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We show simplified DPS-QKD using a SiN micro-ring resonator operated at 852 nm. A raw-key rate of up to 25.3 kb/s is reached at a QBER suitable for secure-key extraction. Short-reach QKD operation is maintained for zero-touch link layouts with C-band telecom fiber.

In this paper, we present a novel concept for a multi-channel swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT) system based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs). At the core of this concept is a low-loss polarization dependent path routing approach allowing for lower excess loss compared to previously shown PIC-based OCT systems, facilitating a parallelization of measurement units. As a proof of concept for the low-loss path routing, a silicon nitride PIC-based single-channel swept source OCT system operating at 840 nm was implemented and used to acquire in-vivo tomograms of a human retina. The fabrication of the PIC was done via CMOS-compatible plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition to allow future monolithic co-integration with photodiodes and read-out electronics. A performance analysis using the results of the implemented photonic building blocks shows a potential tenfold increase of the acquisition speed for a multi-channel system compared to an ideal lossless single-channel system with the same signal-to-noise ratio., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

Broadband low loss and ultra-low crosstalk waveguide crossings are a crucial component for photonic integrated circuits to allow a higher integration density of functional components and an increased flexibility in the layout. We report the design of optimized silicon nitride waveguide crossings based on multimode interferometer structures for intersecting light paths of TE/TE-like, TM/TM-like and TE/TM-like polarized light in the near infrared wavelength region of 790 nm to 890 nm. The crossing design for diverse polarization modes facilitates dual polarization operation on a single chip. For all configurations the loss of a single crossing was measured to be 0.05 dB at 840 nm. Within the 100 nm bandwidth losses stayed below 0.16 dB. The crosstalk was estimated to be on the order of -60 dB by means of 3D finite difference time domain simulations., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures \c{opyright} 2020 Optical Society of America. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserved

In this work we present a detailed analysis of individual loss mechanisms in silicon nitride partial Euler bends at a wavelength of 850 nm. This structure optimizes the transmission through small radii optical waveguide bends. The partial Euler bend geometry balances losses arising from the transition from the straight to the bend waveguide mode, and radiative losses of the bend waveguide mode. Numerical analyses are presented for 45-degree bends commonly employed in S-bend configurations to create lateral offsets, as well as 90- and 180-degree bends. Additionally, 90-degree partial Euler bends were fabricated on a silicon nitride photonic platform to experimentally complement the theoretical findings. The optimized waveguide bends allow for a reduced effective radius without increasing the total bend loss and, thus, enable a higher component density in photonic integrated circuits., Comment: This research has received funding through the grant PASSION (No. 850649) from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant OCTCHIP (No. 688173)

The optimization of material gain in optically pumped dye-doped polymer thin films is an important task in the development of organic solid-state lasers. In this work, we present a theoretical model that accommodates the influence of concentration quenching on material gain and employ it to study the novel dye molecule 2-(4-(bis(4-(tert-butyl)phenyl)amino)benzylidene)malononitrile (PMN) and the well-established dye molecule 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-methyl-6-(4-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) embedded in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Polycarbonate was tested as an alternative host material for PMN. The material gain in these dye-doped polymer thin films was determined by the variable stripe length method. The inclusion of concentration quenching in the material gain expression is able to significantly reduce the overestimation of the gain efficiency inherent to a linear model., Comment: \copyright{} 2019 Optical Society of America. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserved

Silicon nitride based photonic integrated circuits offer a wavelength operation window in the near infrared down to visible light, which makes them attractive for life science applications. However, they exhibit significantly different behavior in comparison with better-established silicon on insulator counterparts due to the lower index contrast. Among the most important building blocks in photonic integrated circuits are broadband couplers with a defined coupling ratio. We present silicon nitride broadband asymmetric directional coupler designs with 50/50 and 90/10 splitting ratios with a central wavelength of 840 nm for both TE- and TM-like polarization. We show that silicon nitride broadband asymmetric directional couplers can be designed accurately in a time efficient way by using a general implementation of the coupled mode theory. The accuracy of the coupled mode theory approach is validated with finite difference time domain simulations and confirmed with measurements of four coupler configurations., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures \c{opyright} 2018 Optical Society of America. Users may use, reuse, and build upon the article, or use the article for text or data mining, so long as such uses are for non-commercial purposes and appropriate attribution is maintained. All other rights are reserved