I-Corps: Processing of high-performance optical isolator materials using magneto-optical garnets on Si wafers

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发改善通讯的材料。目前某些组件的设计仅限于离散的散装组件，这些组件占地面积大，需要昂贵的原材料，并且需要劳动密集型的组装过程。该技术将大大简化光隔离器的制造和性能。该技术的应用包括5G无线网络、数据中心和物联网，以及潜在的光子集成电路（pic），它可以为未来的通信系统提供显着的功率、空间和成本节约，同时增加功能。这个I-Corps项目是基于硅上石榴石光隔离器的开发。光纤技术已经彻底改变了通信，但费用和组装困难阻碍了阶跃功能的改进。这笔费用中隐藏的一个组件是位于每个激光器前面的光隔离器，它可以阻挡反射，否则会干扰激光器的性能和寿命。隔离器由生长在单晶石榴石衬底上的厚铁石榴石薄膜组成，也是光纤成功扩展的可能障碍。所提出的技术能够在具有氧化物多层的硅晶片上加工高性能磁光石榴石，用于光学共振，从而实现与1000倍薄的石榴石薄膜的隔离。此外，革命性的石榴石成分和设计可以提供无磁隔离器。总之，这些特性可以降低成本并简化设备组装。使用硅作为衬底也可以实现集成设备制造，而不是今天商业产品的“挑选和放置”组装方法。使用低磁化石榴石成分，保持高法拉第旋转，该技术将具有可忽略不计的偶极子场，并且已经设计出不需要外部磁偏置的设备。这些大规模、廉价、无磁性的石榴石在通信领域开辟了许多应用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of materials to improve communications. Current designs of certain components are limited to discrete bulk components that a have large footprint, need expensive raw materials and require a labor-intensive assembly processes. The proposed technology will greatly simplify optical isolator manufacturing and performance. Applications for this technology include 5G wireless networks, data centers, and Internet of Things, and potentially photonic integrated circuits (PICs), which offer significant power, space and cost savings along with increased functionality for future communications systems. This I-Corps project is based on the development of garnet-on-silicon optical isolator. Optical fiber technology has revolutionized communications, but expense and assembly difficulties have prevented step-function improvements. A hidden component in this expense is the optical isolator that sits in front of each laser to block reflections that otherwise interfere with the laser’s performance and lifetime. Composed of a thick iron garnet film, grown on a single-crystal garnet substrate, the isolator is also the likely roadblock in the expansion of fiber success. The proposed technology enables the processing of high-performance magneto-optical garnets on Si wafers with oxide multilayers for optical resonance that enables isolation with 1000x thinner garnet films. In addition, revolutionary garnet compositions and designs may provide magnet-free isolators. Together, these features may reduce cost and ease device assembly. The use of Si as a substrate also enables integrated device manufacturing, rather than “pick and place” assembly methods of commercial products today. With low-magnetization garnet compositions that maintain high Faraday rotations, this technology will have negligible dipole fields, and devices already have been designed that do not require external magnetic bias. These large-scale, inexpensive, magnet-free garnets open many applications in communications.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.