Ultra-High-Q Integrated Optical Microresonators for Frequency Comb Generation

集成光子学是一个主要的新兴技术领域，有可能对生物医学、安全、国防、运输、电信和其他部门产生巨大影响。具体来说，集成高Q光学微谐振器可以形成大量新设备的基础，包括手持光学时钟，痕量气体探测器，超精密激光雷达，窄线宽激光器，低噪声微波源，生物传感器，陀螺仪和光学数据传输器。该项目解决了使这些设备取得成果的两个主要挑战：实现超高Q值波导环形谐振器，并将其与半导体激光器集成在同一芯片上。该项目将集中开发Q值接近108或以上的氮化硅波导环形谐振器，建立最新和最先进的沉积，纳米光刻和蚀刻技术，以及对波导几何形状进行建模以优化色散。然后，谐振器将用于频率梳生成，重点是用于光学时钟和双梳光谱的自参考倍频程跨越梳。如果时间允许，学生还将研究将III-V族半导体激光器与氮化硅谐振器的硅平台集成的技术，以实现独立的单片器件。该项目产生的新知识将使我们更接近于将一系列令人兴奋的基于片上超高Q微谐振器的技术商业化。

ntegrated photonics is a major emerging technological field with the potential for massive impact on the biomedical, security, defence, transportation, telecoms and other sectors. Specifically, integrated high-Q optical microresonators could form the basis for a vast array of new devices including handheld optical clocks, trace gas detectors, ultraprecise lidar, narrow-linewidth lasers, low-noise microwave sources, biosensors, gyroscopes and optical data transmitters. This project addresses two of the main challenges in bringing such devices to fruition: achieving ultra-high-Q waveguide ring resonators and integrating these with semiconductor lasers on the same chip.The project will focus on developing silicon nitride waveguide ring resonators with Q factors approaching 108 and above, building upon the latest and most advanced techniques for deposition, nanolithography and etching, and modelling the waveguide geometry to optimise dispersion. The resonators will then be used for frequency comb generation, with emphasis on self-referenced octave-spanning combs for optical clocks and dual-comb spectroscopy. Time permitting, the student will also research techniques to integrate III-V semiconductor lasers with the silicon platform of the silicon nitride resonators in order to realise self-contained monolithic devices.The new knowledge generated by this project will bring us closer to commercialising a range of exciting on-chip ultra-high-Q microresonator-based technologies.