Anderson's devices: using disorder for functionality in photonics

该项目的目标是开发一种新的高复杂性的光子电路和器件，其中的无序可以被利用和控制，用于可重新配置的光缓冲器、开关和波长转换器。这些基于硅的Anderson器件将包括数百个单独的元件，如谐振器、耦合器、顺序抽头等。这样的大型电路代表了最先进的复杂性的数量级进步，需要在设计过程中仔细关注不完善的光刻或计算限制导致的混乱的影响和补救措施。智力优势：这项提议解决的主要挑战是如何设计、测试和展示能够承受甚至利用无序的光子器件。我们方法的关键在于利用无序进行有用的行为，如动态控制的光的Anderson局域化，或超低能量的非线性光开关。这个项目可能有助于弥合光学器件工程和凝聚态物理之间的差距，并促进我们对光刻图案化结构中光子的合作行为的理解。这些设备可用于分组长度的交换机、延迟线和新型的“安德森光存储器”。广泛影响：PI在该项目期间承诺支持博士后研究人员的指导和职业发展。教育活动包括开发一个新的研究生级专题课程，将编写课程材料并在互联网上免费提供，国际和平协会将编写一本关于微型谐振器的教科书，并为代表性不足群体的跨学科教育和培训提供机会。

The goal of this project is to develop a new class of photonic circuits and devices of large complexity, in which disorder can be harnessed and controlled, for use as reconfigurable optical buffers, switches, and wavelength converters. These silicon-based Anderson's devices will comprise hundreds of individual elements, such as resonators, couplers, sequential taps etc. Such large circuits represent an orders-of-magnitude advance in complexity from the state-of-the-art, and necessitate careful attention to the effects and remedies of disorder induced by imperfect lithography or computational limitations in the design process. Intellectual merit: The major challenge addressed by this proposal is how to design for, test and demonstrate photonic devices which can withstand and even utilize disorder. The key of our approach lies in utilizing disorder for useful behavior, such as dynamically-controlled Anderson localization of light, or ultra-low energy nonlinear optical switching. This project may help bridge the gap between optical device engineering and condensed matter physics, and advance our understanding of the cooperative behavior of photons in lithographically patterned structures. These devices can be used for packet-length switches, delay lines, and a novel "Anderson optical memory".Broader impact: The PI commits during this project to support the mentoring and career-development of a post-doctoral researcher. Educational activities include development of a new special-topics graduate-level course for which course materials will be prepared and made freely available on the internet, the PI will work on a textbook on Micro-resonators, and opportunities will be provided for interdisciplinary education and training of underrepresented groups.