This proposal includes research and educational goals involving the integration of magnetooptical garnet isolators onto Si with the initial application being telecommunications at near infrared wavelengths. This research will have a broad impact on photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and opto-electronic integrated circuits (OEICs) for applications such as optical computing and interconnects as well. The integration of garnet will also further the realization of other nonreciprocal devices such as mode converters, and circulators, and the integration techniques will be transferable to other semiconductors platforms, such as InP and GaAs.
Intellectual Merit: The integration of garnet with semiconductor platforms has long been thought impossible. However, the PI has recently developed a technique for the integration of garnet with semiconductors. In the current proposal, this novel technique will be applied to the first integrated garnet devices using two designs. The prototypes developed here will be the first rotators with garnet cores that have been realized on semiconductor platforms. The traditional roadblock of birefringence in garnet waveguide isolators will be overcome with core shape tuning. Also, a novel approach of using both in-plane and perpendicular magnetic biasing will contribute new understanding to the PIC and OEIC communities.
Broader Impact: This project will advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning through graduate student training, industrial interaction, and undergraduate research. It will also benefit society through advances optical interconnects, optical computing, telecommunications. This project truly enables the ?missing link? in photonics such that first generation light sources can be integrated with photonic integrated circuits and optoelectronic integrated circuits using this exploratory work.
