LIQuid-crystal enabled Universal Optical Reconfigurable Integrated Circuit Engineering

Introduction

In LIQUORICE we will build an operational proof-of-concept of a general-purpose programmable photonic processor. This processor is intended to provide the photonics community with a flexible rapid prototyping technology, similar in use as an electronic FPGA, to stimulate new innovation and accelerate the adoption of photonic chip technology in diverse applications, beyond the traditional photonics markets of telecom and datacom.

Application Focus

In particular, we want to test this new photonic chip for use in programmable photonic test & measurement equipment. This is an application space where the chip’s flexibility is exceptionally useful, and which we have identified as an accessible beachhead market.

Circuit Design

Generic programmable circuits consist of a large mesh of optical waveguides connected together by electrically controlled phase shifters and tunable couplers. The LiqUORICE proof of concept will address a key challenge with these large-scale circuits: the difficulty of addressing thousands of electro-optic actuators.

Solution Approach

We approach this problem by using a liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) microdisplay backplane on which we bond our photonic waveguide circuits. The LCOS driver can address the liquid crystal underneath the waveguides in a granular way, controlling the flow of light on the chip.

Software Interface

This will also give us a direct software interface (as a display) through which we can configure the chip for optical routing and wavelength filtering. These basic functions will then be used to implement common optical measurement routines such as:

1. Optical spectrum analyzer
2. Autocorrelator

These will be tested in the lab.

Exploitation Potential

As part of LiqUORICE, we will further look into the exploitation potential of the technology. Specifically, we will evaluate the viability of a spin-off company, with the long-term ambition to become a viable alternative to custom photonic chips for emerging photonics markets.