Wave propagation and group velocity

Microwave photonics (MWP) is an emerging field in which radio frequency (RF) signals are generated, distributed, processed and analyzed using the strength of photonic techniques. It is a technology that enables various functionalities which are not feasible to achieve only in the microwave domain. A particular aspect that recently gains significant interests is the use of photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology in the MWP field for enhanced functionalities and robustness as well as the reduction of size, weight, cost and power consumption. This article reviews the recent advances in this emerging field which is dubbed as integrated microwave photonics. Key integrated MWP technologies are reviewed and the prospective of the field is discussed.

Integrated microwave photonics

Recent advances in photonic integration have propelled microwave photonic technologies to new heights. The ability to interface hybrid material platforms to enhance light–matter interactions has led to the development of ultra-small and high-bandwidth electro-optic modulators, low-noise frequency synthesizers and chip signal processors with orders-of-magnitude enhanced spectral resolution. On the other hand, the maturity of high-volume semiconductor processing has finally enabled the complete integration of light sources, modulators and detectors in a single microwave photonic processor chip and has ushered the creation of a complex signal processor with multifunctionality and reconfigurability similar to electronic devices. Here, we review these recent advances and discuss the impact of these new frontiers for short- and long-term applications in communications and information processing. We also take a look at the future perspectives at the intersection of integrated microwave photonics and other fields including quantum and neuromorphic photonics. This Review discusses recent advances of microwave photonic technologies and their applications in communications and information processing, as well as their potential implementations in quantum and neuromorphic photonics.

The growing maturity of integrated photonic technology makes it possible to build increasingly large and complex photonic circuits on the surface of a chip. Today, most of these circuits are designed for a specific application, but the increase in complexity has introduced a generation of photonic circuits that can be programmed using software for a wide variety of functions through a mesh of on-chip waveguides, tunable beam couplers and optical phase shifters. Here we discuss the state of this emerging technology, including recent developments in photonic building blocks and circuit architectures, as well as electronic control and programming strategies. We cover possible applications in linear matrix operations, quantum information processing and microwave photonics, and examine how these generic chips can accelerate the development of future photonic circuits by providing a higher-level platform for prototyping novel optical functionalities without the need for custom chip fabrication. The current state of programmable photonic integrated circuits is discussed, including recent developments in their building blocks, circuit architectures, electronic control and programming strategies, as well as different application spaces.

https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8677857/file/8677861.pdf

Programmable photonic circuits.

Photonic systems for high-performance information processing have attracted renewed interest. Neuromorphic silicon photonics has the potential to integrate processing functions that vastly exceed the capabilities of electronics. We report first observations of a recurrent silicon photonic neural network, in which connections are configured by microring weight banks. A mathematical isomorphism between the silicon photonic circuit and a continuous neural network model is demonstrated through dynamical bifurcation analysis. Exploiting this isomorphism, a simulated 24-node silicon photonic neural network is programmed using “neural compiler” to solve a differential system emulation task. A 294-fold acceleration against a conventional benchmark is predicted. We also propose and derive power consumption analysis for modulator-class neurons that, as opposed to laser-class neurons, are compatible with silicon photonic platforms. At increased scale, Neuromorphic silicon photonics could access new regimes of ultrafast information processing for radio, control, and scientific computing.

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Neuromorphic photonic networks using silicon photonic weight banks.

An entirely-mode-evolution-based polarization splitter-rotator assisted by a tapered TE-pass polarizer on a compact footprint of 185 µm is demonstrated. The measurement results show an insertion loss < 1.2 dB and extinction ratio > 25 dB over the complete C+L wavelength band.

Compact and High-Performance Mode Evolution based Polarization Splitter-Rotator in Standard Active Silicon Platform

We review the recent research outputs at Monash Electro-Photonics Laboratory in a new field: electro-photonics, where the best of the electronic and photonic technologies are combined to increase the capacity, flexibility and energy efficiency of optical communications systems and networks.

Electro-photonics for high-capacity and energy-efficient optical communication networks

Asymmetrically clipped optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (ACO-OFDM) is theoretically more power efficient but less spectrally efficient than DC-bias OFDM (DCO-OFDM), with less power allocating to the informationless bias component by only using odd index sub-carriers. Layered/Enhanced asymmetrically clipped optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (L/E-ACO-OFDM) has been proposed to increase the spectral efficiency of ACO-OFDM. In this letter, we experimentally demonstrate a 30-km single mode fiber transmission using L/E-ACO-OFDM at 4.375 Gbits/s. Using a Volterra filter based equalizer, 2-dB and 1.5-dB Q-factor improvements for L/E-ACO-OFDM comparing with DCO-OFDM can be obtained in back-to-back and 30-km fiber transmission respectively.

Leimeng Zhuang

Papers

Compact and High-Performance Mode Evolution based Polarization Splitter-Rotator in Standard Active Silicon Platform

Electro-photonics for high-capacity and energy-efficient optical communication networks

Experimental demonstration of Layered/Enhanced ACO-OFDM in short haul optical fiber transmission link.