PHASE SENSITIVE INNOVATIONS INC — National Aeronautics and Space Administration STTR Phase I: T8

Description

Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) has been a widely used electro-optic (EO) material since the 1970rsquo;s. Large electro-optic (EO) coefficients and lower third-order nonlinearity compared to other III-V materials (e.g., InP, Si) make LiNbO3 an ideal candidate for active photonic devices. Although indium phosphide (InP) and silicon (Si) -based foundries are already established, a LiNbO3-based foundry is something unimaginable until now. Recently, advances in crystal ion sliced (CIS) films of LiNbO3 on insulator (TFLNOI), which guide optical modes almost 20 times smaller than their bulk-LiNbO3 counterparts have emerged as an answer to some of these issues. Now, strip-loaded waveguides can be used to tightly confine the optical mode, allowing smaller electrode gaps, decreased Vpi;, tighter bending radii and PIC compatibility. With this advance in thin-film technology, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) in the LiNbO3 platform can now be realized, paving the way for future LiNbO3 platform-based foundries. Our goal is to investigate fundamental building blocks for TFLNOI PICs and ultimately demonstrate the utility of these unit-cells to produce an EO modulator that will reduce the footprint of standard Mach-Zehnder Modulators and bring improved DC and high-frequency EO response.