Summary

This course aims at providing engineering and design guidelines for selected Photonic Micro- and Nanosystems. In particular, Optical MEMS and Integrated Photonics will be reviewed. Standard fabrication processes and related design approaches will be introduced and product aspects will be discussed.

Content

  • Introduction: Course Overview; Review of Relevant Optics, Fabrication Technologies, MEMS/NEMS Actuation Mechanisms; Fiber vs. Waveguide vs. Free Space; Integrated Optics Material Systems and Wavelengths.
  • Micromirrors, Scanners, Projectors, Displays: Reflective Coatings, Distributed Bragg Reflectors, High Contrast Gratings; Mechanical and Optical Design Constraints and Tradeoffs; Scanning and Projection Systems based on Micromirrors; Interference Modulator Display; MEMS Shutter Display; Design Tradeoffs (Angle, Size, Speed, Resolvable Spots, Optical Throughput, Power').
  • Spatial Light Modulators: Technologies, Performance and Applications: Liquid crystal, MEMS, Micro Mirrors, Grating light valve (GLV), Magneto Optic, Quantum Well, Optical Phased Arrays.
  • Photonic Switches: Telecommunication Applications, Definition of Key Performance Figures, 2D Switches, Wavelength Selective Switches, Optical Cross Connects
  • Tunable Lasers: Tuning Mechanisms and Configurations, Design and Performance (Noise, Power, Tuning Range, Linewidth, Response Time, ')
  • Microspectrometers, Filters, Sensors: Dispersive Systems, Gratings, FTIR, Fabry Pérot Filters, Resonant Cavity Enhanced Detectors, Sensors.
  • Silicon Photonics: Platforms and `Standard' Fabrication Processes, Waveguide Design, Loss Mechanisms, Grating Couplers, Edge Couplers, Adiabatic Couplers, Source, Modulator, Detector, Interferometers, Switches, Polarization Rotators, Combiners, Splitters, Resonators, Filters; Silicon Photonic Switches.
  • Integrated Photonic Systems: Promise of integration; Transceivers and LIDAR-on-Chip example systems.
  • Engineering Approaches for Photonic Micro- and Nanosystems: Process and Design, Fab vs. Fabless, Commercially Available Standard Processes (MPW, MUMPs, MOSIS, CMOS, Review of MEMS / SiPh Foundries), Design Tool Examples, Pricing, Scheduling.
  • Photonic System Packaging: Assembly Strategies, Interfaces: Optical, Electrical, Thermal, Mechanical, Hermeticity.