CAREER: Topological Engineering for Active Photonic Structures and Devices

光子学在高速计算和通信系统的新型信息处理、交换和路由方面取得了重要的技术突破。建立在光学增益材料（如激光器和放大器）上的有源光子结构是光子应用中其他无源元件的关键驱动因素。研究独特的有源光子功能的新方法对于进一步推进现代信息系统是必要的。在这个项目中，PI将利用最先进的集成光子学技术开发一个颠覆性的拓扑光子平台。新型的光传播拓扑工程为进一步扩展有源光子结构的设计方法提供了前所未有的视角，使有源光子结构在光通信和计算领域的广泛应用成为可能。这项研究与现有的教育活动紧密结合，通过让本科生和研究生接触有源纳米光子器件的令人兴奋的发展，激发他们追求工程事业，解决光计算，通信和网络方面的重要社会问题。此外，政府亦会提供教育外展活动，以促进小至十二年级学生的兴趣和参与，并扩大弱势群体的参与。技术描述：PI将以拓扑方式通过光学增益和损耗的战略配置开发破坏性有源光子技术。这可以为现代光子应用提供各种前所未有的操纵光的自由，从而彻底改变下一代基于光子的信息系统，推进片上光交换，路由，激光和分多路复用。与光增益/损耗相结合，光子器件的主动控制拓扑以灵活和可重构的方式提供了健壮的光路由。此外，研究人员还在研究如何战略性地控制有源光学增益/损耗操纵，以创建一类新的虚量规拓扑光子激光器，在这种激光器中，激光振荡的手性可以方便地切换，从而更好地控制拓扑光子路由。基于创新狄拉克形式的探索性光子研究将进行，以创建一个更通用的拓扑光子平台，特别是以灵活的方式创建和添加拓扑模式，这将使鲁棒模分复用增加信息容量。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Photonics has yielded important technological breakthroughs in novel information processing, switching and routing for high-speed computing and communication systems. Active photonic structures built upon optical gain materials (e.g. lasers and amplifiers) are the key drivers over other passive components in photonic applications. Novel approaches towards unique active photonic functionalities become necessary to further advance modern information systems. In this project, the PI will leverage the state-of-the-art integrated photonics technology to develop a disruptive topological photonic platform. The novel topological engineering of light propagation offers an unprecedented perspective to further expand the design methodology of active photonic structures, enabling a wide range of applications in optical communication and computing. This research is closely integrated with the existing educational activities, stimulating undergraduate and graduate students to pursue engineering career by exposing them to the exciting development of active nanophotonic devices solving important societal problems in optical computing, communication, and networking. The educational outreach activities will also be provided to promote the interests and participations of K-12 students and broaden the participations from underrepresented groups. Technical description: The PI will develop disruptive active photonic technologies via strategic configurations of optical gain and loss in a topological manner. This can deliver a great variety of unprecedented freedoms in manipulating light for modern photonic applications and thus revolutionizing next generation of photonics-based information systems, advancing on-chip optical switching, routing, lasing, and division multiplexing. Coupled with optical gain/loss, the actively controlled topology of the photonic devices offers robust light routing in a flexible and reconfigurable manner. Also under investigation is how active optical gain/loss manipulation can be strategically controlled to create a new class of imaginary-gauged topological photonic lasers, where the chirality of laser oscillation can be conveniently switched to better control the topological photonic routing. Exploratory photonic research based on an innovative Dirac formalism will be conducted to create a more versatile topological photonic platform for, in particular, topological mode creation and addition in a flexible manner, which will enable robust mode division multiplexing to increase information capacity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.