The objective of this program is to demonstrate a low-insertion-loss integrated optical waveguide isolator. The isolator uses a lossy and high refractive index layer that is a ferromagnetic matrix in an indium gallium arsenide phosphide layer. Key tasks include: develop software capable of analyzing waveguides with ferromagnetic layers in the presence of static magnetic fields; design and fabricate integrated waveguide isolators; and design and fabricate a semiconductor laser integrated with an isolator.
The intellectual merit is the realization of a practical optical isolator technology for photonic integrated circuits, which does not currently exist. The proposed isolator is transformative, removing the barriers to large-scale integration in photonic circuits and allowing integrated photonic component counts to equal that seen in microelectronics. This project will also result in the first software capable of handling ferromagnetic layers in complex, multilayer photonic waveguides.
The broader impacts are the nature of the researchers, the inclusion of young researchers and the free distribution of software. The photonics research group at SMU has always been diverse with more than 50% female graduate students. A visiting female professor from Brazil will be part of this project. Undergraduate students and high school students will be involved in this project, helping recruitment of U.S. students for graduate study. The ferromagnetic waveguide software developed on this project, like all the photonic software developed by the SMU Photonics group, will be made available to the photonics community.
