III-V Semiconductor Platforms and Devices for Nonlinear Integrated Photonics

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We propose to explore a family of III-V semiconductor material platforms for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) serving a variety of applications. Photonic integrated circuits are tiny chips, typically made of semiconductor materials, which can control the flow of light and the way it interacts with matter. One can contrast this with electronic microchips which control the flow of electricity. PICs are populated with tiny devices that operate on light. These include: light emitting devices called integrated semiconductor lasers; light stirring devices called integrated optical waveguides, serving the role of mirrors and lenses on-a-chip; modulators, imprinting information on light streams, and detectors that absorb light and detect the amount of the optical power it carries. All these devices require sophisticated designs, the development of novel fabrication processes, and testing to ensure their optimal operation. Our specific research goal is to develop integrated optical platforms and devices suitable for nonlinear optical interactions, whereby the frequency (or colour) of light can be modified by the nature of these light-matter interactions. Nonlinear optical interactions significantly enhance the existing applications of PICs and open a whole range of new applications. One such example is optical communication networks where existing technology has reached its peak performance. The introduction of emerging technologies such as autonomous vehicles, 5G networks, and Smart Cities will strain these networks even more. This research program is a key component in bringing all-optical signal processing into modern optical communication networks to address such challenges. This goal will be achieved in part by developing integrated nonlinear photonic devices based on the group of III-V semiconductors. Once developed, this technology will revolutionize the industry of optical communications by breaking into the new levels of capacity of information transfer and storage. Further, photonic integration has countless other applications, whose impact we are currently unable to predict. Medical imaging and sample analysis, tamper-proof communications, and the development of new scientific equipment are only some areas that will be greatly advanced by photonic integration.