A new technical paper titled “Mechanically-flexible wafer-scale integrated-photonics fabrication platform” was published by researchers at MIT and New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES).

Abstract
“The field of integrated photonics has advanced rapidly due to wafer-scale fabrication, with integrated-photonics platforms and fabrication processes being demonstrated at both infrared and visible wavelengths. However, these demonstrations have primarily focused on fabrication processes on silicon substrates that result in rigid photonic wafers and chips, which limit the potential application spaces. There are many application areas that would benefit from mechanically-flexible integrated-photonics wafers, such as wearable healthcare monitors and pliable displays. Although there have been demonstrations of mechanically-flexible photonics fabrication, they have been limited to fabrication processes on the individual device or chip scale, which limits scalability. In this paper, we propose, develop, and experimentally characterize the first 300-mm wafer-scale platform and fabrication process that results in mechanically-flexible photonic wafers and chips. First, we develop and describe the 300-mm wafer-scale CMOS-compatible flexible platform and fabrication process. Next, we experimentally demonstrate key optical functionality at visible wavelengths, including chip coupling, waveguide routing, and passive devices. Then, we perform a bend-durability study to characterize the mechanical flexibility of the photonic chips, demonstrating bending a single chip 2000 times down to a bend diameter of 0.5 inch with no degradation in the optical performance. Finally, we experimentally characterize polarization-rotation effects induced by bending the flexible photonic chips. This work will enable the field of integrated photonics to advance into new application areas that require flexible photonic chips.”

Find the technical paper here. Published May 2024. Find MIT’s news release here.

Notaros, M., Dyer, T., Garcia Coleto, A. et al. Mechanically-flexible wafer-scale integrated-photonics fabrication platform. Sci Rep 14, 10623 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61055-w.

The post Flexible-Wafer Platform And CMOS-Compatible 300mm Wafer-Scale Integrated-Photonics Fabrication appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

A new technical paper titled “Mechanically-flexible wafer-scale integrated-photonics fabrication platform” was published by researchers at MIT and New York Center for Research, Economic Advancement, Technology, Engineering, and Science (NY CREATES).

Abstract
“The field of integrated photonics has advanced rapidly due to wafer-scale fabrication, with integrated-photonics platforms and fabrication processes being demonstrated at both infrared and visible wavelengths. However, these demonstrations have primarily focused on fabrication processes on silicon substrates that result in rigid photonic wafers and chips, which limit the potential application spaces. There are many application areas that would benefit from mechanically-flexible integrated-photonics wafers, such as wearable healthcare monitors and pliable displays. Although there have been demonstrations of mechanically-flexible photonics fabrication, they have been limited to fabrication processes on the individual device or chip scale, which limits scalability. In this paper, we propose, develop, and experimentally characterize the first 300-mm wafer-scale platform and fabrication process that results in mechanically-flexible photonic wafers and chips. First, we develop and describe the 300-mm wafer-scale CMOS-compatible flexible platform and fabrication process. Next, we experimentally demonstrate key optical functionality at visible wavelengths, including chip coupling, waveguide routing, and passive devices. Then, we perform a bend-durability study to characterize the mechanical flexibility of the photonic chips, demonstrating bending a single chip 2000 times down to a bend diameter of 0.5 inch with no degradation in the optical performance. Finally, we experimentally characterize polarization-rotation effects induced by bending the flexible photonic chips. This work will enable the field of integrated photonics to advance into new application areas that require flexible photonic chips.”

Find the technical paper here. Published May 2024. Find MIT’s news release here.

Notaros, M., Dyer, T., Garcia Coleto, A. et al. Mechanically-flexible wafer-scale integrated-photonics fabrication platform. Sci Rep 14, 10623 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61055-w.

The post Flexible-Wafer Platform And CMOS-Compatible 300mm Wafer-Scale Integrated-Photonics Fabrication appeared first on Semiconductor Engineering.

A technical paper titled “Programmable Nonlinear Quantum Photonic Circuits” was published by researchers at Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, University of Bristol, and Ruhr-Universitat Bochum.

Abstract:

“The lack of interactions between single photons prohibits direct nonlinear operations in quantum optical circuits, representing a central obstacle in photonic quantum technologies. Here, we demonstrate multi-mode nonlinear photonic circuits where both linear and direct nonlinear operations can be programmed with high precision at the single-photon level. Deterministic nonlinear interaction is realized with a tunable quantum dot embedded in a nanophotonic waveguide mediating interactions between individual photons within a temporal linear optical interferometer. We demonstrate the capability to reprogram the nonlinear photonic circuits and implement protocols where strong nonlinearities are required, in particular for quantum simulation of anharmonic molecular dynamics, thereby showcasing the new key functionalities enabled by our technology.”

Find the technical paper here. Published May 2024 (preprint).

Nielsen, Kasper H., Ying Wang, Edward Deacon, Patrik I. Sund, Zhe Liu, Sven Scholz, Andreas D. Wieck et al. “Programmable Nonlinear Quantum Photonic Circuits.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2405.17941 (2024).

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