In this work we present experimental results on the radiation hardness of InP based Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) fabricated in a multi-project wafer through an open access platform. The PIC includes different types of building blocks: semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOA), waveguides, electro-optical phase modulators (EOPM), multi-mode interference couplers and photodiodes (PD). Three chips were submitted to gamma radiation up to 106 krad in four steps and another three to proton radiation up to 1.5 x 1011 p+/cm2. The effects of the radiation were evaluated by measuring on-wafer the power-current-voltage (P-I-V) characteristics and emission spectra of several tunable four-section Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR) lasers. The P-I-V characteristics measured before radiation showed kinks corresponding to modal changes and stable regions with single longitudinal mode emission. After the radiation some changes were observed: i) the value of the threshold current in some of the lasers, either increasing or decreasing its value; ii) slightly different emission wavelength and evolution of the modal jumps with current. However, these changes were not systematic in all devices, and they were not dependent of the radiation dose. In consequence, they were attributed to the lack of reproducibility of the on-wafer measurements and the high sensitivity of the modal selection to temperature changes in these DBR lasers. In conclusion, the building blocks of the PICs involved in the DBR laser (SOA, EOM, waveguide, PD) can be considered radiation hard up to the levels in the tests, which were typical for space applications.
We present the fabrication and testing of a prototype high-speed, quad-channel mid-board optics transceiver chipset and module applicable to VCSEL-based intra-satellite optical interconnects. The optical transceiver (OTRx) chipset comprises a VCSEL driver and a TIA integrated circuit (IC) both manufactured in IHP 130 nm SiGe BiCMOS process. The 4-channel OTRx module operates at 850 nm wavelength. It features low power consumption, a small form factor and it is pluggable on the host board through a micro edge card (MEC) connector. We present first functional test results in loop-back configuration at data rates up to 15 Gb/s per channel. The work is performed within the framework of H2020-SPACE-SIPHODIAS project. Additional presentation content can be accessed on the supplemental content page.
We have evaluated the performance for space applications of commercial off-the-shelf fiber coupled optical switches with no-moving parts, based on different technologies. The technical requirements of several space applications of optical switches were defined. After the technology selection, a tradeoff was performed to select the final optical switches to be tested, which are based on three technologies (Magneto-Optic MO, Bulk Electro-Optic B-EO, and Waveguide Electro-Optic W-EO) and fabricated by four different manufacturers. Other potential technologies (acoustooptic, liquid crystal, thermo-optic, micro/nano photonic waveguides) were not selected due to the lack of commercial products. A test campaign was carried out, consisting of thermal vacuum cycles, mechanical tests (vibration and shocks) and radiation tests (gamma radiation). The main performance parameters were the insertion loss, crosstalk, and switching speed. After the final electro-optical characterization, a destructive physical analysis was made to some optical switches. The results of the tests indicated that B-EO and MO technologies are excellent candidates for the analyzed space applications. They respond very well under typical space conditions as radiation, vibration, shocks and thermal vacuum; B-EO technology presents lower switching time but its crosstalk is worse. WG-EO technology is very fast, but a mechanical failure in one device was observed, the insertion losses are very high and the crosstalk is very low.
Photonic crystal fibers (PCF) have been selectively filled with a cholesteric liquid crystal (ChLC) with special interest in
the blue phase (BP) of the liquid crystal. It has been observed thermal tuning of the guided light in the visible region. A
dramatically enhance appears when the phase of the liquid crystal changes from cholesteric to blue phase I (BPI). When
a thermal range of the blue phase I is achieved, no changes are observed while increasing temperature from BPI through
BPII and to the isotropic phase.
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