We present an experimental and numerical study of spectral profiles of effective group indices of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) waveguides and of their chromatic-dispersion effect on the four-wave-mixing (FWM) signal generation. The a-Si:H waveguides of 220-nm thickness and three different widths of 400, 450 and 500 nm were fabricated by using the conventional CMOS device processes on a $2-{\mu}m$ thick $SiO_2$ bottom layer deposited on 8-inch Si wafers. Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs) were formed with the a-Si:H waveguides, and used for precise measurement of the effective group indices and thus for determination of the spectral profile of the waveguides' chromatic dispersion. The wavelength ranges for the FWM-signal generation were about 45, 75 and 55 nm for the 400-, 450- and 500-nm-wide waveguides, respectively, at the pump wavelength of 1532 nm. A widest wavelength range for the efficient FWM process was observed with the 450-nm-wide waveguide having a zero-dispersion near the pump wavelength.

Keywords: Silicon photonics, Nonlinear optic waveguide, Four-wave-mixing,

OCIS codes: 190.4380; 230.7370