Abstract:
Brillouin scattering is a light–sound interaction process that occurs when photons are scattered from a medium by induced acoustic waves. Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) is the strongest nonlinear process and manifests optically in ultra-narrow resonances. In this talk, I will describe a radio frequency (RF) signal-processing chip device, based on using these narrow resonances. I will highlight how our RF cancellation technique is used to harness a modest SBS gain in silicon, and to create a high-performance energy efficient microwave photonic notch filter. In this first result, we use only 1 dB of on-chip stimulated Brillouin scattering gain to create an RF photonic notch filter with 48 dB of suppression, 98 MHz linewidth, and 6 GHz frequency tuning. In addition, I will describe our latest nanofabrication approach, which combines the hybrid integration of the non-linear glass chalcogenide with silicon. We used this technology to link the best properties of these materials and to demonstrate the first Brillouin laser on a CMOS compatible platform In the second part of my talk I will present our current research towards optoelectronic integration and the deployment of an interleaver for optical telecommunications. We also used a Si-CMOS based chip to create a tunable RF filter.
Biography:
Dr. Alvaro Casas Bedoya is currently the research and lead photonics nanofabrication manager for the Eggleton research group at the University of Sydney. He is also a postdoctoral researcher and the OSA/SPIE student chapter advisor. He received his PhD in physics from the University of Sydney in 2013 and a double MSc degree in Photonics (through the Erasmus Mundus program scholarship) from St Andrews & Heriot-Watt universities in Scotland (2008) and Gent & VUB Universities in Belgium (2009) with Distinction level. He obtained a BSc. (Physics) (Hons) from Universidad del Valle in Colombia (2005). Dr Casas Bedoya current research interests are based on design, simulation and fabrication of integrated optical circuits for stimulated Brillouin scattering, optomechanics and sensing. Among his distinctions, he is an OSA senior member, an ambassador and a traveling lecturer. He also received in 2015 the OSA Outstanding Young Professional Prize. “My main goal has been to listen to the students, and to leave a motivational message for career development.”