Garrett Matthew, Liu Yang, Merklein Moritz, Bui Cong Tinh, Lai Choon Kong, Choi Duk-Yong, Madden Stephen J, Casas-Bedoya Alvaro, Eggleton Benjamin J
Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS), School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
The University of Sydney Nano Institute (Sydney Nano), The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia.
Nat Commun. 2023 Nov 20;14(1):7544. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43404-x.
Microwave photonics (MWP) has unlocked a new paradigm for Radio Frequency (RF) signal processing by harnessing the inherent broadband and tunable nature of photonic components. Despite numerous efforts made to implement integrated MWP filters, a key RF processing functionality, it remains a long-standing challenge to achieve a fully integrated photonic circuit that can merge the megahertz-level spectral resolution required for RF applications with key electro-optic components. Here, we overcome this challenge by introducing a compact 5 mm × 5 mm chip-scale MWP filter with active E-O components, demonstrating 37 MHz spectral resolution. We achieved this device by heterogeneously integrating chalcogenide waveguides, which provide Brillouin gain, in a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) foundry-manufactured silicon photonic chip containing integrated modulators and photodetectors. This work paves the way towards a new generation of compact, high-resolution RF photonic filters with wideband frequency tunability demanded by future applications, such as air and spaceborne RF communication payloads.
微波光子学（MWP）通过利用光子组件固有的宽带和可调谐特性，为射频（RF）信号处理开启了一种新范式。尽管为实现集成MWP滤波器（一种关键的射频处理功能）付出了诸多努力，但要实现一个能将射频应用所需的兆赫兹级光谱分辨率与关键电光组件相结合的完全集成光子电路，仍然是一项长期挑战。在此，我们通过引入一种带有有源电光组件的紧凑型5毫米×5毫米芯片级MWP滤波器克服了这一挑战，其展示出37兆赫兹的光谱分辨率。我们通过在一个包含集成调制器和光电探测器的互补金属氧化物半导体（CMOS）代工制造的硅光子芯片中，非均匀集成提供布里渊增益的硫族化物波导来实现这一器件。这项工作为新一代紧凑、高分辨率且具有未来应用（如航空和航天射频通信载荷）所需的宽带频率可调谐性的射频光子滤波器铺平了道路。
