Current-Pumped, Amplifying, Slow Light Waveguides in Hybrid Si/III-V Platforms

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"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."The project proposes to investigate a new type of amplifying coupled-resonator optical waveguide (CROW). The CROW is to be realized in a waveguide geometry with individual resonators formed by grating "defects". The waveguide will be fabricated on a hybrid Si/III-V platform in which the propagating slow mode will be amplified through the partial modal penetration into the amplifying III-V layers. The project aims to fabricate a grating CROW with 100 defect resonators thus enabling signal storage of more than 10 bits in a compact semiconductor geometry.Intellectual MeritHaving initially proposed and analyzed CROWs for the purpose of slow-light waveguides the authors have come to the conclusion that the best way to realize them would be grating defect CROWs. Compared to microring CROWs and 2D photonic crystal defect CROWs, grating CROWs over the advantages of small resonator sizes, smaller footprint, and easier control of the coupling coefficients.Since the major weakness of any slow-light device is the optical attenuation due to inherent losses, the amplifying CROW will compensate for the loss inside the structure. The key technology of current-pumped hybrid Si/III-V waveguides will be the amplifying platform of the proposed work. The demonstration of amplifying CROWs with 100 resonators will enable new classes of optical delay lines, buffers, and memory elements.Broader ImpactsAnother aspect of the project is to educate a diverse group of students to pursue scientific research and to mentor them about the culture of scientific discovery. Programs such as undergraduate thesis research, the Minority and Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (MURF and SURF, respectively), enable a multicultural group of students to participate in scientific research.