CAREER: Integrated All-Optical WDM Devices Using Photonic Crystals

0239355Adibi日益增长的可靠高速信息访问需求是当今世界的全球需求。通过互联网方便快捷地获取信息，许多人的生活将得到改善。通过远程学习等项目，为世界各地更多的人提供低成本和快速的信息访问，对教育和生活质量产生了巨大的全球影响。实现这一目标的最有前途的技术是光通信中的波分复用(WDM)。今天部署的大多数光纤系统都是由相当大的离散组件构成的，需要许多光纤耦合连接，这些连接本身就很昂贵、很大，并且会带来损耗。到目前为止，用于光的耦合、分选和多路复用的设备一直很难小型化。人们期望集成的芯片级WDM器件能够提供更轻的重量、更高的可靠性、更小的尺寸和对电磁干扰的较低敏感性。它进一步消除了对分立光学设备的劳动密集型对准的需要。为了实现集成的芯片级WDM模块，迫切需要将离散的设备集成到一个统一的平台中。在这项研究中，PI试图使用光子晶体(PC)作为这样的平台。在光子晶体器件中完全设计电磁模式的可能性使其成为设计集成WDM器件的极佳候选者。此外，光子带隙的存在消除了通常在普通平板光波导中引起WDM通道间串扰的长尾消失场。在这项建议中，他使用PC波导、PC腔和PC超棱镜来执行WDM所需的三大功能，即引导、滤波和多路复用/多路分解。目前，这些PC设备并没有得到优化。目前还没有系统的方法来设计这些设备。他将通过优化设计和控制PC设备的电磁模式来开发这些系统方法。此外，我将开发这些设备的最佳耦合所需的技术，以WDM设备的形式将它们集成在一起。他的研究包括PC结构的理论研究和实验研究。主要研究工作总结如下。虽然针对的是单一目标，但这项工作的每一个组成部分都提供了对光子晶体结构的相当大的了解，这些结构在各种其他应用中都有价值。1)开发快速有效的三维分析工具，使我们能够设计和优化光子晶体的特定线性和非线性光学性质。2)利用第1部分中开发的模拟工具开发了一种系统的方法，用于光子晶体器件，特别是超棱镜、波导和腔体的色散工程。3)优化离散光子晶体器件之间的耦合，以便将它们集成在一起执行WDM功能。所提出的研究在基础科学水平和应用水平上都具有相当大的影响。它提供了对PC波导、腔和超棱镜的完整理解，以及设计这些器件的系统方法。在应用层面，通过实现芯片级集成波分复用，可以在全球范围内产生影响。这项研究开发的设备类型可以用于其他信息处理应用，特别是生物传感器。结合光子晶体的小尺寸和穿孔结构，这些器件可以用于非常小的生物传感器，并将使活体传感器、纳米传感器吞咽、针上光谱仪等。在教育方面，这一职业计划为学生提供了极好的教育福利。分析、建模和优化PC结构的能力，以及实际WDM设备制造和表征方面的动手实验室工作，使学生能够获得建模、制造和测量技术方面的经验。三名研究生和几名本科生将接受这种培训，以帮助适应工业对纳米技术和光学工程专家的巨大需求。为K-12和少数民族学生提供学习光学系统基础知识的机会，以及让教师参与(在NSF的RET计划的帮助下)是这一职业计划的其他方面。他还计划开发一门名为光子晶体器件导论的研究生课程，并在现有的研究生课程光纤网络的基础上增加一些关于最先进的WDM的材料，这门课程已经有几年没有教授了。他还将改进本科课程，激光及应用。该协会还将撰写一本关于光子晶体光波导的书。

0239355AdibiThe ever-increasing need for reliable high-speed information access is a global need in today's world. Many people's lives would be improved by easy and fast access of information through the internet. Providing low-cost and fast information access for more people all over the world has great global impact on education and quality of life through programs like distant learning. The most promising technology for achieving this goal is wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) in optical communications. Most fiber optic systems deployed today are constructed from rather large discrete components, requiring many fiber-coupling connections that are inherently expensive, large and introduce losses. So far, it has been difficult to miniaturize devices for coupling, sorting, and multiplexing of light. It is expected that integrated chip-scale WDM devices can provide lower weight, more reliability, smaller size and less sensitivity to electromagnetic interference. It further eliminates the need for labor-intensive alignment of discrete optical devices. To implement integrated chip-scale WDM modules, there is an urgent need to integrate discrete devices into a unified platform. In this research the PI seeks to use photonic crystals (PCs) as such a platform. The possibility of completely designing electromagnetic modes in photonic crystals devices makes them the excellent candidates for designing integrated WDM devices. Furthermore, the existence of the photonic bandgap eliminates long tails of evanescent fields that usually cause crosstalk between WDM channels in normal slab waveguides. In this proposal he uses PC waveguides, PC cavities, and PC superprisms to perform the three major functionalities requires in WDM, i.e., guiding, filtering, and multiplexing/demultiplexing. Currently these PC devices are not optimized. There is no systematic method for designing these devices. He will develop these systematic methods in PC devices by optimally designing and controlling their electromagnetic modes. Furthermore, I will develop techniques required for optimal coupling of these devices to integrate them in the form of WDM devices. His research includes both theoretical and experimental investigation of PC structures. The major research tasks are summarized below. Although aimed at a single target, each component of the effort provides considerable understanding of photonic crystal structures that are valuable in a variety of other applications. 1) The development of fast and efficient three-dimensional analysis tools which will allow us to design and optimize specific linear and nonlinear optical properties of the photonic crystals. 2) The development of a systematic method for dispersion engineering in photonic crystal devices, especially superprisms, waveguides, and cavities using the simulation tool developed in part 1. 3) Optimization of coupling between discrete photonic crystal devices in order to integrate them to perform WDM functionalities The proposed research has considerable impact both at the basic science level and at the application level. It provides a complete understanding of PC waveguides, cavities, and superprisms as well as a systematic method to design these devices. At the application level, it can have a global impact by realizing chip-scale integrated WDM. The type of devices developed in this research can be used in other information processing applications, especially in biosensors. Combined with the small size and perforated structure of photonic crystals, these devices can be used in very small biosensors that and will enable in vivo sensors, nanosensors to swallow, spectrometers on a needle, etc. On the education side, this CAREER plan provides an excellent educational benefit for students. The ability to analyze, model and optimize PC structures as well as hands-on lab work in fabrication and characterization of actual WDM devices allow students to obtain experience in modeling, fabrication, and measurement techniques. Three graduate and several undergraduate students will be trained this way to help accommodate the huge demand in industry for experts in nanotechnology and optical engineering. Providing K-12 and minority students with the opportunity of learning some basics of optical systems as well as involving teachers (with help from NSF's RET program) are other aspects of this CAREER plan. He also plan to develop a graduate level course entitled Introduction to photonic crystal devices, and to add some material on state-of-the-art WDM to the existing graduate level course, Fiber Optics networks, that has not been taught for a few years. He will also improve the undergraduate course, Lasers and Applications. The PI will also write one book on Photonic Crystal Optical Waveguides.