This technology is a chip-scale photonics system supported by a large spectral range laser and a power-efficient light steering platform for extensive optical applications such as sensing, spectroscopy, and quantum processing.

Unmet Need: Flexible, low power consumption, small-footprint nanophotonic system

There are few suitable light sources to be integrated with chip-scale photonics as they have low spectral tunability and bulky external equipment. Additionally, current nanophotonic systems based on conventional silicon structures require substantial power consumption and have suboptimal beam steering performance due to environmental factors such as temperature. Coupling light propagation throughout nanophotonic platforms proves equally challenging because of tradeoffs between alignment tolerance, complexity, and power.

The Technology: Power-efficient nanophotonic architecture and integrated tunable laser

This nanophotonic platform supports an integrated tunable chip-scale laser and a low power-consumption light manipulation platform to achieve a broad spectral range performance covering the entire visible spectrum up to near-infrared. The broadband, narrow linewidth, and tunable lasing is achieved via commercially available laser diodes and optical resonators. The beam steering system is based on optical switch arrays and thus requires no moving parts and allows for straightforward calibration and material flexibility. Furthermore, built-in waveguide architectures such as micro-lenses and 3D polymeric funnels ensure robust control of optical signals’ alignment and spatial profile.

Applications:

Chip-scale optoelectronics
Nonlinear and nano-photonics
Light based information processing
Quantum computing
Augmented and virtual reality displays and projections
Biological deep tissue sensing, detection and diagnostics
Optogenetics
LiDAR scanning on portable devices
Laser microscopy and spectroscopy
Fiber optics coupling and adaptation

Advantages:

Compact chip-scale architecture
Low power assumption
Straight forward feedback control and calibration
Versatile manufacturing material
Tunable wavelength coverage from visible to near-infrared
Narrow linewidth light source
High coupling efficiency
High alignment tolerance
Improved dielectric waveguide configuration

Lead Inventor:

Michal Lipson, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Issued (US 10,690,849)

Patent Issued (US 10,962,720)

Patent Issued (US 11,835,803)

Patent Pending (US 20230288774)

Patent Pending (US 20230118658)

Patent Pending (US 20210181548)

Related Publications:

Tech Ventures Reference:

IR CU16333, CU18261, CU20104, CU21325, CU22034
Licensing Contact: Greg Maskel

Chip-scale photonics platform with integrated wavelength-tunable laser