(SciTechDaily) Researchers have created a silicon carbide (SiC) photonic integrated chip that can be thermally tuned by applying an electric signal. The approach could one day be used to create a large range of reconfigurable devices such as phase-shifters and tunable optical couplers needed for networking applications and quantum information processing.
researchers led by Ali Adibi from the Georgia Institute of Technology detail how they integrated a microheater and an optical device called a microring resonator onto a SiC chip. The accomplishment represents the first fully integrated and thermally tunable SiC optical switch that operates at near-infrared wavelengths.
“Devices such as the one we demonstrate in this work can be used as building-blocks for next generation quantum information processing devices and to create biocompatible sensors and probes,” said the paper’s first author Xi Wu.
Researchers Demonstrate First Fully Integrated Silicon Carbide Optical Switch–Possible Building Block for Next Generation Quantum Devices
