Guided-acoustic stimulated Brillouin scattering in silicon nitride photonic circuits | Science Advances

Coherent optomechanical interaction known as stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) can enable ultrahigh resolution signal processing and narrow-linewidth lasers. SBS has recently been studied extensively in integrated waveguides; however, many implementations rely on complicated fabrication schemes. The absence of SBS in standard and mature fabrication platforms prevents its large-scale circuit integration. Notably, SBS in the emerging silicon nitride (Si ₃ N ₄ ) photonic integration platform is currently out of reach because of the lack of acoustic guidance. Here, we demonstrate advanced control of backward SBS in multilayer Si ₃ N ₄ waveguides. By optimizing the separation between two Si ₃ N ₄ layers, we unlock acoustic waveguiding in this platform, potentially leading up to 15× higher Brillouin gain coefficient than previously possible in Si ₃ N ₄ waveguides. We use the enhanced SBS gain to demonstrate a high-rejection microwave photonic notch filter. This demonstration opens a path to achieving Brillouin-based photonic circuits in a standard, low-loss Si ₃ N ₄ platform.