Anderson's devices: using disorder for functionality in photonics

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to develop a new class of photonic circuits and devices of large complexity, in which disorder can be harnessed and controlled, for use as reconfigurable optical buffers, switches, and wavelength converters. These silicon-based Anderson's devices will comprise hundreds of individual elements, such as resonators, couplers, sequential taps etc. Such large circuits represent an orders-of-magnitude advance in complexity from the state-of-the-art, and necessitate careful attention to the effects and remedies of disorder induced by imperfect lithography or computational limitations in the design process. Intellectual merit: The major challenge addressed by this proposal is how to design for, test and demonstrate photonic devices which can withstand and even utilize disorder. The key of our approach lies in utilizing disorder for useful behavior, such as dynamically-controlled Anderson localization of light, or ultra-low energy nonlinear optical switching. This project may help bridge the gap between optical device engineering and condensed matter physics, and advance our understanding of the cooperative behavior of photons in lithographically patterned structures. These devices can be used for packet-length switches, delay lines, and a novel "Anderson optical memory". Broader impact: The PI commits during this project to support the mentoring and career-development of a post-doctoral researcher. Educational activities include development of a new special-topics graduate-level course for which course materials will be prepared and made freely available on the internet, the PI will work on a textbook on Micro-resonators, and opportunities will be provided for interdisciplinary education and training of underrepresented groups.