This thesis reports an experimental characterization of the ultrafast gain and refractive index dynamics of a novel InAs/InGaAsP/InP quantum-dot (QD) semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) operating near 1.55-µm wavelengths, assessing its high-speed performance characteristics for the first time. The thesis also studies the influence of the degree of quantum confinement on the dynamics of SOAs by comparing the zero-dimensional (0-D) QD's dynamics to those in 1-D InAs/InAlGaAs/InP quantum-dash (QDash), and 2-D InGaAsP/InGaAsP/InP quantum-well (QW) SOAs, both of which also operate near 1.55-µm wavelengths, and are made with matching or similar materials and structures. The ultrafast (around 1 ps) and long-lived (up to 2 ns) amplitude and phase dynamics of the SOAs are characterized via advanced heterodyne pump-probe measurements with 150-femtosecond resolution. It is found that the QD SOA has an 80-picosecond amplitude, and 110-picosecond phase recovery lifetime in the gain regime, 4-6 times faster than the QDash and QW recovery lifetimes, as well as reduced ultrafast transients, giving it the best properties for high-speed (> 100 Gb/s) all-optical signal processing in the important telecommunications wavelength bands. An impulse response model is developed and used to analyze the dynamics, facilitating a comparison of the gain compression factors, time-resolved linewidth enhancement factors (alpha-factors), and instantaneous dynamic coefficients (two-photon absorption and nonlinear refractive-index coefficients) amongst the three structures. The quantum-dot device is found to have the lowest effective alpha-factor, 2-10, compared to 8-16 in the QW, as well as time-resolved alpha-factors lower than in the QW—promising for reduced-phase-transient operation at high bitrates. Significant differences in the alpha-factors of lasers with the same structure are found, due to the differences between gain changes that are induced optically or through the electrical bias. The relative contributions of stimulated transitions and free-carrier absorption to the total carrier heating dynamics in SOAs of varying dimensionality are also reported for the first time. Examining the QD electroluminescence and linear gain spectra in combination with the carrier dynamics also brings about conclusions on the nature of the quantum confinement, dot energy-level structure, and density of states—aspects of the material that have not been previously well understood.

The global communications network has become a pervasive and critical item of everyday life, spawning and enabling countless worldwide services that went from nonexistent to must-have in less than a decade. Its implementation makes considerable use of optical transmission systems, which are the physical medium of choice for most non-wireless links, being capable of high data rates over long distances. However, the potential of optics is still underexploited, and can help a smarter network meet the simultaneous challenges of ever-higher data rates, network switching, and the "last-mile" access network. <p> Very high data rates were achieved in optical transmissions in the late 1990s especially through wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) over the C and later the L spectral bands. For some time, the way to increase data rates was forecast to be higher symbol rates per wavelength, for which optical-to-electronic (O-E) conversions are a speed bottleneck. This required all-optical functionalities, especially to process optical time-domain multiplexed signals. In that line, I contributed to ultrafast clock recovery using opto-electronic phase-locked loops. <p> However, the recent comeback of coherent optical communications points to easier ways to increase the data rate by pushing towards higher spectral efficiencies, closer to the optical channel's Shannon capacity in the presence of certain physical impairments. Notably, some of my recent results suggest that polarization-dependent loss can be handled close to the limit thanks to a combination of space-time codes and more conventional error-correcting codes. <p> Switching is another bottleneck: the Internet's great versatility results in part from its packet-switching paradigm, but current optical networks are essentially circuit-switched using wavelength granularity. Packet-switching functionality is implemented purely in electronics, incurring numerous energy-inefficient O-E conversions and ballooning energy costs. <p> My work on all-optical functionalities included an all-optical label-processing scheme for switching nodes, though this approach would be subject to scaling problems in practice. More recently, my concern has shifted to hybrid switching nodes using electronic buffers to supplement an optical switching matrix. My current studies show great improvements of their sustainable load compared to all-optical switches at a given packet-loss probability. <p> Access network is the last stronghold where optical transmissions are not quite dominant yet. The focus there is on cost effectiveness and resource sharing, especially in passive optical networks (PONs). In order to bring WDM to PONs, I contributed to a pulsed continuum optical source that could have provided optical channels to multiple users simultaneously. More recently, I also oversaw work on reflective semiconductor optical amplifiers designed for colorless optical network units. <p> Finally, the challenge goes on for a better match between network functionalities and the untapped potential of optics. My focus is currently shifting towards cross-layer optical networking, requiring novel network architectures to break free from the electronic-centric layered-network model, and finally meeting the energy consumption problem square-on.

Le premier volet de cette thèse est consacré à la modélisation des phénomènes de transport dans le LN. Partant d'une analyse critique des modèles de bande usuels, nous montrons leur inadéquation dans le cas du LN et nous proposons un modèle de saut basé sur la théorie des petits polarons. Nous étudions d'abord par simulation Monte-Carlo la décroissance d'une population de polarons liés NbLi4+ relaxant vers des pièges profonds FeLi3+. Nous montrons que les pièges FeLi3+ ont des rayons effectifs particulièrement grands, rayons qui augmentent encore à température décroissante, et limitent considérablement les longueurs de diffusion des polarons. Les résultats de simulations sont ensuite confrontés aux résultats expérimentaux obtenus par différentes techniques ; Absorption photo-induite, Raman, Enregistrement holographique et Pompe-sonde. Le deuxième volet de cette thèse est consacré aux applications électro-optiques dans le LN périodiquement polarisé (PPLN). Sous l’effet d’une tension électrique, l’indice de réfraction du PPLN est périodiquement diminué et augmenté, formant ainsi un réseau d’indice activable électriquement. Un premier composant utilisant l’effet électro-optique dans du PPLN a été développé et démontré expérimentalement. Dans ce composant, la lumière est défléchie sous l’effet de la tension électrique par le réseau d’indice. Ce déflecteur de Bragg atteint une efficacité de diffraction proche de 100% avec une faible tension de commande de l’ordre de 5 V. Un deuxième composant a également été proposé, où la lumière se propage perpendiculairement aux parois de domaines du PPLN. Dans cette configuration un réflecteur de Bragg électro-optique peut être réalisé / The first part of this thesis is devoted to the modeling of transport phenomena in the LN. From a critical analysis of the usual band models, we show their inadequacy in the case of LN and we propose a hopping model based on the theory of small polarons. We first study by Monte-Carlo simulation the population decay of bound polarons NbLi4+ in deep traps FeLi3+. We show that the traps (FeLi3+) have particularly large effective radii, which increase further at decreasing temperature, and considerably limit the diffusion lengths of the polarons. The results of simulations are then compared with experimental results obtained by different techniques; Light-induced absorption, Raman, Holographic storage and Pump-Probe. The second part of this thesis is devoted to electro-optical applications in the periodically poled LN (PPLN). Under the effect of an electrical voltage, the refractive index of the PPLN is periodically decreased and increased, thus forming an electrically activatable index grating. A first component using the electro-optical effect in PPLN has been developed and demonstrated experimentally. In this component, the light is deflected under the effect of the electrical voltage by the index grating. This Bragg deflector achieves a diffraction efficiency of close to 100% with a low drive voltage of the order of 5 V. A second component has also been proposed, where light propagates perpendicularly to the domain walls of the PPLN. In this configuration an electro-optic Bragg reflector can be realized

Les plasmons-polaritons de surface (PPS) font figure de plateforme polyvalente très promet- teuse pour le guidage des ondes électromagnétiques à l’échelle nanométrique. Dans ce contexte, le contrôle dynamique de la propagation PPS est d’une importance capitale. Le contrôle actif des dispositifs plasmoniques a souvent été réalisé jusqu’à présent par le biais d’un effet thermo-optique (TO). Toutefois dans la majorité des cas considérés, l’effet thermo-optique résulte d’une modification des propriétés d’un matériaux diélectrique en contact avec le métal supportant le mode plasmon. Ainsi, le rôle des propriétés thermo-optiques du métal lui-même a rarement été analysé aux fréquences télécom dans le cadre d’applications plasmoniques. L’objectif principal de cette thèse est donc d’analyser en détail l’impact des propriétés thermo- optiques des métaux sur différents modes PPS aux longueurs d’ondes télécom. En premier lieu, nous considérons la modulation photo-thermique d’un mode plasmon supporté par un film mince d’or se propageant à l’interface "or/air". Nous démontrons tout d’abord la modulation de la propagation des modes PPS induite par la dépendance des pertes ohmiques de l’or à la température du film mince. Le contrôle de la température du film est obtenu par un effet photo-thermique en régime continu modulé. Les mesures expérimentales de la pro- fondeur de modulation de l’intensité des modes PPS combinées à la simulation numérique de la distribution de température le long du film d’or nous permettent de remonter aux coefficients thermo-optiques de l’or aux fréquences télécoms. Dans un second temps, nous considérons le contrôle thermo-optique de modes plasmons dont le confinement spatial (et donc l’indice effectif) est supérieur à ceux des modes de films. Les modes considérés dans cette seconde étude sont connus sous le nom de "polymer- loaded surface plasmon waveguides (PLSPPWs)". Ces modes présentent un confinement latéral induit par l’indice de réfraction du ruban de polymère déposés sur le film métallique et un confinement vertical résultant de leur nature plasmonique. L’excitation photo-thermique de ces guides plasmoniques dans un régime nano-seconde nous permet de mettre en évidence la dynamique thermo-optique du métal aux temps courts (<1ns) et du polymère aux temps plus longs (<1µs). La même démarche appliquée à un micro-résonateur plasmonique en anneau révèle les temps caractéristiques de la dynamique de diffusion de la chaleur dans le polymère à l’échelle de quelques dizaines de nanomètres. Sur la base de ces expériences, nous suggérons un design de dispositifs plasmoniques thermo-optique dont la bande passante est de l’ordre du megahertz, un ordre de grandeur au-dessus des systèmes thermo-optiques traditionnels. Enfin, nous présentons la modulation photo-thermique de la propagation PPS le long de nanofils d’or fabriqués par lithographie électronique supportant des modes plasmons très confinés aux longueurs d’onde télécom. La transmission d’un signal télécom à 10 Gbit/s est tout d’abord démontrée afin d’établir sans ambiguïté la pertinence de tels guides d’ondes miniatures pour la transmission d’informations à très courtes échelles. Enfin, nous mettons en évidence la modulation photo-thermique de la propagation de tels modes. En particulier, nous investiguons l’influence sur la profondeur de modulation de la polarisation du faisceau pompe relativement à l’orientation des nanofils. Cet effet de polarisation s’explique par une absorption exaltée si la polarisation du faisceau pompe est orientée perpendiculairement à l’axe du nanofil. L’exaltation résulte de l’excitation d’un mode plasmon local selon l’axe transverse du nanofil. / Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) is the promising versatile platform proposed for guiding electromagnetic waves at nanoscale dimensions. In this context dynamic control of SPPs prop- agation is of paramount importance. Thermo-optical (TO) effect is considered as an efficient technique for performing active control of plasmonic devices. Among the thermo-optical based plasmonic devices demonstrated so far TO coefficient is dominantly provided by a dielectric material on top of the metal sustaining the SPP mode, however, the role of TO properties of the metal has been rarely investigated for plasmonic applications especially at the telecom frequency ranges. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to investigate in detail the impact of thermo-optical properties of metals onto various SPP modes at telecom wavelengths.First, we report on photo-thermal modulation of thin film SPP mode traveling at gold/air interface excited at telecom wavelengths. We start by investigating the photo-thermally in- duced modulation of SPPs propagation mediated by the temperature dependent ohmic losses in the gold film. Then we extract the thermo-plasmonic coefficient of the SPP mode from the accurately measured SPPs signal depth of modulation by which we could compute the thermo-optical coefficients (TOCs) of gold at telecom wavelength. Lastly, we demonstrate a pulsed photo-thermal excitation of the SPPs in the nanosecond regime.Secondly, we investigate the thermo-optical dynamics of polymer loaded surface plasmon waveguide (PLSPPW) based devices photo-thermally excited in the nanosecond regime. First, we demonstrate thermo-absorption of PLSPPW modes mediated by the temperature-dependent ohmic losses of the metal and the thermally controlled field distribution of the plasmon mode within the metal. Next, we consider the thermo-optical response of a PLSPPW based racetrack shaped resonator coupled to a straight bus waveguide and evaluate the photo-thermal activation through heating and cooling times. We conclude that nanosecond excitation combined to high thermal diffusivity materials opens the way to high speed thermo-optical plasmonic devices.Finally, we report on the photo-thermal modulation of SPPs propagation along litho- graphically fabricated gold nanowires sustaining highly confined plasmonic mode at telecom wavelengths. First, we investigate telecommunication characterization of the nanowires by ap- plying high bit rate signal transmission, 10 Gbit/s, through fiber-to-fiber confocal detection setup. Next, we demonstrate and evaluate the photo-thermal modulation of SPPs propagation along the nanowires where we discuss qualitatively TO effects due to light-induced modula- tions on nanowires and show the impact of the incident beam polarization on the photo-thermal modulation.