Nanophotonic optical link

实现节能的光链路将对降低数据中心的能耗产生明显的影响，数据中心已被公认为全球能源增长最快的消费者。 解决这个问题的一种有希望的方法是利用光信号而不是电信号来发送和接收数据，这在理论上可以带来更高的速度和更低的功耗。然而，将高性能光学元件集成到硅电子器件上的困难一直阻碍着光链路在芯片级数据通信中的实际应用。在这里，我们提出了一个创新的，但可行的光链路架构，包括纳米级的发射机和接收机的硅平台。 将光电子的魅力与其对数据中心碳足迹的影响联系起来，将成为新的教育和社区参与平台的基础。 PI已经参与了几项活动，以扩大实验室研究对社会的影响，包括与高中的直接关系，校园教师培训和帮助组织加州大学洛杉矶分校的学生参与社区活动。 在这种情况下，PI将（a）将拟议研究的结果纳入加州大学洛杉矶分校的课程（B）通过暑期实习和学生交流计划培训和指导高中生，（c）形成有针对性的努力，旨在通过高中技术路演和校园访问增加社区知识和参与，以创造高速创新的兴奋，该提案的研究目标是开发基于紧凑、节能和直接集成的激光器和光电检测器的纳米光子光学链路，作为经由III-V纳米柱的选择性区域外延在绝缘体上硅上的发射器和接收器。所提出的设计是从根本上不同于其他互连与外部键合激光器，因为发射器和接收器是单片对齐，并同时集成在传统的硅波导。所提出的光链路包括电驱动纳米柱阵列激光器和单纳米柱光电探测器，它们被设计为实现10 fJ/bit的能量数据比。对于激光器，由纳米柱阵列组成的一维光子晶体腔可以实现19，000的高腔品质因数和60%的波导耦合效率，占地面积仅为7.7 × 0.2 µm2。超小高Q腔的珀塞尔增强以及InGaAs/InP纳米柱异质结构的三维扩散势垒的引入导致93%的内量子效率。对于探测器，纳米柱光电二极管与金属纳米槽耦合器实现的等离子体场增强相结合，实现了远远超过衍射极限的效率，导致10 V时暗电流为1 pA，带宽为3.4 GHz，噪声等效功率为1.5 × 10-13 W/Hz 1/2。 假设这些收发器由3 cm长的波导连接，则总功耗预计为6.3 fJ/bit，与最先进的光学互连相比，这降低了一个数量级以上的功耗。所提出的硅上的电注入纳米谐振器和等离子体光操纵架构不仅能够实现超紧凑和节能的光链路，而且还为量子计算、全光开关和存储器、单光子源以及生物和化学传感器铺平了道路。

The realization of an energy-efficient optical link would have an obvious impact in reducing the energy consumption of data centers, which have been recognized as the most rapidly growing consumers of global energy. One promising approach to solve this issue is to utilize optical rather than electrical signals to send and receive data, which can theoretically lead to much higher speed and lower power consumption. However, difficulties in integrating high-performance optical components onto silicon electronics have been hindering practical application of optical links to chip-scale data communications. Here, we propose an innovative yet feasible optical link architecture consisting of nanoscale transmitters and receivers on a silicon platform. Relating the fascination of optoelectronics to its impact on carbon footprint of data centers will be the foundation of a new education and community involvement platform. Already, the PI participates in several activities to broaden the impact of laboratory research to society including direct relationships with high-schools, on-campus teacher training and helping to organize UCLA students for community involvement. In this case, the PI will (a) incorporate the findings of the proposed research into the UCLA curriculum (b) train and mentor high-school students through summer internships and student exchange programs, (c) form a targeted effort aimed at increasing community knowledge and participation through a high-school technology roadshow and campus visitations to create excitement for innovations in high-speed, energy-efficient optical links.The research objective of this proposal is to develop nanophotonic optical links based on compact, energy-efficient, and directly integrated lasers and photodetectors as transmitters and receivers on silicon-on-insulator via selective-area epitaxy of III-V nanopillars. The proposed design is fundamentally different from other interconnects with externally bonded lasers, as both transmitters and receivers are monolithically aligned and simultaneously integrated on conventional silicon waveguides. The proposed optical links include electrically-driven nanopillar array lasers and single nanopillar photodetectors, which are engineered to achieve an energy-to-data ratio of 10 fJ/bit. For lasers, a one-dimensional photonic crystal cavity consisting of an array of nanopillars can achieve a high cavity quality factor of 19,000 and waveguide coupling efficiency of 60 % with a footprint of only 7.7 × 0.2 µm2. Purcell enhancement from an ultra-small and high-Q cavity as well as an introduction of three-dimensional diffusion barriers from InGaAs/InP nanopillar heterostructures results in an internal quantum efficiency of 93 %. For detectors, nanopillar photodiodes combined with plasmonic field enhancement achieved by metal nanoslot couplers realize the efficiency far beyond the diffraction limit, resulting in a dark current of 1 pA at 10 V, a bandwidth of 3.4 GHz, and a noise-equivalent power of 1.5 × 10-13 W/Hz1/2. The total power consumption is expected to be 6.3 fJ/bit assuming that these transceivers are linked by 3 cm-long waveguide, which is more than an order of magnitude reduced power consumption compared with the state-of-the-art optical interconnects. The proposed electrically injected nanoresonators and plasmonic light manipulation architectures on silicon not only enable ultra-compact and energy-efficient optical links, but also pave the way toward quantum computing, all-optical switching and memories, single-photon sources, and bio- and chemical sensors.