la technologie boites quantiques ont été mis à profit pour d’atteindre une largeur spectrale de 160 kHz (100 kHz en présence de rétroaction optique) ce qui est de première importance pour les applications susmentionnées. / The recent evolution of optical communication systems is such that the transfer of massive amounts of information is no longer limited to long-distance transoceanic links or backbone networks. Numerous short-reach applications requiring high data throughputs are emerging, not only in access networks, where upgrades of the bit rate of fiber-to-the-home systems need to be anticipated, but also in data center networks where huge amounts of information may need to be exchanged between servers, in part triggered by the rise of big data applications. The new requirements in terms of cost and energy consumption set by novel short-reach applications therefore need to be considered in the design and operation of a new generation of semiconductor laser sources. Owing to the tight quantum confinement of carriers, quantum dot lasers constitute a class of oscillators exhibiting superior characteristics such as a lower operating threshold, a better thermal stability as well as larger optical nonlinearities. The investigation of quantum dot lasers operating under external perturbations allows probing such optical nonlinearities in the view of developing all-optical wavelength-converters with improved performance as well as optical feedback-resistant transmitters. This last point iseven more critical since it is expected that short-reach links making use of directly modulated sources will experience massive deployment in the near future, in contrast to conventional backbone links where the number of required optoelectronic interfaces remains relatively modest. In order to do so, the thesis reports on novel findings in GaAs- and InP-based quantum dot lasers such as improved bandwidth and conversion efficiency under optical injection and various complex dynamics with delayed quantum dot oscillators emitting on different lasing states. Last but not the least, the massive deployment of coherent systems as well as the realization of future chip-scale atomic clocks require the implementation of optical sources with narrow spectral linewidth otherwise the sensitivity to the phase noise of both transmitters and local oscillators can strongly affect the bit error rates at the receiver. This is another objective to be addressed in the thesis where the benefits of the quantum dot technology has allowed to reach a spectral linewidth as low as 160 kHz (100 kHz under optical feedback) which is of paramount importance not only regarding the aforementioned applications.

La montée exponentielle du trafic de données liée au développement de l’interconnexion entre objets et personnes sur la toile nécessite de nouvelles technologies. Au cours de la dernière décennie, les peignes de fréquences optiques ont révolutionné le secteur des télécommunications, ouvrant la voie à une transmission de données à un débit de données auparavant inaccessible. Mis à part le domaine des télécommunications, les peignes de fréquences optiques ont été avantageusement exploités dans d’autres domaines comme la détection optique, la détection chimique, les horloges optiques… L'efficacité du phénomène de mélange à quatre ondes, qui sous-tend la génération des peignes de fréquences, dépend de manière significative des pertes par propagation dans les guides d’ondes optiques et, par conséquent, de la rugosité de ces derniers. De plus, l'absorption intrinsèque du matériau réduit l'efficacité des phénomènes non linéaires tout en contribuant à l’atténuation du signal lumineux dans le milieu optique de propagation. Grâce à la maturité des procédés de fabrication dits CMOS, la rugosité peut être réduite en optimisant la gravure, tandis que l’absorption peut être réduite par des traitements thermiques. L'utilisation d'un matériau CMOS permet donc une fabrication à faible coût et la co-intégration avec d’autres dispositifs optoélectroniques sur la même puce. Le nitrure de silicium sur isolant est une plateforme prometteuse pour la génération de peignes de fréquences optiques grâce à la faible absorption à deux photons dans ce matériau par rapport au silicium cristallin. Cependant, le nitrure présente une absorption dans la bande des télécommunications relié à la présence des liens moléculaires N-H. Tandis que des recuits à haute température ont été utilisés pour réduire le contenu en hydrogène du film et démontrer avec succès la génération de peignes de fréquence, ces procédés rendent la co-intégration monolithique de ces dispositifs en nitrure de silicium avec une optoélectronique à base de silicium très difficile, réduisant ainsi considérablement sa compatibilité avec les autres matériaux CMOS. Dans cette thèse, nous décrivons la conception, la fabrication et les caractérisations de circuits photoniques non-linéaires en nitrure de silicium sans recuit. En particulier, nous avons mis au point un procédé de fabrication de films de Si3N4 d'une épaisseur de 740 nm, sans utilisation de recuit et avec une maitrise de la gestion des contraintes typiquement associées à ce type de matériau pour l’optique non linéaire. Cette approche offre une compatibilité de fabrication technologique avec la photonique sur silicium. Des preuves expérimentales montrent que les micro-résonateurs utilisant de tels films de nitrure de silicium sans recuit sont capables de générer un peigne de fréquence s'étendant sur 1300-2100 nm via une oscillation paramétrique optique basée sur du mélange à quatre ondes. En allant encore plus loin, nous présentons également les travaux d’optimisation technologique portant sur des microrésonateurs en nitrure de silicium recuits avec des guides d’onde à fort confinement modal, qui nous ont permis d’atteindre des pertes de propagation record. Ces résultats ont été rendus possible grâce à une optimisation fine des étapes de gravure des guides d’onde ainsi qu’à l'utilisation de traitements thermiques-chimiques efficaces. Cette nouvelle approche nous a permis de démontrer par ailleurs des sources de peignes de fréquences intégrées sur puce utilisant des résonateurs en nitrure de silicium couplés par aboutement à un laser III-V DFB utilisé comme une pompe. Cette preuve de concept prouve la validité de notre plateforme de circuits photoniques non-linéaires en Si3N4 pour la réalisation de peignes de fréquences optiques ultra-compacts à faible consommation. / The data traffic need for ultra-high definition videos as well as for the mobile data continues to grow. Within the last decade, optical frequency combs have revolutionized the telecommunications field and paved the way for groundbreaking data transmission demonstrations at previously unattainable data rates. Beside the telecommunications field, optical frequency combs brought benefits also for many other applications such as precision spectroscopy, chemical and bio sensing, optical clocks, and quantum optics. The efficiency of the four-wave mixing phenomenon from which the optical frequency comb arises critically depends on the propagation losses and consequently on the device roughness induced by the lithography and the etching processes. In addition, the bulk material absorption reduces the efficiency of the nonlinear phenomena. By using state-of-the-art complementary metal oxide semiconductor processes, the roughness can be reduced thanks to the maturity of the manufacturing, while the material bulk absorption can be reduced by thermal treatments. In addition, using a CMOS material enables a low-cost fabrication and the co-integration with electronic devices into the same chip. Silicon-nitride-on-insulator is an attractive CMOS-compatible platform for optical frequency comb generation in the telecommunication band because of the low two-photon absorption of silicon nitride when compared with crystalline silicon. However, the as deposited silicon nitride has a hydrogen related absorption in the telecommunication band. Although high-temperature annealing has been traditionally used to reduce the hydrogen content and successfully demonstrate silicon nitride-based frequency combs, this approach made the co-integration with silicon-based optoelectronics elusive, thus reducing dramatically its effective complementary metal oxide semiconductor compatibility. In this thesis, we report on the fabrication and test of annealing-free silicon nitride nonlinear photonic circuits. In particular, we have developed a process to fabricate low-loss, annealing-free and crack–free Si3N4 740-nm-thick films for Kerr-based nonlinear photonics, featuring a full process compatibility with front-end silicon photonics. Experimental evidence shows that micro-resonators using such annealing-free silicon nitride films are able to generate a frequency comb spanning 1300-2100 nm via optical parametrical oscillation based on four-wave mixing. In addition, we present the further optimized technological process related to annealed silicon nitride optical devices using high-confinement waveguides, allowing us to achieve record-low losses. This was enabled via a carefully tailored patterning etching process and an annealing treatment particularly efficient due to the already low hydrogen content in our as-deposited silicon nitride. Such improved Si3N4 platform allowed us to demonstrate on-chip integrated Kerr frequency comb sources using silicon nitride resonators that were butt-coupled to a III-V DFB laser used as a pump source. This proof of concept proves the validity of our approach for realizing fully packaged compact optical frequency combs.