Ligentec

Description

Ligentec is a B2B company specializing in manufacturing Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) using Silicon Nitride technology. Their PICs offer low loss, high efficiency, and are transparent from visible to mid-IR, enabling applications in communication, Quantum technologies, LiDAR, and Biosensors. With a strategic location near EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ligentec provides cutting-edge chips globally, supporting industrial revolution 4.0.

Official source

https://www.ligentec.com

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A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) or integrated optical circuit is a microchip containing two or more photonic components which form a functioning circuit. This technology detects, generates, transports, and processes light. Photonic integrated circuits utilize photons (or particles of light) as opposed to electrons that are utilized by electronic integrated circuits. The major difference between the two is that a photonic integrated circuit provides functions for information signals imposed on optical wavelengths typically in the visible spectrum or near infrared (850–1650 nm).

Silicon photonics is the study and application of photonic systems which use silicon as an optical medium. The silicon is usually patterned with sub-micrometre precision, into microphotonic components. These operate in the infrared, most commonly at the 1.55 micrometre wavelength used by most fiber optic telecommunication systems. The silicon typically lies on top of a layer of silica in what (by analogy with a similar construction in microelectronics) is known as silicon on insulator (SOI).

Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Photonics is closely related to quantum electronics, where quantum electronics deals with the theoretical part of it while photonics deal with its engineering applications. Though covering all light's technical applications over the whole spectrum, most photonic applications are in the range of visible and near-infrared light.

A photonic crystal is an optical nanostructure in which the refractive index changes periodically. This affects the propagation of light in the same way that the structure of natural crystals gives rise to X-ray diffraction and that the atomic lattices (crystal structure) of semiconductors affect their conductivity of electrons. Photonic crystals occur in nature in the form of structural coloration and animal reflectors, and, as artificially produced, promise to be useful in a range of applications.

Silicon nitride is a chemical compound of the elements silicon and nitrogen. Si3N4 (Trisilicon tetranitride) is the most thermodynamically stable and commercially important of the silicon nitrides, and the term ′′Silicon nitride′′ commonly refers to this specific composition. It is a white, high-melting-point solid that is relatively chemically inert, being attacked by dilute HF and hot H3PO4. It is very hard (8.5 on the mohs scale). It has a high thermal stability with strong optical nonlinearities for all-optical applications.

Integration of MEMS in Silicon Photonics

Alain Yuji Takabayashi

Like integrated electronics, integrated photonics such as Silicon Photonics benefit from increased device-density on a single chip. Silicon is an excellent material for integrated photonics because its high refractive index allows devices to be made small, and the established silicon CMOS fabrication infrastructure provides a convenient route towards scaling up production. However, standard Silicon Photonics faces a bottleneck in scaling up device-density due to excessive power consumption and high optical losses associated with individual devices. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) provide a unique solution to this problem by providing a physical redistribution of optical media to perform the necessary active functions in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with minimal power consumption and low loss.This thesis tackles two important aspects needed for implementing large-scale MEMS-enabled PICs in silicon. First, the required microfabrication processes are developed for the first-time, by full process integration of MEMS in an established foundry platform, the Interuniversity Microelectronic Centre's (IMEC) iSiPP50G Silicon Photonics technology. By demonstrating MEMS-compatibility, the barrier to adopting this new technology is reduced, and the devices and circuits themselves benefit from co-integration with high-performance standard components. Second, a new class of electrostatic MEMS-enabled photonic building blocks are designed, simulated, and experimentally characterized. Demonstrated devices include a set of remarkably broadband (bandwidth > 80 nm) tunable couplers capable of continuous optical power tuning between output ports to produce extinction ratios greater than 20 dB with minimal insertion loss (reaching < 0.4 dB). In terms of switching, a very low-voltage, six-port count device and a particularly compact (65 um x 62 um) photonic MEMS switch with sub-microsecond switching time are also presented. Further MEMS-enabled functionality is demonstrated with a wavelength-selective add-drop filter and a discussion of phase-shifters and multi-device sub-circuits. These components can be repeated and combined with one another to create complex and reconfigurable networks, and therefore represent an essential stepping stone towards the realization of very large-scale PICs. Together, these key developments in microfabrication and device design promise PIC designers MEMS-enabled photonic components as standard elements in their circuits to efficiently implement functions such as switching, tuning, and filtering for application in photonic switch matrices, weighted interconnects for neural networks, and programmable PICs.

EPFL2021

Functional Elements for Quantum-Dot-Based Integrated Quantum Photonics

Antoine Maxime Delgoffe

Quantum Integrated Photonics (QIP) harnesses quantum-states of light on tiny chips, from generation to processing and eventual detection. Within this context, this thesis explores functional QIP elements resulting from the monolithic integration of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in tailored photonic crystal systems of coupled cavities and waveguides. QDs present atom-like optical and electronic properties, which make them ideal for a deterministic, on-demand generation of single photons. Such QD-based devices can be expected to provide solutions for applications of QIP in quantum computing, communication and metrology. Here, we exploit the pyramidal site-controlled QD technology to reproducibly fabricate quantum photonic elements in which an arbitrary number of QD quantum emitters are embedded in photonic crystal (PhC) structures with alignment precision better than 50nm. Systematic investigation of reference structures with dense arrays of QDs to observe optical mode structures, and identical structures with only a few QDs for selective excitation and coupling to prescribed modes, is conducted using spatially-resolved micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy. Observations are consolidated by quantitative comparisons to 2D FDM numerical simulations. First, defect-potential PhC cavities are made by precise transverse shifts of selected holes in a PhC defect waveguide. In these structures, defect modes confined by a local mismatch in the photonic dispersion are observed, with peculiar polarization signatures. The fundamental defect modes display quality factors and mode volumes on par with conventional Ln=3 cavities. Defect modes can be selectively excited, and weak coupling of a single QD to cavity modes is demonstrated using thermal tuning. Next, tilted-potential PhC cavities supporting Airy-Bloch photonic modes are realized by staggered shifts of holes from 0 to smax along the axis. Such modes are suitable for local interaction and extraction of single photons from site-controlled QDs and their transmission to remote locations. Selective excitation of several modes with properly positioned QDs is demonstrated. Weak coupling of a QD to a single mode is achieved by thermal tuning, showing features of Purcell effect. The quasi linear energy-position dispersion of the Airy-Bloch modes maxima provides a mean for constructing an efficient wavelength-multiplexed single-photon injector. Finally, a monolithic model structure, consisting of two PhC waveguides side-coupled to a center Ln=3 cavity, with four ports connected to suspended nanobeams and grating couplers for light extraction/injection, is fabricated and tested. Five QDs are embedded in specific positions; four can act as on-chip single photon sources while the fifth, embedded in the center cavity, could be used for photon processing functions. The quasi-resonant excitation of this fifth QD via its p-shell is demonstrated using a pump laser beam that is injected into a waveguide through the grating coupler. Part of the s-shell emission is coupled to another targeted optical channel, demonstrating a complete photonic connectivity of all elements, a fundamental requirement towards on-chip processing. The results of this thesis consolidate the assets of the site-controlled pyramidal QD technology and tailored PhC confinement towards the realization of functional elements for quantum integrated photonics circuits.

EPFL2020

The ability to control and manipulate light is a fundamental aspect that is at the very core of the development of integrated photonic circuits. It is desirable to achieve such control down to a scale that is comparable to or smaller than the wavelength of light, to enable highly efficient interaction with matter, which can eventually go down to single photon levels. Photonic crystals are particularly appealing in that respect, by providing optical bandgaps and facilitating dispersion shaping, through the precise patterning of layers. This is to be accomplished ideally in compact designs that are well-suited for fabrication with current technology and by utilizing material that has the capacity for integration. By exploiting existing light-matter interaction mechanisms, the available toolset for component design can be expanded, allowing to build optical chips with a wide range of functionality. In the current work, a platform for integrated III-nitride photonic components on silicon is designed and implemented. A refined fabrication process for III-nitride micro- and nanostructures is developed, leading to the realization of suspended optical devices with both high performance and structural stability. Thorough optical and material characterization of the semiconductor layers is conducted to identify potential limitations, particularly with epitaxial GaN on Si technology, with respect to current crystal growth techniques. AlN layers based on a sputter-deposition process are proposed as an alternative for passive optical devices. Two-dimensional photonic crystals are designed in gallium nitride and aluminum nitride, targeting operational wavelengths in the near-infrared telecom range. Optimized photonic crystal cavities are considered for maximizing light confinement in the semiconductor layers. By utilizing resonance enhancement, second and third harmonic generation are demonstrated in gallium nitride photonic crystal cavities featuring record-high quality factor values. This is achieved through a far-field coupling approach under low-power continuous-wave operation. High conversion efficiencies are attained in gallium nitride, exceeding previous demonstrations in the material. Propagation of the harmonic signals in the semiconductor layer is analyzed using finite-element time-domain modeling for the feasibility of an extraction mechanism. Moreover, slow light coupled cavity waveguides are developed in a silicon platform, relying on optimized cavity designs that feature wideband operation in the near-infrared telecom range. A record-high value for group-index bandwidth product is achieved in the devices through improved design implementation. An end-fire based Fourier-space imaging technique is applied for the characterization of the optical structures, through which spatially-selective reconstruction of dispersion maps enabled accurate extraction of slow light properties. The influence of finite-size effects on slow light behavior is elucidated by implementing extended cavity chains. Furthermore, light transport regimes across the dispersion band are identified including the transition towards diffusive light transport and subsequent localization. The performance of coupled-cavity waveguides in the presence of disorder is quantified, revealing constraints on slow light transport, considering state-of-the-art fabrication.

EPFL2018

Topics in photonics

Quantum computing

A quantum computer is a computer that exploits quantum mechanical phenomena. At small scales, physical matter exhibits properties of both particles and waves, and quantum computing leverages this behavior, specifically quantum superposition and entanglement, using specialized hardware that supports the preparation and manipulation of quantum states. Classical physics cannot explain the operation of these quantum devices, and a scalable quantum computer could perform some calculations exponentially faster than any modern "classical" computer.

Topics in inorganic chemistry

Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disciplines is far from absolute, as there is much overlap in the subdiscipline of organometallic chemistry. It has applications in every aspect of the chemical industry, including catalysis, materials science, pigments, surfactants, coatings, medications, fuels, and agriculture.

Photonics

Theory of computation

In theoretical computer science and mathematics, the theory of computation is the branch that deals with what problems can be solved on a model of computation, using an algorithm, how efficiently they can be solved or to what degree (e.g., approximate solutions versus precise ones). The field is divided into three major branches: automata theory and formal languages, computability theory, and computational complexity theory, which are linked by the question: "What are the fundamental capabilities and limitations of computers?".