PhD position: Integrated photonic frequency comb sources

In many photonic applications, including wavelength division multiplexing ultra-high speed optical communications, optical signal processing, spectroscopy, the generation of high quality light sources with many different frequencies is often required [1, 2]. The brute force approach of using multiple discrete laser diodes to create optical frequency combs typically results in very high cost, complexity, energy consumption and footprint systems. Recently, integrated ultra-broadband optical frequency combs have been demonstrated that can produce over one hundred stable and high quality comb lines – each like a coherent laser source [3].

This project aims to investigate high-quality optical frequency comb sources that can be generated from a single integrated photonic chip using the new silicon nitrite waveguide platform being developed at RMIT [4]. The possibility of integrating the on-chip comb sources with other devices and components to form sophisticated integrated photonic circuits in single compact photonic chips for applications in signal processing, data communications and sensing will also be considered.

This project will be conducted within the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (InPAC, https://www.inpac.org.au/) at RMIT. This centre has expertise in integrated photonic chip simulation and design, fabrication and testing and packaging and interfacing enabling research from novel device concepts to realise practical solutions for real world applications. The integrated photonic chips will be realised using the state-of-the-art facilities at the RMIT Micro-Nano Research Facility (MNRF).

References:

[1] Nguyen, T.G., Shoeiby, M., Chu, S.T., Little, B.E., Morandotti, R., Mitchell, A., Moss, D.J., “Integrated frequency comb source based Hilbert transformer for wideband microwave photonic phase analysis”, Optics Express, 23 (2015).

[2] Corcoran, B., Tan, M., Xu, X., Boes, D., Wu, J., Nguyen, T.G., Chu, S., Little, B., Morandotti, R., Mitchell, A., Moss, D., “Ultra-dense optical data transmission over standard fibre with a single chip source, ” Nature Communications, 2020.

[3] Gaeta, A. L., Lipson M., and Kippenberg, T. J., “Photonic-chip-based frequency combs,” Nat. Photonics 13 (2019).

[4] Frigg, A.Boes, A., Ren,G, , Nguyen,T.G., Choi, D. Y., Gees, S., Moss, D. and Mitchell, A., “Optical frequency comb generation with low temperature reactive sputtered silicon nitride waveguides, ” APL Photonics, 5 (2020).

Please contact Dr. Thach Nguyen or Dist. Prof. Arnan Mitchell for more information.