National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

Yale University

Nils Otterstrom

Matt Eichenfield

Peter Thomas Rakich

Shai Gertler

Eric Andrew Kittlaus

Anthony L Lentine

Prashanta Kharel

Michael Gehl

Zheng Barton Wang

Andrew Jay Leenheer

Ryan Orson Behunin

Lisa Anne Plucinski Hackett

Galen Hoffman

Matthew Joseph Storey

Daniel Dominguez

An integrated photonics polarization controller that converts an input optical signal having a TEmode into an output optical signal having any polarization on the Poincare sphere is disclosed. This polarization conversion and control requires splitting the input optical signal into two optical signals. The first optical signal retains its TEmode, while the second optical signal must have a TMmode, with the integrated photonics polarization controller generating this TMmode either directly from the TEmode or indirectly via an intermediate signal having a TEmode. The magnitude and phase of the first and second optical signals are each controlled independently. The first and second optical signals are then combined to form an output optical signal and, due to the independent control of magnitude and phase of the first and second optical signals, the output optical signal may have any polarization on the Poincare sphere.

Integrated photonics with active polarization control

An acousto-optic modulator that includes a waveguide on an acoustic actuator is disclosed. The waveguide carries an optical signal having a UV or visible wavelength. When the acoustic actuator is activated, the optical signal in the waveguide is bathed in intense acoustic waves. By using a waveguide having the appropriate dimensions to strongly confine both the optical signal and the acoustic waves, strong optomechanical coupling may be achieved between the optical and acoustic modes, resulting in an efficient modulator. By employing either intra-modal or inter-modal conversion, the modulator may be used to implement a variety of dual- or single-sideband functions, including an isolator, a phase modulator, a single-sideband frequency shifter, or a high-extinction shutter.

Ultraviolet and visible light integrated acousto-optic modulators

Devices employing Brillouin interactions that can be modified by acoustoelectric (AE) interactions, thereby enabling control over the devices' nonlinear optical susceptibility, are described. Modification of the phonon dissipation rates through application of quasistatic electric fields in the semiconductor can improve the performance of Brillouin photonic devices. These AE Brillouin interactions allow for local control of the phonon phase velocity and thus the Brillouin scattering frequencies, providing an electronic means to compensate for inhomogeneous broadening that occurs over large length scales. Moreover, these AE Brillouin interactions allow Brillouin scattering processes to employ phonon coherence lengths that can achieve parity with and even exceed those of the photons, enabling fully coherent three-wave parametric-like processes. Devices in accordance with various aspects of the present invention have simultaneously demonstrated, using these effects, both large optomechanical confinement and coupling, and AE coupling.

Acoustoelectric optomechanical devices

An optical amplifier device employing a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) that reduces the amount of residual pump power in the optical output of the amplifier is disclosed. The MZI amplifier employs two geometrically linear optical amplifier arms or two multi-spatial-mode racetrack optical amplifiers to amplify a signal with a pumping beam, with the signal output port having extremely low levels of residual pump power. The MZI optical amplifier is a silicon photonic integrated circuit, with all optical amplifiers, couplers, phase shifters, and optical attenuators formed of silicon photonic integrated circuit elements. The MZI optical amplifier may include one, two, or three MZI stages, and multiple MZI optical amplifiers may be used in parallel or sequentially to achieve higher overall signal gain or power. The MZI optical amplifier may employ Brillouin-scattering-based amplifiers, Raman-based integrated waveguide optical amplifiers, or Erbium-doped integrated waveguide optical amplifiers.

Integrated silicon optical amplifier with reduced residual pump

Devices and systems for opto-acoustic signal processing are described herein. In one embodiment, the device may include a structure configured to laterally confine travelling acoustic phonons (hypersound) throughout, a first multimode optical waveguide embedded within the structure, and an acoustic phonon emitter within the structure, where the first multimode optical waveguide is selected to couple to the acoustic phonons (hypersound) confined within the structure. In one embodiment, the system may include a first light source optically coupled to a proximal end of the first multimode optical waveguide, the first light source emitting a probe wave having a frequency &#x3c9;, and a driver configured to drive the acoustic phonon emitter to emit acoustic phonons (hypersound).

Opto-acoustic signal processing

Techniques for producing a Brillouin laser are provided. According to some aspects, techniques are based on forward Brillouin scattering and a multimode acousto-optic waveguide in which light is scattered between optical modes of the waveguide via the Brillouin scattering. This process may transfer energy from a waveguide mode of pump light to a waveguide mode of Stokes light. This process may be referred to herein as Stimulated Inter-Modal Brillouin Scattering (SIMS). Since SIMS is based on forward Brillouin scattering, laser (Stokes) light may be output in a different direction than back toward the input pump light, and as such there is no need for a circulator or other non-reciprocal device to protect the pump light as in conventional devices.

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New Haven, CT, United States of America

Nils Otterstrom