A highly-compact optical amplifier for densely-integrated communications systems

用于密集集成通信系统的高度紧凑的光放大器

• 批准号: 555793-2020
• 负责人: Bradley, Jonathan
• 金额: $ 9.11万
• 依托单位: McMaster University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Idea to Innovation
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=706067
• 关键词: highly; compact; optical; amplifier; densely

We propose to develop a new very-small-form-factor (VSFF) optical amplifier on a chip. Current VSFF amplifiers are limited to semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs), which use costly materials and are hampered by high noise and nonlinearities which induce signal crosstalk. The leading alternative technology, erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) offer low noise and high gain for high performance in optical systems. However, the silica optical fiber used to build such amplifiers is on the order of meters long and cannot be bent too tightly when wrapped up, thereby imposing a limit on the overall size of the device. A potential alternative is the erbium-doped waveguide amplifier (EDWA), in which an erbium-doped waveguide is fabricated on a low-cost silicon substrate, allowing for large-scale production and orders of magnitude reduction in size because of the use of thin film materials with high refractive index and which allow for higher erbium dopant concentrations than silica. We have recently improved EDWAs using a novel platform based on hybrid erbium-doped tellurite glass and silicon nitride waveguides. Our platform removes past challenges with EDWAs which have prevented their commercialization, including reproducible fabrication methods using well-established silicon nitride technology, and high gain in a compact form factor enabled by the high refractive index doped tellurite glass. We have demonstrated optical gain of up to 5 dB using this platform, showing its viability. The remaining challenges to be addressed in this project include a) demonstrating higher optical gain of up to 20 dB in longer spiral waveguides; b) reducing the fiber-chip coupling loss to < 1 dB for optical pump and signal light to improve efficiency and noise performance; c) demonstrating a packaged component with optical pump and signal multiplexing on the same chip and input and output ports in a compact form factor. Such compact EDWAs will have wide-ranging applications in optical communications networks, data centers, high-performance computing, AI, space communications, and detection and ranging in self-driving vehicles.

我们建议在芯片上开发一种新型超小尺寸 (VSFF) 光放大器。当前的 VSFF 放大器仅限于半导体光放大器 (SOA)，其使用昂贵的材料，并且受到高噪声和非线性的阻碍，从而引起信号串扰。掺铒光纤放大器 (EDFA) 是领先的替代技术，可为光学系统的高性能提供低噪声和高增益。 然而，用于构建此类放大器的石英光纤的长度为米量级，并且在包裹时不能太紧地弯曲，从而限制了设备的整体尺寸。一种潜在的替代方案是掺铒波导放大器（EDWA），其中掺铒波导是在低成本硅基板上制造的，由于使用了高折射率的薄膜材料，并且允许比二氧化硅更高的铒掺杂剂浓度，因此可以大规模生产并将尺寸缩小几个数量级。我们最近使用基于混合掺铒亚碲酸盐玻璃和氮化硅波导的新型平台改进了 EDWA。我们的平台消除了 EDWA 过去阻碍其商业化的挑战，包括使用成熟的氮化硅技术的可重复制造方法，以及通过高折射率掺杂亚碲酸盐玻璃实现的紧凑外形的高增益。我们已经使用该平台展示了高达 5 dB 的光学增益，显示了其可行性。该项目需要解决的其余挑战包括：a) 在较长的螺旋波导中展示高达 20 dB 的更高光学增益； b) 将光泵和信号光的光纤芯片耦合损耗降低至<1dB，以提高效率和噪声性能； c) 演示在同一芯片上具有光泵和信号复用以及紧凑外形尺寸的输入和输出端口的封装组件。这种紧凑型 EDWA 将在光通信网络、数据中心、高性能计算、人工智能、空间通信以及自动驾驶车辆的检测和测距等领域具有广泛的应用。