Surface Acoustic Waves Stimulated Brillouin Scattering

Project Information

SAW-SBS

Grant agreement ID: 101001069

DOI

10.3030/101001069

EC signature date 21 December 2020

Start date 1 April 2021

End date 31 March 2027

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 2 000 000,00

EU contribution

€ 2 000 000,00

Coordinated by

TECHNION - ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Israel

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - SAW-SBS (Surface Acoustic Waves Stimulated Brillouin Scattering)

Reporting period: 2024-04-01 to 2024-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The issues addressed in the SAW-SBS project are the physics and application of opto-mechanics: the use of light and sound waves together in a single device. More specifically, the devices in question are silicon circuits: the most significant technological platform of our era. Silicon devices support state of the art electronics, and in recent years they also include the use of light waves. However, the additional dimension of sound waves is still missing.

The introduction of sound waves into silicon circuits for the guiding of light would greatly enhance their capabilities in several important respects. First, the use of light and sound together would enable fundamental research into both wave phenomena and the interactions between them. In addition, sound waves on a chip would promote sensing technologies, signal processing, and communications.

The overall objectives are concepts, calculations, fabricated devices, and experimental demonstrations of how light and sound waves may interact in a single, unified silicon circuit.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The work performed thus far includes the following:

1. Thorough calculations of the propagation of light and sound waves in silicon devices, and of the interactions among them.
2. Fabrication of devices that enhance, control, and employ the combination of light and sound waves.
3. Construction of an experimental setup for the precise characterization of light and sound waves in silicon devices.
4. Stronger excitation of sound waves in a silicon device by external light, with 100-fold improvement upon previous works.
5. Sources of microwave-frequency signal through silicon devices of light and sound, with lower noise levels than those of previous works.
6. Method for the analysis of thin layers of materials deposited as part of silicon devices.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Until the end of the project, we expect to demonstrate for the first time an interaction between optical and acoustic waves that propagate together in a waveguide within a silicon chip. That milestone, if achieved, would represent a conceptual breakthrough and address a long-standing challenge of our community. In addition, we anticipate the demonstration of better signal processing and sensing functionalities on a silicon chip through careful control of optical and acoustic waves combined.