Engineering silicon nanostructures for the optimization of nonlinear and optomechanical phenomena in integrated devices

Subwavelength silicon nanostructures provide unprecedented flexibility in the control of optomechanical and nonlinear effects. In this invited presentation, we will show our most recent results on the use of nanostructures for the optimization of Kerr nonlinearities silicon. We will also discuss our recent advances in the use of subwavelength silicon nanostructures to engineer photons and phonons in suspended and non-suspended optomechanical cavities.Brillouin scattering has garnered a significant interest in various applications in communications, sensing and quantum technologies. Essentially, Brillouin scattering entails the nonlinear interaction between optical and mechanical fields inside a material. Achieving strong Brillouin interactions require simultaneous confinement of optical and mechanical modes, which remains challenging in SOI waveguides due to a strong phonon leakage towards the silica cladding.Since their first demonstration in silicon photonics [1, 2], subwavelength-grating metamaterials [3, 4] have been used as a powerful tool to realize high-performance silicon photonic devices. Indeed, subwavelength silicon nanostructures provide additional degrees of freedom to control the properties of photonic and phononic modes in silicon photonic circuits with remarkable flexibility [5]. In this invited presentation, we will show our most recent results the engineering of photons and phonons in silicon waveguides based on subwavelength structuration [6, 7]. We will also present the supercontinuum generation in the near-infrared and mid-infrared with suspended silicon waveguides [8].