Project description
Precise, stable microcombs for data and signal synchronisation
Laser frequency combs are essential in precision technologies including optical clocks and timing synchronisation. Despite being highly accurate, they remain bulky and complex. Microcombs, which are smaller and chip-based, offer a promising alternative but currently lack the stability and performance of larger systems. Microresonator-based frequency combs (microcombs) offer a compact, chip-scale alternative but lack the stability and low phase noise of larger systems. The ERC-funded ProSync project will help overcome these limitations by developing high-performance, octave-spanning microcombs using innovative coupled microresonator designs. Researchers will integrate ultralow-loss silicon nitride with advanced materials to create efficient, scalable microcomb systems on a chip. More stable, accurate microcomb technology will benefit data centres and large-scale computing and global communication infrastructure.
Objective
Laser frequency combs based on mode-locked lasers are extraordinary photonic devices that have revolutionized precision frequency synthesis and metrology in the 21st century. They have enabled groundbreaking developments such as optical clocks, femtosecond-level timing synchronization, and ultra-pure microwave generation.
Microresonator-based frequency combs (microcombs) offer a transformative potential to reduce the complexity and size of traditional laser frequency combs. Recent advances in dissipative Kerr solitons have demonstrated the viability of these chip-scale devices, which can be manufactured at the wafer level through semiconductor processing techniques. However, microcombs still fall short in stability and phase noise compared to their non-integrated, mode-locked counterparts due to intrinsic scaling limitations when operating at the chip scale.
This proposal seeks to bridge this performance gap by developing high-performance, octave-spanning microcombs with photodetectable repetition rates using innovative arrangements of coupled microresonators. These advancements will enable single-point optical frequency division, whereby the comb’s degrees of freedom will be determined by an optical frequency reference. The project will explore 3D integration of ultralow-loss silicon nitride with advanced materials, aiming to create high-performance microcomb-based systems on a chip, and lay the foundation for novel optoelectronic synchronization architectures in datacenters.
These innovations address key challenges in energy consumption and capacity scaling in datacenters and large scaling computing architectures, paving the way for future advancements in global communication infrastructure.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics optoelectronics
- natural sciences physical sciences electromagnetism and electronics semiconductivity
- natural sciences chemical sciences inorganic chemistry metalloids
- natural sciences physical sciences optics laser physics
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
412 96 Goteborg
Sweden
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