TCHCS: Hybrid RF/Optical ICs for High-Bandwidth Spread-Spectrum Communications

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ECS-0636650R. McLeod, University of Colorado at BoulderThis new architecture requires an equally novel integration platform for hybrid electro-optic systems. The proposed platform can be thought of as "optical wire-bonding" in which arbitrary discrete RF or optical components are interconnected in 3D to form complex, dense circuits. This process is made possible by advanced photopolymers that can simultaneously encapsulate the individual hybrid subcomponents and can be photo-patterned in 3D to develop micron-scale gradient index features. These index features in the form of optical waveguides are aligned to the encapsulated hybrids by a custom 3D lithography system, avoiding all active alignment. Intellectual MeritThis proposal presents a revolutionary integration technology for RF/optical components in the context of a hybrid wireless/optical communication system. The architecture supports multi-channel, mobile GHz bandwidth without the limitations of traditional spread-spectrum codes or adaptive beam-steered antenna arrays. The cornerstone of the communication architecture is a smart electro-optic node (SEON) that adaptively tracks multiple broadband mobile transmitters. Reception is performed with a small-aperture adaptive array automatically listening on as many channels as it has antenna elements; a scaling which is significantly better than current adaptive beam-forming systems.Broader ImpactsThe proposed hybrid circuits are fabricated on a single, inexpensive lithography station that, similar to rapid-prototyping processes, can fabricate complex single parts with no costly masks using only low-cost monomer. This enables both large economic impact in small production volumes and large-scale undergraduate educational use. The PI's will extend this educational impact via a new graduate course, ECEN 5004, Fundamentals and technology for RF-optical communication systems