Nonlinear optical signal processing techniques provide a distinct advantage over electronics when the signal bandwidth exceeds ~ 100 GHz. Their application in characterizing ultrafast phenomena has already lead to a better understanding of physical, chemical, and biological systems. In addition, these techniques provide a promising future in high-bandwidth communications systems. However, developing power-efficient, robust, and integrated devices based on nonlinear optics remains a challenging problem. In this talk, nano-scale silicon waveguides will be introduced as unique tools for power-efficient and broadband four-wave mixing. These devices allow ultrafast optical signal processing and wavelength conversion on a CMOS-compatible platform. Experimental results from several signal processing schemes, such as signal regeneration, compression, and single-shot characterization, will be presented. The concept of space-time duality as a system design tool for creating signal processing schemes with novel functionalities will also be discussed.
Reza Salem was born in Tehran, Iran where he completed his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at Sharif University of Technology in 2001. He joined the ECE department at the University of Maryland and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in 2003 and 2006. His Ph.D. research, which was conducted in the Photonics Research Laboratory and the Laboratory for Physical Sciences, included the experimental study of nonlinear optical devices for high-speed optical communication systems. From September 2006 to June 2009, Reza was a postdoctoral researcher in the Quantum and Nonlinear Photonics research group at Cornell University, where he worked on nonlinear silicon waveguide devices and ultrafast optical signal processing. Since June 2009, he has been working as a product development scientist at a start-up company called PicoLuz, located in Jessup, MD. In his current position, Reza works on a silicon photonics technology, which was originally developed during his postdoctoral research at Cornell University. Reza is the co-author of more than 50 journal and conference papers and 3 pending US patents.