1. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca McGill Photonic Systems Group Andrew Kirk Micro and nano-optics Optical interconnects Applications of MEMS Lawrence Chen Optical amplifiers Fiber lasers Transmission and coding issues David Plant Optoelectronics VLSI photonics High speed packaging Optical switches + ~ 30 graduate students, research engineers and post-docs Dominik Pudo dpudo@photonics.ece.mcgill.ca

2. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca “Photonics” The PHOTON is to PHOTONics as the ELECTRON is to ELECTRONics. Three major developments in the recent past are responsible for the rejuvenation of this field: –Invention of the diode laser (1961) –Fabrication of low loss fiber (1970) –Maturing of semiconductor optical devices (1970s to present) Modern definition of photonics as applied to communications: generation, modulation, transmission, and detection of light.

3. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Why light for communications ? Optical communication Electrical transmission lines Low carrier frequencyHigh carrier frequency (10 14 Hz) (Almost) no modulation effectsDistortion of modulated signals Dielectric waveguidesConducting waveguides Low loss Frequency dependent loss Small wavelengthLarge wavelength Tight confinementBulky High impedance mediumLow impedance lines Low powerHigh power

4. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Limitations of electrical interconnects: the off-chip challenge As data rates increase, electrical interconnects are limited by: –Power –Distortion –Cross-talk –Pin-out capacity Fundamental: Aspect ratio limit* *D.A.B.Miller and H.M.Ozaktas, J.Parallel Distrib. Comput., 41, pp 42-52, 1997

5. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Optical Communications Length 1mm1cm 10cm 1m10m100m1km 10km Backplane Board 100km Medium distance Parallel optical interconnect Shelf Chip Campus/City/etc. Long distance Optical fiber Rack Free-space optics Recent record: 10 Tbps over 100km 3 Tbps over 7300km

6. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Research Overview-1 developing ultrafast photonic and fiber optic technologies for broadband telecommunications, optical sensing, and biomedicine. Specific areas include: –Ultrafast Photonic Signal Processing –Fiber Amplifiers and Lasers –Photonic Networks –Microwave Photonics Generation of a 325 GHz optical pulse burst

7. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Research Overview-2 Parallel Optical Interconnects –Free-space optical interconnects –Parallel fiber interconnects Components for future optical fiber networks –Multiplexers –Switches

8. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Free-Space Optical Backplane

9. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Clustered system: 512 channel parallel optical board to board link* 86 mm throw 3x6 mm active area 256 channels (bidirectional) 28 channels/mm 2  Clustered optical design IC Microlens array Glass spacer Relay system Minilens Prism VCSEL cluster Detector cluster Prism *M. Châteauneuf et al, Optics in Computing 2001, pp.64-66. 86 mm

10. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Completed 512 channel bidirectional system

11. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Research Overview-3 Research in micro-optics and MEMS ( Micro- Electro-Mechanical Systems Free-space micro-optics for optical interconnects Micro-optics for telecomm systems Micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems (MOEMS) Sub-wavelength structured surfaces and devices

12. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca MEMS mirror

13. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Clean room and packaging laboratories 1000 sq ft., class 10,000 clean room including a fume hood High and low power laser systems Test and measurement equipment supporting 12.5 Gbps digital (BERT, scopes, etc.) and 22 GHz analog (lightwave component analyzer, signal generators, etc.) Free space and fiber based optics and optomechanics Wirebonding and packaging

14. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Fiber optics lab and design software New fiber optics laboratory C + L band EDFAs, broadband, DFB, and tunable sources 10 – 40 GHz mode-locked fiber laser Optical spectrum analyzer Communication signal analyzer Polarization diagnostics Fusion splicer 10 and 40 Gbps modulators; 10 Gbps receivers Software Circuit design Optical/fiber Mechanical > 3 000 000 $ of equipment

15. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Fiber optics lab

16. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Courses? Undergraduate: 423B: propagation, sources, free-space, detectors 430A: waveguides, photonic devices, network 492A: source, link, simulation, network devices Graduate: 527B: free-space, systems, simulations 571A: laser sources and detectors (O/E – E/O) 596A: waveguides, propagation

17. www.photonics.ece.mcgill.ca Thank you!