Gain and Emission Cross Section Analysis of Wavelength-Tunable Si-nc Incorporated Si-Rich ${\rm SiO}_{\rm x}$ Waveguide Amplifier

Multi wavelength strip-loaded waveguide amplifiers fabricated by growing Si-nanocrystal (Si-nc) incorporated Si-rich
${\rm SiO}_{\rm x}$
with detuning
${\rm N}_{2}{\rm O}/{\rm SiH}_{4}$
fluence ratio and RF plasma power are demonstrated, which show blue, yellow, and red multicolor amplified-spontaneous-emission (ASE) with gain coefficients of 157, 62, and 85.6
${\rm cm}^{-1}$
, and the corresponding products of Si-ncs emission cross section and Si-ncs radiative lifetime are 2.34
$\,\times 10^{-21}$
, 1.78
$\,\times 10^{-21}$
, and 1.28
$\,\times 10^{-21}~{\rm cm}^{2}\cdot{\rm s}$
, respectively, as deduced from the maximum gain-length product. Combining the time-resolved photoluminescence with the maximum gain-length product result, the Si-ncs cross section/carrier lifetime for the blue-, yellow-, and red-ASE
${\rm SiO}_{\rm x}$
: Si-nc samples are 1.37
$\,\times 10^{-14}$
/0.17, 6.84
$\,\times 10^{-16}$
/2.6, and 0.64
$\,\times 10^{-16}$
/20
$({\rm cm}^{2}/\mu{\rm s})$
, respectively. The high-gain blue-ASE sample exhibits a shorter saturation length of 0.25 mm with the highest loss coefficient due to scattering loss by Si-ncs of the highest density. The gain saturation of the strip-loaded
${\rm SiO}_{\rm x}$
:Si-nc waveguide is discussed.