Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This dissertation addresses three research challenges in planar lightwave circuit (PLC)\noptical signal processing.\n\n1. Dynamic localization, a relatively new class of quantum phenomena, has not been\ndemonstrated in any system to date. To address this challenge, the quantum system\nwas mapped to the optical domain using a set of curved, coupled PLC waveguides in\naluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs). The devices demonstrated, for the first time,\nexact dynamic localization in any system. These experiments motivate further mappings\nof quantum phenomena in the optical domain, leading toward the design of novel optical\nsignal processing devices using these quantum-analog effects.\n\n2. The PLC microresonator promises to reduce PLC device size and increase optical\nsignal processing functionality. Microresonators in a parallel cascaded configuration,\ncalled "side coupled integrated spaced sequence of resonators" (SCISSORs), could offer very interesting dispersion compensation abilities, if a sufficient number of rings is present to produce fully formed "Bragg" gaps. To date, a SCISSOR with only three rings has been reported in a high-index material system. In this work, one, two, four and eight-ring\nSCISSORs were fabricated in AlGaAs. The eight-ring SCISSOR succeeded in producing\nfully formed Bragg peaks, and offers a platform to study interesting linear and nonlinear phenomena such as dispersion compensators and gap solitons.\n\n3. PLCs are ideal candidates to satisfy the projected performance requirements of\nfuture microchip interconnects. In addition to data routing, these PLCs must provide\nover 100-bit switchable delays operating at ~ 1 Tbit/s. To date, no low loss optical device\nhas met these requirements. To address this challenge, an ultrafast, low loss, switchable\noptically controllable delay line was fabricated in AlGaAs, capable of delaying 126 bits, with a bit-period of 1.5 ps. This successful demonstrator offers a practical solution for the incorporation of optics with microelectronics systems. \n\nThe three aforementioned projects all employ, in their unique way, the coupling of light\nbetween PLC waveguides in AlGaAs. This central theme is explored in this dissertation in both its two- and multi-waveguide embodiments.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Rajiv Iyer
Language: English
Topic: Photonic and Optical Devices
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2601274762