Power efficient phase shifters for near-IR wavelengths

This technology is a phase shifter that uses excitonic behavior to achieve high refractive index changes with minimal power consumption and optical loss.

Unmet Need: Phase shifters with high refractive index change and low loss

Photonics and optoelectronics rely heavily on light modulation. Currently available light modulators, or phase shifters, rely on silicon, lithium-niobate electro-optic, or thermo-optic modulators and suffer from energy loss due to injection of carriers, low refractive index change, and high power consumption. Because of their unique properties, 2D layered materials have the potential to modulate light with improved performance.

The Technology: High performance phase shifter using 2D materials

This technology is a method for designing optoelectronic phase shifters incorporating 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) for efficient modulation of near-IR light. The phase shifter achieves low loss and high refractive index change as a result of the high excitonic strength of monolayer TMDs. The system has current leakage in the nanoamp range, leading to highly power efficient devices. This technology may enable new photonic functionalities to be incorporated into composite waveguides.

This technology has been validated with a refractive index tuning prototype.

Applications:

• Phased arrays
• Tunable gratings
• Optical communication network
• Optical delay lines
• Optical signal processing

Advantages:

• Low power consumption
• High refractive index change
• Low optical loss
• Unique excitonic phase shifting mechanism

Lead Inventor:

Michal Lipson, Ph.D.

Patent Information:

Patent Issued

Related Publications:

• Datta I, Chae SH, Bhatt GR, Tadayon MA, Li B, Yu Y, Park C, Park J, Cao L, Basov DN, Hone J, Lipson M. “Low-loss composite photonic platform based on 2D semiconductor monolayers” arXiv preprint. arXiv:1906.00459. 2019 Jun.

Tech Ventures Reference:

• IR CU18268

• Licensing Contact: Greg Maskel