Frequency-agile lasers for photonic sensing

Introduction

Lasers are a ubiquitous technology in optical communication, sensors, LiDAR, or emerging quantum science and technology. Yet, the principles by which lasers are manufactured have remarkably not changed since the invention of the laser: they are assembled by hand, using bulk components or optical fibers.

Current Limitations

While integrated lasers based on silicon photonics exist, they do not challenge such high-performance legacy laser systems. FORTE will change this notion.

Technological Breakthrough

Building on a recent breakthrough in the field of low-loss integrated photonics, it is now possible to create lasers that are low cost, wafer-scale manufacturable, and have better performance than the fiber laser – the workhorse of fiber sensing and the gold standard in coherence.

Project Ambition

The overarching ambition of this EIC transition project is to:

1. Develop a prototype and mature photonic integrated circuit-based frequency-agile ultra-low noise laser technology.
2. Apply this technology to the domain of fiber sensing and FMCW LiDAR.
3. Develop a scalable manufacturing process.

Unique Selling Points

The unique selling points (USP) of the platform are:

• Based on photonic integrated circuit technology that is scalable, flexible, and reconfigurable.
• Extremely high performance in terms of optical coherence and frequency-agility.

Technological Foundation

The technology is based on a patented approach that combines ultra-low loss photonic integrated circuits based on silicon nitride with MEMS technology, as used in wireless technology. This approach addresses the need for low-noise laser sources in multiple domains of photonic sensing, including:

• Distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS)
• Coherent laser ranging (FMCW LiDAR)

Consortium and Commercialization

The consortium includes companies in fiber sensing, LiDAR, as well as in the development of industrial manufacturing tools. The results will be commercialized through the involvement of SMEs in fiber sensing and a dedicated startup to bring hybrid integrated frequency-agile low noise lasers to the market.