CAREER: Semiconductor on Nitride PhoXonic Integrated Circuit (SONIC) Platform for Chip-Scale RF and Optical Signal Processing

该项目旨在开发新型微系统，使声学、光学和电场之间的无缝交互能够在通信和信息处理中产生变革性的影响。特别是，这里设想的设备将同时控制“光子”（即声子或光子）和它们之间的相互作用，以实现独特的机会。该项目提出的研究和教育计划将通过革命性的多功能光子微系统，直接推进国家优先事项，如芯片和科学法案以及国家量子倡议。该项目将开发增强射频前端（RFFE）信号处理组件功能的方法，通过实现主要组件的无缝集成，为目前需要单独模块的全球200亿美元RFFE模块市场的系统效率和频谱利用率提供范式转变。同样，通过微波光学换能器进行的分布式量子处理将为解决药物发现和供应链优化等重大社会问题带来新的机会。鉴于通信和计算技术在未来几年的大规模扩散，对熟悉使用现代半导体技术操纵声学，光学和电场的工程师的需求明显增加。与东北大学非常成功的STEM教育中心合作，拟议的教育/推广项目每年将吸引50多名学生（小学-研究生水平），通过STEM实地考察、高中项目、本科研究和两门声子集成电路课程来吸引新学生进入该领域。该CAREER项目致力于推进射频声学微系统的新功能，并实现高度可重构的声光学。这将通过开发氮化半导体光子集成电路（SONIC）来实现。本计划的核心贡献将涉及4项主要任务的成功：1)低损耗声子器件的演示，2)有效的声波放大，3)声光系统的开发和4)声电增强光机械结构。虽然这些设备类都在单独的演示中进行了验证，但它们从未以这种方式进行协集成。基于PI实验室强有力的初步结果，PI假设这种方法将在集成环行器、可重构延迟合成器、高效声光调制器和超稳定芯片级激光器中的增强布里渊效应等应用中为最先进的（SoA）提供重大进展。因此，SONIC器件将对紧凑型系统的生产产生重大影响，这些紧凑型系统可以同时服务于多个频段（0.1- 20ghz），提供增益与额外带宽的权衡，并实现仅使用CMOS或光子学无法实现的范围内的损失补偿延迟。SONIC还将为下一代量子网络提供使用声子总线或微波光转换的混合量子系统。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。

This project aims to develop novel microsystems that enable seamless interaction between acoustic, optical, and electrical fields to generate transformative effects in communications and information processing. In particular, the devices envisioned herein will simultaneously control “phoXons” (i.e., phonons or photons) and the interactions between them to enable unique opportunities. The research and education plans proposed in this project will directly advance national priorities such as the CHIPS and Science Act and the National Quantum Initiative by revolutionizing multifunctional phoXonic microsystems. This project will develop approaches to enable enhanced functionality in radio-frequency front-end (RFFE) signal processing components that can provide a paradigm shift for system efficiency and spectrum utilization in the $20 billion global market for RFFE modules by enabling seamless integration of major components, which currently require separate modules. Likewise, distributed quantum processing through microwave-optical transducers will generate new opportunities for addressing major societal problems such as drug discovery and supply chain optimization. Given the massive proliferation of communication and computing technologies in the coming years, there is a distinct need for engineers conversant in manipulating acoustic, optical and electric fields using modern semiconductor technology. Collaborating with the highly successful Center for STEM Education at Northeastern University, the proposed educational/outreach program will also engage more than 50 students (primary school – graduate levels) in each year of the program, through STEM field trips, high school programs, undergraduate research and a 2-course sequence on phononic integrated circuits to attract new students to the field.This CAREER project is dedicated to advancing novel functionalities in RF acoustic microsystems and enabling highly reconfigurable acousto-optics. This will be implemented through the development of the Semiconductor on Nitride PhoXonic Integrated Circuit (SONIC). The core contributions of this program will involve the success of 4 major tasks: 1) demonstration of low-loss phononic devices, 2) efficient acoustic wave amplification, 3) acousto-optic system development and 4) acoustoelectrically-enhanced optomechanical structures. While these device classes have all been validated in separate demonstrations, they have never been co-integrated in this manner. Based on strong preliminary results from the PI’s laboratory, the PI hypothesizes this approach will offer significant advances to the state-of-the-art (SoA) in applications such as integrated circulators, reconfigurable time-delay synthesizers, efficient acousto-optic modulators and enhanced Brillouin effects in ultra-stable chip-scale lasers. SONIC devices will therefore provide significant impacts in producing compact systems that can concurrently serve multiple bands (0.1-20 GHz), provide a trade-off of gain with added bandwidth and enable loss-compensated delays spanning a range not accessible with CMOS or photonics alone. SONIC will also enable hybrid quantum systems using phonon buses or microwave-optical conversion for next-generation quantum networks.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.