Photonics Content

Silicon Sponge Could Lead to New Photodetectors

Andy Fell — July 28, 2023 - 3:36pm

Photonics, which operate based on particles of light (photons), are increasingly important for applications such as optical communications, connections between electronic and optical networks, and imaging. But silicon, the go-to semiconductor for making electronic chips, is not a great material for photonic applications because it shows poor absorption of near-infrared light compared to other semiconductors such as gallium arsenide. On the other hand, gallium arsenide is difficult to integrate with silicon microelectronics.

Color Centers for Quantum Networking Devices

Andy Fell — November 18, 2021 - 12:08pm

Quantum computing technology is moving closer to wide application as a result of research published Nov. 18 in Nature Materials. An international collaboration, including Marina Radulaski, assistant professor in the �ٺ��Ƶ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, showed how tiny defects in silicon carbide called color centers could be used to construct quantum networking devices that can translate signals between photons and electronic spin.

Grants for Integrated Photonics, Quantum Wrapper Networking

Andy Fell — November 05, 2021 - 11:52am

�ٺ��Ƶ electrical and computer engineering (ECE) distinguished professor Ben Yoo recently won three grants related to his research into integrated photonics and a fourth related to quantum wrapper networking, which should bring us closer to a quantum Internet.

Tiny Black Holes Enable a New Type of Photodetector for High-Speed Data

Andy Fell — April 03, 2017 - 8:00am

Tiny “black holes” on a silicon wafer make for a new type of photodetector that could move more data at lower cost around the world or across a data center. The technology, developed by electrical engineers at the University of California, Davis, and W&WSens Devices Inc. of Los Altos, California, a Silicon Valley startup, is described in a paper published April 3 in the journal Nature Photonics.

�ٺ��Ƶ Photonics Technology Helps Shrink Telescopes

Andy Fell — January 21, 2016 - 1:17pm

For hundreds of years, the general design of an optical telescope has remained pretty much the same. Even if you’re looking at the stars with the naked eye, the image-forming process works in a similar way. Both methods collect light from an object and refract that light to form an image.