Optoelectronic Devices

Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology

Dr. Nasser Peyghambarian. Sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, the University of Arizona is a participant in the multi-national  Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) project.  Working with the Cooperative Excitation Project team, Optical Sciences researchers focus on various aspects of cooperative and coherent effects in solids, such as semiconductors and organics.  The Optical Sciences team is working on theory and modeling of the new optical phenomena and the design and testing of various optical devices based on these effects.   This research is partially supported by TRIF, Arizona’s Technology & Research Initiative Funding enterprise:  http://www.optics.arizona.edu/TRIF.

Hybrid Sol-gel Integrated Optics and Photonics Research

Dr. Mahmoud Fallahi.  The development of the next-generation of components for optical communications requires integrated optical and optoelectronic components demonstrating ultra-high performance at very low cost.  The objective of the research is to design, develop and fabricate low-loss waveguides and integrated optics/photonics using photo-patentable organic/inorganic sol-gel materials.  These hybrid materials are synthesized to provide a wide range of functionalities such as refractive index tuning , electro-optic activity and are used for heterogeneous integration with active semiconductor components and various substrates.

Hybrid Sol-gel/Organic Modulators

Dr. Nasser Peyghambarian. Research in this area is focused on combining the advantages of organic/polymeric materials and the cost-effective sol-gel waveguide fabrication procedures for the development of Electro-Optic (EO) modulators for optical communication. The all-wet etching process adopted in the sol-gel waveguide fabrication permits fine control of refractive indices of the sol-gel under-cladding, over-cladding, side-cladding as well as the core thus minimizing coupling losses. EO modulators are fabricated in state-of the-art clean room facilities. Various EO polymers with enhanced nonlinearities, thermal and photo-stability are investigated along with modified design and fabrication of the waveguide to improve optical mode confinement in the EO polymer.  This research is partially supported by TRIF, Arizona’s Technology & Research Initiative Funding enterprise:  http://www.optics.arizona.edu/TRIF.
 

The Center for Optoelectronic Devices, Interconnects, and Packaging

Dr. Nasser Peyghambarian.
COEDIP, a University of Arizona multidisciplinary Center, is dedicated to research and education in the areas of design, fabrication, integration, and packaging of optoelectronic devices and optical interconnects. The Center occupies a unique position within the scientific community, with activities spanning a wide range from fundamental understanding of innovative optical devices to fabrication of optoelectronic devices, to activities encompassing integration, packaging, reliability testing, and manufacturing. University of Arizona researchers from several departments including Optical Sciences, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Radiology are working together in in state-of-the-art facilities that allow the fabrication of optoelectronic devices and interconnect sub-systems, with packaging occupying center stage from inception to completion. The Center provides a resource base to the scientific community for the development and fabrication of new innovative devices, the understanding of both hybrid and monolithic device integration, and the development of a reproducible and controllable packaging technology. Photonics is an emerging technology that is making major, if not revolutionary, contributions to optical signal processing, communications, and computing. The success of optical fibers for information transmission, the generation of picosecond and femtosecond optical pulses, and the development of promising optical logic elements, nonlinear etalons, and waveguides has led to increasing excitement about the potential for photonics.  This research is partially supported by TRIF, Arizona’s Technology & Research Initiative Funding enterprise:  http://www.optics.arizona.edu/TRIF.

Microfabrication Facility: The Clean Rooms, Class 100, 1000 and 5000

Dr. Nasser Peyghambarian. The class 100 clean rooms are compatible with large-scale integration requirements and provide an environment for resist spinning, photolithography and wet processes. The facility includes electron beam lithography and scanning electron microscopes, a contact printing mask-aligner, and an electron cyclotron resonance reactive ion etcher with load-lock and size different gas lines. Key capabilities include microlithography with a resolution of better than 1 micron, nanolithography of arbitrary shape features with linewidths as small as 40 nanometers, dry etching of various semiconductor and organic materials, rapid thermal annealing up to 1000 degrees, precision packaging of various optoelectronic components, and scanning electron microscopy inspection and characterization. This facility provides Optical Sciences with a unique opportunity for training graduate students in integrated optics and optoelectronics, including surface emitting lasers, unstable resonator semiconductor lasers, heterogeneous integration of optoelectronic modules, polymer based LED modulators and optical components, and glass integrated optics and amplifiers. This research is partially supported by TRIF, Arizona’s Technology & Research Initiative Funding enterprise:  http://www.optics.arizona.edu/TRIF.