Photonics Spectra: Communications This is the syndication feed for Photonics Spectra: Communications. https://www.photonics.com/Splash.aspx?Tag=Communications Fri, 29 Mar 2024 11:50:16 GMT Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT 1800 Near-Perfect Entangled Photons Generated from Quantum Dot Sources
Researchers at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have developed a method to efficiently produce nearly perfect entangled photon pairs from quantum dot sources, paving the way for secure quantum communications.

“The combination of a high degree of entanglement and high efficiency is needed for exciting applications such as quantum key distribution or quantum repeaters, which are envisioned to extend the distance of secure quantum communication to a global scale or link remote quantum computers,” said Michael Reimer, professor at IQC and Waterloo's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Previous experiments only measured either near-perfect entanglement or high efficiency,...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Near-Perfect_Entangled_Photons_Generated_from/p5/a69847 A69847 Thu, 28 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Traceable Standards Could Speed Development of Quantum Technologies
Devices that capture light from quantum dots, like chip-scale lasers and optical amplifiers, have made their way from the lab to the commercial market. The transition for newer quantum dot-based devices has been slower due to the extreme level of accuracy needed in the alignment of the individual dots and the optics that extract and guide the emitted radiation.

When localization microscopy of quantum emitters is used to guide lithographic placement of photonic structures, microscopy and lithography measurement errors can easily occur. These errors degrade registration accuracy, limiting device performance and process yield.

To address this bottleneck, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Traceable_Standards_Could_Speed_Development_of/p5/a69840 A69840 Tue, 26 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Photonics-Based Oscillator Provides Precise Signals on Compact Chip
Many technologies — from communications, to radar and sensing, to positioning and navigation — rely on low-noise microwave signals for precise timing and synchronization. Advances in these technologies intensify the demand for stable, low-phase noise microwave sources.

Although photonic lightwave systems provide advantages over conventional electronic approaches for generating low-noise microwaves, the large size and power consumption of photonic systems restrict their use to laboratory environments.

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, the University of...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photonics-Based_Oscillator_Provides_Precise/p5/a69821 A69821 Mon, 18 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Multicolor Photochromic Fibers Deliver Interactive Wearable Displays
Fiber, as a wearable material, offers breathability, flexibility, and resistance to wear, making it an ideal substrate for wearable devices. Using mature textile technology, color-changing fibers can be integrated into clothing to serve as an interface between humans and computers. The use of light-emitting, color-changing fiber as an interface for communications, navigation, healthcare, and Internet of Things is expected to grow.

Inspired by photochromic fibers that exhibit fluorescence effects and polymer optical fibers that emit light when coupled with an external source, scientists from Huazhong University of Science and Technology and Nanjing University created a multicolored, uniformly luminescent, photochromic fiber. They...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Multicolor_Photochromic_Fibers_Deliver/p5/a69817 A69817 Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Advanced Filters Help Space Lasers Deliver Internet from Above
Rapid, on-demand access to information is a necessary facet of daily life in the present “age of communications.” The reliable communication links that society necessitates support person-to-person and device-to-device communications at any time and, increasingly, in any place.

Such assurances of connectivity owe to the massive technological strides of the past half century. Now, as with many technology hallmarks of the previous 50 years — spanning hardline telephony to the current ubiquitous smart devices — the pending evolution in the field of communications is poised to require a substantially broadened reach. Networks must extend beyond the existing and forthcoming physical infrastructure of wireline fiber...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Advanced_Filters_Help_Space_Lasers_Deliver/p5/a69700 A69700 Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:51:00 GMT
Photonics West 2024: Notable Trends and an Excursion
On February 1, the biggest North American photonics convention concluded. It was busier than ever, with over 24,000 registered attendees.

Guests once again enjoyed a great reunion for the photonics family, and, beyond a meet and greet event for the community, Photonics West again featured an overwhelming number of events: conferences with thousands of presentations, short courses, four distinct exhibitions (another record), and many, many parties.

Though it is impossible to cover such a wealth of information, a few points topped my personal Photonics West 2024 agenda.

Secondary Sources

The topic of secondary sources has been around for some time. Now, the engagement of one of the biggest players in the laser...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photonics_West_2024_Notable_Trends_and_an/p5/a69763 A69763 Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:55:00 GMT
Integration Method Efficiently Couples III-V with Silicon
In the past decades, data traffic has grown exponentially driven by emerging technologies. The field of integrated circuits has enabled that growth, making electronic devices smaller and faster. But the start of the Zettabyte Era in 2016 has pushed the technology to its limits, posing critical challenges in speed, bandwidth, cost, and power consumption. Photonic integration, particularly silicon photonics, presents an opportunity to alleviate those challenges.

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed an integration technique for efficient coupling of III-V compound semiconductor devices and silicon, paving the way for photonic integration at low cost, large volume, and high speed and...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Integration_Method_Efficiently_Couples_III-V_with/p5/a69761 A69761 Mon, 26 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Hyperfluorescent Blue OLEDs Boost Display Efficiency, Stability
Commercial OLED applications such as display technologies require blue emitters that are more stable and efficient. This need has been intensified by newly proposed power-efficient OLED display architectures that only use blue pixels with external fluorescent color conversion layers.

A Durham University team took an unexpected approach to improving blue light emission in OLEDs. The team used sensitizer molecules long considered poor emitters, like ACRSA, to enable brighter, more efficient blue OLEDs. When ACRSA was used as a sensitizer in the new technology, which the researchers called hyperfluorescence (HF) OLEDs, the efficiency of blue light emission almost tripled.

“We discovered a ‘blind spot’ where...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Hyperfluorescent_Blue_OLEDs_Boost_Display/p5/a69755 A69755 Thu, 22 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Organic Optoelectronics Device Supports IoT in Low-Power Environments
Organic-based optoelectronics have the potential to provide an energy-efficient way to operate low-power indoor devices and wireless IoT sensors. Organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs) and organic photodetectors (OPDs) show exceptional promise for powering indoor electronic devices sustainably. However, the manufacturing processes for stand-alone OPVs and OPDs can be complex and costly, resulting in high production costs and limited scalability.

OPVs can absorb energy and generate electricity, even under very low light conditions, while OPDs are able to acquire images. So far, the independent development paths for OPVs and OPDs have kept them from achieving the level of efficiency necessary for practical use in next-generation,...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Organic_Optoelectronics_Device_Supports_IoT_in/p5/a69732 A69732 Wed, 14 Feb 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Ultrafast Phenomenon Prompts Data Storage Efficiency Hypothesis
A recent discovery from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), could enable faster and more efficient magnetic hard drives by using ultrafast laser pulses to process data. The findings could significantly reduce energy consumption for data centers.

The current hard drives used in data centers, while much cheaper than solid-state drives used by many commercial devices, are much slower and consume a lot of energy because they use a magnetic field to conduct heat through a wire coil each time an information bit is processed.

The research work at UC Davis sought to test whether domain walls in certain multilayered ferromagnets could remain stable at speeds >10 km/s — a speed that scientists recently predicted was...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Ultrafast_Phenomenon_Prompts_Data_Storage/p5/a69675 A69675 Tue, 30 Jan 2024 07:00:00 GMT
Nanoresonator for 6G Enhances THz Waves 30,000-Fold
The swift development of 6G communications using terahertz (THz) electromagnetic waves has intensified the demand for highly sensitive nanoresonators that can detect these waves.

Responding to this need, researchers at Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), in collaboration with the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, optimized a THz nanoresonator specifically for 6G communications using artificial intelligence.

The optimized nanoresonator is versatile, with potential applications for ultra-precise detectors, ultrasmall molecular detection sensors, and bolometer studies, according to researcher Young-Taek Lee.

The team’s analytical, model-based approach significantly...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Nanoresonator_for_6G_Enhances_THz_Waves/p5/a69609 A69609 Thu, 04 Jan 2024 07:00:00 GMT
OIF Defines the Thin Path Between Innovation and Interoperability
The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and large language models has made for turbulent times in data networking. The computational demands these technologies are placing on data networks are, by some reports, doubling every three to four months while the computational infrastructure is doubling in power every 18 months.

Stakeholders along the entire data center value chain are scrambling to develop new solutions that will help improve latency, power efficiency, component density, and/or cost. Many are looking to integrated photonics for solutions. But integrated photonics itself is still evolving. Its inherent diversity and difficult path to scalability often raises as many questions as answers.


...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/OIF_Defines_the_Thin_Path_Between_Innovation_and/p5/a69604 A69604 Tue, 02 Jan 2024 09:44:28 GMT
Team Deepens Understanding of IC-PIC Integration's Thermal Penalty
Co-packaged optics for high performance computing and other data center applications require dense integration of silicon PICs with electronic integrated circuits (EICs). Stacking an electronic chip on top of a photonic chip allows for a tight integration of the components necessary to convert data from the electrical to the optical domain with low parasitic capacitance.

However, 3D integration comes with a stiff thermal penalty and the silicon (Si) photonic chips used to convert electrical data into the optical domain are highly sensitive to temperature changes. These modulators require active thermal tuning for stable operation in a demanding environment like a data center. Thermal stabilization is provided via integrated heaters....]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Team_Deepens_Understanding_of_IC-PIC/p5/a69557 A69557 Thu, 21 Dec 2023 07:00:00 GMT
SCHNEIDER Partners with Micro-LAM; Laser Light Companies Receive $100M in Debt Financing: Week in Brief: 11/17/23
US Capital Global has entered into a term sheet to provide credit facilities totaling a minimum of $100 million to Laser Light Companies, a global networking platform designer and builder. The financing will help Laser Light accelerate the beginning phases of the development of a converged on-demand all-optical network in partnership with Nokia Technologies.

Micro-LAM’s OPTIMUS G1 laser-assisted system. Courtesy of SCHNEIDER GmbH & Co. KG. FRONHAUSEN, Germany — SCHNEIDER GmbH & Co. KG has entered into a partnership with Micro-LAM to enhance its single-point diamond-turning capabilities in glass optics manufacturing. Micro-LAM’s OPTIMUS G1 laser-assisted system is at the center of this partnership and will aid...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/SCHNEIDER_Partners_with_Micro-LAM_Laser_Light/p5/a69477 A69477 Fri, 17 Nov 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Computing Firm Photonic Collaborates with Microsoft
Quantum computing firm Photonic Inc. formed a collaboration with Microsoft to develop quantum networking capabilities using photonically linked silicon spin qubits. Photonic detailed the collaboration and unveiled its quantum architecture amid news that the company recently secured $100 million in investments.

Per the agreement, the collaborators will provide an integrated roadmap of technologies and products that can enable reliable quantum communications over long distances, as well as access to Photonic’s quantum computing offering via Microsoft Azure Quantum Elements.

Specifically, Microsoft and Photonics will collaborate on what Microsoft called the “three stages of quantum networking.” In stage one,...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Computing_Firm_Photonic_Collaborates_with/p5/a69464 A69464 Wed, 15 Nov 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Lumentum to Acquire Cloud Light for $750M
The deal, Lumentum said, combines advanced optical interconnect technologies based on chip-scale photonic integration with highly automated packaging and manufacturing technologies. Cloud Light’s optical transceiver products for hyperscale cloud customers complement Lumentum’s existing portfolio of laser transmitters and other integrated components for data center transceivers, Lumentum added.

According to...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Lumentum_to_Acquire_Cloud_Light_for_750M/p5/a69430 A69430 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 10:55:51 GMT
Aalyria, HICO Partner to Deploy Laser Communications to Commercial Ships
Aalyria’s Tightbeam technology uses coherent-light laser terminals to transmit data through the atmosphere at speeds starting at 100 Gbit/s. Tightbeam is capable of operating with high fidelity in atmospheric conditions that have historically hampered predecessor optical technologies.

Aalyria aims to outfit thousands of marine vessels with Tightbeam terminals, enabling a large mesh network...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Aalyria_HICO_Partner_to_Deploy_Laser/p5/a69429 A69429 Mon, 30 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Photonic Crystals Imitate Gravitational Effects on Light
A group of researchers has replicated the way that light would behave if it were subject to gravity, supporting a recent scientific theory about pseudogravity.

According to the theory, pseudogravity, a phenomenon replicating the effects of gravity, can be achieved by deforming crystals in the lower frequency region.
Photonic crystals have been shown to bend light as though it were under the influence of gravity. Courtesy of Tohoku University.
Researchers from Tohoku University, in collaboration with other institutions including Osaka University, set out to determine whether lattice distortion in photonic crystals could produce the effects of pseudogravity. They experimentally demonstrated pseudogravity in the terahertz range....]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Photonic_Crystals_Imitate_Gravitational_Effects/p5/a69420 A69420 Wed, 25 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Modified Photodiode Enables Multifunctional, High-Performance PICs
Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) shows strong potential as a platform for integrated photonics, due to its robust electro-optic coefficient, large optical nonlinearity, and wide transparency window.

TFLN is used in the development of various optoelectronic components, but most TFLN devices must rely on external lasers and photodetectors because lithium niobate (LN) does not natively provide a light source and photodetection. An on-chip, integrated, high-performance photodetector is essential to exploit TFLN’s potential as a photonics integrated circuit (PIC) platform.
(a) TFLN wafer with pre-defined waveguide and passive components. (b) Bare InP/InGaAs wafer. (c) InP/InGaAs wafer and TFLN wafer bonding. (d) InP/InGaAs wafer...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Modified_Photodiode_Enables_Multifunctional/p5/a69407 A69407 Thu, 19 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT
Electro-Optic Modulators Improve Signal Quality and Cancel Noise
Delays in optical data transmission cause inconvenient lag times in communications and interfere with immersive experiences like gaming. Two factors that adversely affect the speed and reliability of optical communication are signal distortion over long distances and signal interference from noise. Optical modulators, which control certain properties of the light that carries the data, can contribute to transmission delays.

To address this issue, researchers at University of Central Florida, College of Optics and Photonics (UCF CREOL) and UCLA developed modulators that compare the amount and the timing of data moving through the system to ensure accurate, efficient transmission.
A 3D schematic of the four-phase electro-optic...]]>
https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Electro-Optic_Modulators_Improve_Signal_Quality/p5/a69395 A69395 Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT