1. Applications for photonics are everywhere
Displays
Imaging
Photovoltaics
Lighting
Communications ….

2. Photonics – a key enabling technology
Physics
Materials
Technology
Engineering
Emerging applications for photonics
Communications
Medical
Sensors
LiDAR
Access networks
Backhaul for 5G
Hyper-spectral imaging

3. Semiconductor photonics
Layer
Material
Al fraction
Thickness (nm)
Doping 15
GaAs
150
> 2e19 14
AlGaAs
0.5 → 0.05 50
> 2e18 13
0.5
1100
1-2e18 12
100
2-4e17 11
0.2 → 0.5 70 - 10
0.2 5 9
5.8 8 7 6 4 3
0.5 → 0.2
1e18 → 1e17 2
1200 1
0 → 0.5
substrate
n-type
Devices
Lasers, detectors, modulators, amplifiers, waveguides
Layers of different crystal alloys
Controlled thickness and doping
P-N junction

4. Spectral coverage

5. Technology to make the devices

6. Recent Graduates
Industry (NL) Researcher at Dimenco working on 3D displays
Academia (IRL) Packaging of photonic components at Tyndall
Academia (B) Postdoc in imec working on Silicon Photonic Technology
Industry (NL) Device developer in integration at Effect Photonics
Industry (NIRE) Process engineer at Seagate
Industry (Wales) Senior Photonics Product Engineer at IQE
Academia (USA) Postdoc in leading photodetector group
Industry (LL) Senior engineer at ASML
Industry (Eng) Engineer at Oclaro

7. Transfer printing
Innovative way to integrate and assemble photonic components into circuits

8. Transfer coupons and make arrays of devices

9. Photovoltaic cells
Lasers
LEDs

10. Project I: Interface between computer and LED display
We are making LED arrays of 50 x 50 elements, single colour
Will make LED arrays of 500 x 500 x 3 colour
Current for LEDs to provided through a driver chip (128x128x3)
Project:
Engineer image control by interfacing with the driver and the LED array. Balance image though assessing LED brightness and programming
Find the best drive parameters; Map the characteristics of the array
Need skills in electronics

11. Project II: Power transfer using lasers
Optical power can be converted to electrical power with decent efficiency especially if at a single wavelength. EG 60% demonstrated with photovoltaic cells.
Objective is to understand the use of lasers themselves as PV converters.
Project
Couple power from tuneable laser into large spot size waveguides (lasers) and record power conversion as a function of input optical power and wavelength for different cavity lengths. Requires use of programmable alignment stages and the collection of data.
Analyse data (Isc, Voc, Fill Factor) and using knowledge gained design the best power converter.
Need to learn about photovoltaic cells.

12. Questions?