I-Corps: A Compact Silicon Chip for Laser Injection Locking and Optical Parametric Oscillation

这个i-Corp项目的更广泛的影响潜力是开发一种紧凑的芯片技术，用于产生从可见光到红外的相干激光。这项拟议的技术旨在将一个价格低廉、性能有限的激光二极管转变为具有广泛色彩范围的顶级二极管。由此产生的产品可能是高端激光产品的负担得起的替代品，并将激光发射波长扩展到更广泛的兴趣范围。此外，基于氮化硅光子学的芯片技术可以通过晶片规模的CMOS兼容制造来生产，并可能支持从350 nm到4500 nm的激光产生，这将有助于解决各种应用领域现有的可扩展性挑战。这项拟议的技术可能为集成激光器提供通用和可扩展的硅光子学解决方案，用于各种应用，包括量子科学、生化传感、自动驾驶和LiDAR，以及增强/虚拟现实。该i-Corps项目基于开发一种紧凑型芯片集成激光器，用于产生从可见光到红外的相干激光源。目标是将激光注入锁定和基于光子晶体环(PhCR)的光学参数振荡(OPO)相结合。该技术利用了两种纳米光子学技术：片上OPO和高质量的PhCR，解决了从可见光到红外的超宽光谱覆盖芯片激光器的集成挑战。具有如此大范围的激光以前从未被现有技术提出或演示过。所提出的芯片可以通过晶片规模的CMOS兼容制造来大规模生产，因此成本较低。此外，拟议的技术可能与其他现有的激光技术兼容，提供一个通用的平台来产生高质量的激光光源和更宽的波长范围。这样的设备可能会显著提高现有微腔的能力，以增强光与物质之间的相互作用，并改善综合商业和研究活动，特别是在综合量子科学方面。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact potential of this I-Corp project is the development of a compact chip technology for generating coherent lasers from visible to infrared. The proposed technology is designed to turn an inexpensive, limited performance laser diode into a top-of-the-line diode with a broad color range. The resulting product may be an affordable alternative to high-end laser products and extend laser emission wavelengths to a wide range of interest. In addition, the chip technology based on silicon nitride photonics may be produced by wafer-scale CMOS-compatible fabrication and may support laser light generation from 350 nm to 4500 nm, which would help solve existing scalability challenges in a variety of application fields. The proposed technology may provide a universal and scalable silicon photonics solution for integrated lasers for a variety of applications including quantum science, biochemical sensing, autonomous driving and LiDAR, and augmented/virtual reality.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a compact chip-integrated laser for generating coherent laser sources that can produce light from visible to infrared. The goal is to combine laser injection locking and optical parametric oscillation (OPO) based on a photonic crystal ring (PhCR). The proposed technology takes advantages of two nanophotonics technologies: on-chip OPO and high-quality PhCR, to solve the challenge of integrating chip laser with ultra-broad spectral coverage from visible to infrared. Lasers with such a wide range have not been proposed or demonstrated previously by existing technologies. The proposed chips may be produced in large scale, hence low-cost, by wafer scale CMOS compatible fabrication. In addition, the proposed technology may be compatible with other existing laser technologies, providing a versatile platform to generate high quality laser sources and a wider wavelength range. Such a device may significantly improve the ability of existing microcavities to enhance the interaction between light and matter and improve integrated commercial and research activities, particularly for integrated quantum science.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.