CAREER: Overcoming the Limitations of Microelectronics Using Si Nanophotonics: Solving the Coupling, Modulation and Switching Challenges

硅上光学实现了光学和微电子单片集成的平台。它可以打开一扇新技术的大门，这种技术不受传统微电子技术的限制，具有低功耗、高带宽、高速度和高集成度。硅纳米光子学的最新研究结果表明，利用纳米尺寸的结构，硅芯片具有引导、过滤、弯曲和分裂光的能力。在这里，它提出了解决两个主要问题，在硅基纳米光子学仍然是这个领域的瓶颈：1。将芯片上的纳米尺寸结构耦合到芯片外的微米尺寸结构，这是由于目前没有全硅光源所必需的;以及2.从外部控制光子结构进行调制和切换。这两个关键技术挑战的解决方案将使全光和电光系统的设计具有前所未有的性能。为了实现硅上的耦合、开关和调制，将使用高度限制的结构。在结构的特定位置处的高度光学限制增加了器件对外部控制的灵敏度。它还能够在非常短的长度内修改波导模式，以提高不同结构之间的耦合效率。初步结果表明，使用硅中的亚微米尺寸的高限制结构的开关和耦合光的可行性，并为这项研究奠定了基础。除研究计划外，建议开发：1。一项外联方案，其目标是通过解决职业-家庭生活问题，解决工程专业，特别是新兴纳米技术领域女学生的留用问题; 2.一个教育计划，让学生接触光子学作为一个跨学科的领域，并加强本科生和研究生的光电领域的欧洲经委会课程。

Optics on Si enables a platform for monolithic integration of optics and microelectronics. It can open the door to a new technology that is free from conventional microelectronics limitations with low power, high bandwidth, high speed and a high level of integration. Recent results in Si Nanophotonics have shown the ability to guide, filter, bend and split light on Silicon chips using nano-size structures. Here it is proposed to address two of the major issues in Si-based Nanophotonics that remain the bottleneck of this field: 1. Coupling on-chip nano-size structures to off-chip micron size structures necessitated by the current absence of an all-Silicon optical source, and 2. Controlling externally the photonic structures for modulation and switching. The solution to these two key technical challenges will enable the design of all-optical and electro-optical systems with unprecedented performance. In order to achieve coupling, switching and modulation on Silicon highly confining structures will be used. The high degree of optical confinement at a specific location of the structure increases the sensitivity of the device to external control. It also enables modification of the waveguiding modes in very short lengths, for increased coupling efficiency between different structures. The preliminary results show the feasibility of switching and coupling light using sub-micron size high confinement structures in Si and create the groundwork for this proposed research. In addition to the research plan, it is proposed to develop: 1. An outreach program with the goal of addressing the retention problem of female students in engineering and in particular in the emerging field of nanotechnology by addressing career-family life issues, and 2. An educational program for exposing students to photonics as an interdisciplinary area and enhancing the undergraduate and graduate ECE curriculum in the area of photonics.