Project description
Photonic components
The research proposed by IOLOS aims to develop a new and universal building block, thereby creating the necessary integration technologies for future all-optical digital and logic functional sub-systems. The key approach is the exploitation of the strong and robust directional optical bi-stability in semiconductor ring lasers (SRLs) as the fundamental mechanism for all-optical digital building blocks - from which digital functions of all types can be synthesised. The central concept is that the switching between two digital logic states within an SRL device (the two possible directions of operation) can be triggered by an external optical signal - and can occur at ultra-high speeds, being limited solely by the round-trip time of the optical laser cavity. The innovation lies in the development of proven technologies that enable the progressive down-scaling of the dimensions of micro-SRLs to less than 20 microns, thus allowing optically induced switching times of 10 ps. In order to achieve above aim, IOLOS will develop theoretical understanding and numerical models for the design and optimisation of the directional bistability and switching speed of micro-SRLs. IOLOS will study the ultimate limits of device down scaling, thus predicting future technological development capability. IOLOS will further develop technologies to monolithically integrate the SRL bistable devices into functional all-optical digital and logic chips that incorporate optical access couplers, passive waveguides, and all-optical gates. These chips will be used to realise and demonstrate all-optical functions that are useful in near, medium, and long term applications including set/reset flip-flop function, all-optical threshold devices for all-optical data regeneration and retiming, and optical memory units with all-optical write, read, and reset control functions. IOLOS will develop these technologies to an extend that is exploitable commercially.
Fields of science
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
FP6-2005-IST-5
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
STREP - Specific Targeted Research ProjectCoordinator
BS8 1UB Bristol
United Kingdom