Integrated Photonics Based High Speed Arbitrary Waveform Generation

High speed arbitrary waveform generator enabled by photonic digital to analog converter where the bandwidth limitation arising due to interconnect and device parasitics in its electronic counterparts is circumvented. Leveraging the silicon photonic integration technology for this purpose provides a potential high resolution, high bandwidth, and energy efficient solution for signal transmitters.

Integrated Photonics Based High Speed Arbitrary Waveform Generation

High speed arbitrary waveform generator enabled by photonic digital to analog converter where the bandwidth limitation arising due to interconnect and device parasitics in its electronic counterparts is circumvented. Leveraging the silicon photonic integration technology for this purpose provides a potential high resolution, high bandwidth, and energy efficient solution for signal transmitters.

A monolithic InP/SOI platform for integrated photonics

The deployment of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) necessitates an integration platform that is scalable, high-throughput, cost-effective, and power-efficient. Here we present a monolithic InP on SOI platform to synergize the advantages of two mainstream photonic integration platforms: Si photonics and InP photonics. This monolithic InP/SOI platform is realized through the selective growth of both InP sub-micron wires and large dimension InP membranes on industry-standard (001)-oriented silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. The epitaxial InP is in-plane, dislocation-free, site-controlled, intimately positioned with the Si device layer, and placed right on top of the buried oxide layer to form “InP-on-insulator”. These attributes allow for the realization of various photonic functionalities using the epitaxial InP, with efficient light interfacing between the III–V devices and the Si-based waveguides. We exemplify the potential of this InP/SOI platform for integrated photonics through the demonstration of lasers with different cavity designs including subwavelength wires, square cavities, and micro-disks. Our results here mark a critical step forward towards fully-integrated Si-based PICs.

Demonstration of on-chip gigahertz acousto-optic modulation at near-visible wavelengths

Lithium niobate integrated photonics has recently received significant attention because it exploits the attractive properties of lithium niobate on an integrated platform which provides strong optical confinement as well as high photonic integration density. Although many optical functionalities of lithium niobate have been demonstrated on a chip in the telecom band, the visible and near-visible regimes are less explored. This is mainly because devices with a relatively smaller feature size are required which increases fabrication difficulty. Here, we explored the acousto-optic effect of lithium niobate on a chip at near-visible wavelengths (765–781 nm) and demonstrated acousto-optic modulation with the modulation frequency up to 2.44 GHz. We adopted an etchless process for the device fabrication and applied the principle of bound states in the continuum to optimize the device performance. By demonstrating functionality at near-visible wavelengths, our devices will enable many on-chip applications ranging from frequency metrology to quantum information processing.

All-dielectric metasurfaces capable of dual-channel complex amplitude modulation

One compound metasurface with multiple functions and precise complex amplitude modulation is beneficial to photonic integration. Here, all-silicon bifunctional metasurfaces capable of independent amplitude and phase modulation in two circular polarized channels are proposed, which encode complex amplitude information by integrating propagation phase and Pancharatnam-Berry phase. A switchable power-controllable axial bifocal metalens directly illustrates the feasibility of the proposed modulation scheme. Another switchable power-controllable horizontal/vertical bifocal metalens characterizes the versatility and flexibility of this approach. The experimental results agree well with the simulations and theoretical expectations. In addition, we also discuss the broadband performance of the proposed metalens and the dynamic focusing behavior under optical pumping. The proposed approach can directly generate editable amplitude and phase profiles and can find applications in dynamic holography, dynamic display, and other fields.