On chip optical microresonators for light emission, manipulation & sensing

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Optical micro resonators are the core of this research program. These devices exhibit a very high level of temporal and spatial light confinement thanks to their extremely high quality (Q) factor and very small modal volumes (V) respectively. This proposal aims at building upon previous discovery grant which generated novel integration approaches and devices based on optical micro resonators, and to apply them for disruptive innovations in sensing, light manipulation and emission. The long-term vision of this program is to provide a technology enabling the integration of photonics and electronics circuits on the same platform. Achieving this goal would allow ultra fast data transfer and low power electronics, required to dramatically decrease the data centers power consumption. To this purpose, we will tackle three groundbreaking research objectives: 1) light emission, 2) light manipulation and 3) sensing, all based on our previously expertise in optical microresonators on chip. The purpose of this program is to develop key technologies and building blocks based on whispering gallery mode microresonators for disruptive applications. GeSn lasers developed in this program will contribute to the advent of CMOS compatible photonics integrated circuits, which are required for ultra fast data transfer and low power electronics with major impacts on cost and energy consumption of data centers. SiN coupled wedged whispering gallery mode resonators optical waveguides will provide optical buffers necessary for optical packet switching networks and photonic quantum information processing. Gas detection plays an important role in environmental monitoring as well as medical diagnostics. Indeed, some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are linked to cancer since tumour growth involves several metabolic changes leading to the production of specific compounds that can be detected in exhaled breath. Developing small, low cost, sensitive gas sensors that can be produced in large volumes such as the polymer on-chip array of whispering gallery mode resonators gas detector is key for the successful development of these environmental and medical applications. We intend to address important societal questions through our program. One of the most urgent and important challenge humankind is facing presently is its interaction with the environment. With this program, we develop enabling technologies that have the potential to dramatically decrease the energy consumption of data centers which is otherwise projected to grow up to 30% of the total global energy usage by 2030. In addition, the sensing part of the program enables large scale environmental monitoring such as for smart cities and for methane release from the melted permafrost in Nordic regions, a gas whose impact on global warming is 30 times larger than that of CO2.