The objective of this research project is to accomplish miniaturization, high-density integration and advanced packaging of photonic devices for large-bandwidth signal processing. The approach is to develop photonic devices by assembling silica nanowires on a silica aerogel substrate. Prof. Eric Mazur's research group has extensive expertise in the fabrication of silica nanowires and in nonlinear optics. A number of nanowire-based devices will be fabricated, including splitters, controllable fiber mirrors and optical logic gates. These devices will lay the groundwork for the miniaturization and integration of optical circuits.
Intellectual Merit The group's recently developed nanowire fabrication technique offers a new avenue for realizing small and highly integrated optical circuits. The first step toward reaching this goal is the development of the basic optical components that are the deliverables of this project. The approach is very different from existing microphotonic approaches and offers the opportunity of making major advances in the field. The proposed optical components will enable simple, all-optical logic operations at the microscale. Beyond these immediate goals, the proposed work will also contribute to the understanding of optical wave propagation at the nanoscale and permit advances in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and optical memory read-out.
Broader Impact The proposed work will also contribute to the education and the training of future multidisciplinary scientists and engineers through research-based education of undergraduate and graduate students. Finally, using the group's well-established program integrating outreach and public education with research, this work will be broadly disseminated to the general public.
