E2CDA: Type II: Collaborative Research: Nanophotonic Lithium Niobate platform for next generation energy efficient and ultrahigh bandwidth optical interconnect

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High performance computing systems and data centers dissipate a large amount of power, much of which is spent on data transmission. Optical technology is well poised to increase the efficiency of data transfer, however it brings along new types of energy losses associated with devices responsible for converting the information from the electrical domain, used for computation, to the optical domain, used for communication. This program will overcome this hurdle and will enable realization of efficient and compact electrical-to-optical converters. The program addresses topics related to optical communications, material science, computer modeling, nanotechnology, and electronics, and therefore represents a unique training ground for students at all levels. To engage a wider audience, the team members will prepare public lectures focused on discussing the science and technology used to realize the communication systems that modern society heavily relies on. The goal of this project is development of highly integrated, micrometer scale, lithium-niobate electro-optic modulators, that have the potential to enable large communication rates with minimal energy consumption. This will allow for efficient data transfer that could meet demanding requirements of future high performance computing systems. The proposed program will advance the state of the art of optoelectronic devices, will explore new device concepts and system architectures, will develop nanofabrication techniques suitable for realization of integrated modulators, and will develop new communication methods.