This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 9520 including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Authors, and Conference Committee listing.

We present a post-processing free quantum random number generator (QRNG) based on silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) LEDs as a source of randomness. The relatively simple setup for data extraction, a negligible bias measured from the datasets and applying no post-processing operations to the raw data are the main advantages of this QRNG . The obtained bit sequences pass all the NIST tests and the highest bit-rate achieved is 0.6 Mbps.

We report on a joint theoretical and experimental study of an analogue of the Lamb shift in the photonic framework. The platform is an integrated photonic device consisting of a single mode waveguide vertically coupled to a disk-shaped microresonator. The presence of a neighboring waveguide induces a reactive inter-mode coupling in the resonator, an effect analogous to an off-diagonal Lamb shift from atomic physics. Waveguide mediated coupling of different radial families results in peculiar Fano lineshapes in the waveguide transmission spectra, which manifests for different relative frequency shifts of the modes at different azimuthal numbers. Finally, a non-linear model for the dinamic tuning of the Fano lineshape under continuous wave pumping conditions is proposed.

We have developed a calibration method for synchronizing the autostereoscopic viewing zones displayed by an array of “trixels”, i.e., laser modules with integrated MEMS mirrors. Calibration patterns are projected onto a calibration screen and recorded by a camera. The distortion functions, which map the laser diode driving signals from the time domain to the intensity distributions in the spatial domain, are extracted from the recorded calibration patterns. Unlike conventional autostereoscopic displays, e.g., with lenticular lenses or parallax barriers, the optimal 3D viewing distance of the display can be adapted on-the-fly by transforming the distortion functions using linear operations.

We present the results of the experimental parametric study on efficiency, accuracy and quality of femtosecond laser micromachining of different materials. The laser micromachining process was performed with a solid-state Yb:KYW laser. The laser generates 500 fs pulses of three different wavelengths, repetition rate from 100 to 900 kHz and output power up to 50 W. This allows to perform a complex research for a wide range of parameters and materials. Laser micromachining is a process based on a laser ablation phenomenon, i.e. total evaporation of material from the target surface during laser irradiation. It is the most precise method of material removal. Applying a femtosecond laser in the process, allows the use of ultra short pulses, with a duration of 10^-15 seconds, while maintaining a high laser power. The concentration of energy within a single pulse is sufficiently high to cause the detachment of particles from the irradiated target without any thermal interactions with the surrounding material. Therefore, the removal of the material occurs only in the laser focus. This allows to avoid most of the unwanted effects of the heat affected zone (HAZ). It has been established, that the quality of laser ablation process using femtosecond pulses is much higher than while using the long pulsed lasers (i.e. nanosecond). The use of femtosecond laser pulses creates therefore an attractive opportunity for high quality micromachining of many groups of materials.

Solder-joining using metallic solder alloys is an alternative to adhesive bonding. Laser-based soldering processes are especially well suited for the joining of optical components made of fragile and brittle materials such as glasses, ceramics and optical crystals due to a localized and minimized input of thermal energy. The Solderjet Bumping technique is used to assemble a miniaturized laser resonator in order to obtain higher robustness, wider thermal conductivity performance, higher vacuum and radiation compatibility, and better heat and long term stability compared with identical glued devices. The resulting assembled compact and robust green diode-pumped solid-state laser is part of the future Raman Laser Spectrometer designed for the Exomars European Space Agency (ESA) space mission 2018.

We present a microfluidic platform for the generation, characterization and optical manipulation of monodisperse oil droplets in water with equilibrium interfacial tensions on the order of 0.1-1μN/m. An oil-in-water emulsion containing the surfactant Aerosol OT, heptane, water and sodium chloride under conditions close to the microemulsion phase transition was used. Through active control of the emulsion salinity and temperature, our microfluidic platform offers the unique capability of tuning the interfacial tension of droplets in the range of 1μN/m to few mN/m according to the operation required. Upon collection in a separate observation chamber, droplets were characterized by using video microscopy-based measurement of thermally-induced capillary waves at the droplet interface. Holographic optical tweezers were used to manipulate the droplets and construct 3D nanofluidic networks consisting of several droplets connected by stable oil threads a few nanometers across.

In this paper we demonstrate design, fabrication and characterization of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) photodetectors monolithically integrated on top of a silicon oxynitride (SiON) passive photonic circuit. The devices are developed for operation at the wavelength of ~850nm. Interdigitated PIN structures were designed and compared with conventional lateral PIN detectors. The devices, fabricated in standard CMOS technology, exhibit low dark current values of few nanoamperes. The best responsivity of 0.33A/W under a reverse bias of 9V was achieved for lateral PIN detectors with 3-μm interelectrode gap, coupled vertically to the optical waveguide. The applicability of devices for lab-on-chip biosensing has been proved by demonstrating the possibility to reproduce the sensor's spectral response.

We demonstrate a polarization-insensitive coupler interfacing multicore-fiber (MCF) to silicon waveguides. It comprises a 3D glass fanout transforming the circular MCF core-arrangement to linear and performing initial tapering, followed by a Spot-Size-Converter on the silicon chip. Glass waveguides are formed of multiple overlapped modification elements and appropriate offsetting thereof yields tapers with symmetric cross-section. The Spot-Size-Converter is an inverselytapered silicon waveguide with a tapered polymer overcladding where light is initially coupled, whereas phase-matching gradually shifts it towards the silicon core. Co-design of the glass fanout and Spot-Size-Converter obtains theoretical loss below 1dB for the overall Si-to-MCF transition in both polarizations.

The paper describes a novel approach to photonic electronic design automation (PEDA) based on the commercial design suite Laytools for circuit and physical layout design and simulation. The goal of this work is the integration of an electronic-photonic design flow into an existing electronic design automation (EDA) tool. Contrary to other solutions, with this approach, it is possible to minimize the required interfaces to other third party tools. In addition to existing electronic device models, photonic components are described with behavioral models. The mask layout has been extended to the needs of the electronic photonic integrated circuit (ePIC) designer and the verification flow was adapted to the photonic structures.

Aluminium Nitride (AlN) is proposed as a dual function optical cladding and thermal spreading layer for hybrid ridge lasers, replacing current benzocyclobutene (BCB) encapsulation. A high thermal conductivity material placed in intimate contact with the Multi-Quantum Well active region of the laser allows rapid heat removal at source but places a number of constraints on material selection. AlN is considered the most suitable due to its high thermal conductivity when deposited at low deposition temperatures, similar co-efficient of thermal expansion to InP, its suitable refractive index and its dielectric nature. We have previously simulated the possible reduction in the thermal resistance of a hybrid ridge laser by replacing the BCB cladding material with a material of higher thermal conductivity of up to 319 W/mK. Towards this goal, we demonstrate AlN thin-films deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering on InP.

Electron beam evaporation was employed in order to fabricate Al- and Tb-codoped Si oxide multilayers via the delta-doping approach. This methodology permits the control of the rare-earth (RE) separation along the growth direction with nanometric resolution. To investigate the control of the RE separation in the growth direction, different SiO₂ thicknesses were studied. After deposition, the samples were submitted to different annealing processes for 1 h in N², at temperatures ranging from 700 to 1100 °C. Photoluminescence experiments reveal narrow emissions ascribed to Tb³⁺ ions in all samples, with an intensity variation depending on the oxide thickness and annealing temperature. In addition, the incorporation of Al under different spatial configurations produced an enhancement of more than one order of magnitude in the photoluminescence intensity, in respect to the best sample without Al. Finally, time-resolved measurements were carried out in order to determine the ⁵D₄→⁷F₅ transition dynamics, obtaining a decay time of ~1.6 ms ascribed to the Tb³⁺ ions.

We recently demonstrated a new breed of optoelectronic devices based on ultra-thin phase change materials^[1]. Non-volatile, ultra-fast and ultra-thin displays based on such materials are of particular interest. In this paper we describe colour performance modelling of such displays by applying well known optical simulation techniques in an effort to refine the design of future high contrast colour phase change material-based displays.

Selective etching of pre-stressed multi-layered structures releases intrinsic stresses creating flexible macroscopic shapes (rolls, spirals, tubes…). Combining mechanical and photonic concepts, we develop an experimental approach by controlling material composition, mask design and etching process in order to obtain prescribed macroscopic 3D hollow optical micro-cavities. New photonic microstructures are proposed for an efficient light trapping in low index media. Cylindrical hollow cavities formed by bending a photonic crystal membrane are designed. Using numerical simulations, strong confinement of photons is demonstrated for very open resonators. The resulting strong light matter interaction can be exploited in optical devices comprising an active material embedded in a low index matrix like polymer or even gaz.

PCB (Printed Circuit Board) industry is a global business for many years. PCB can be found in every electronic devices and since it becomes smaller, lighter and more efficient, new sophisticated machines need to be developed to meet this demands. The main parameter for the manufacturing machines is throughput. In this paper a multi-diode laser system for UV exposure of the photoresist on Printed Circuit Board is presented. The multi-diode laser system presents high throughput at high resolution of the pattern as well as low development costs.

A reliable method for measurement of the nonlinear refractive index through application of multi wavelength phenomenon. Multi wavelength realisation based on Erbium doped fibre laser (EDFL) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. A combination of 15 m high efficiency Erbium doped fibre (EDF) and a 20 m Photonic Crystal Fibre (PCF) as main catalyst to suppress the homogenous broadening of EDF and to obtain highly stability of multi wavelength through insertion of a set of fibre Bragg gratings (FBGs) in the cavity. This PCF has zero dispersion of 1040 nm which mismatch from transmission window of 1550 nm. A reliable repeatability of multi wavelength based on multiple configuration of FBGs less than 0.2% obtained. This consistent results influence in determination of nonlinear refractive index by relation of four wave mixing (FWM).

Infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA) are widely used to perform high quality measurements such as spectrum acquisition at high rate, ballistic missile defense, gas detection, and hyperspectral imaging. For these applications, the fixed pattern noise represents one of the major limiting factors of the array performance. This sensor imperfection refers to the nonuniformity between pixels, and is partially caused by disparities of the cut-off wavenumbers. In this work, we focus particularly on mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe), which is the most important material of IR cooled detector applications. Among the many advantages of this ternary alloy is the tunability of the bandgap energy with Cadmium composition, as well as the high quantum efficiency. In order to predict and understand spectral inhomogeneities of HgCdTe-based IRFPA, we propose a modeling approach based on the description of optical phenomena inside the pixels. The model considers the p-n junctions as a unique absorbent bulk layer, and derives the sensitivity of the global structure to both Cadmium composition and HgCdTe layer thickness. For this purpose, HgCdTe optical and material properties were necessary to be known at low temperature (80K), in our operating conditions. We therefore achieved the calculation of the real part of the refractive index using subtracti

We present the proportional method to correct the channel spacing between the transmitted output channels of an AWG. The developed proportional method was applied to 64-channel, 50 GHz AWG and the achieved results confirm very good correlation between designed channel spacing (50 GHz) and the channel spacing calculated from simulated AWG transmission characteristics.

We present a new CMOS analog continuous-time equalizer that overcomes the limitations of the most widely used continuous-time equalizer, the degenerated differential pair. The equalizer has been proved for multi-gigabit short-range applications targeting up to 2 Gb/s through a 50-m SI-POF. The prototype consumes 2.7 mW for a 1-V supply voltage.

This paper presents a front-end for short-reach high-speed optical communications that compensates the limited bandwidth of 1-mm 50-m step-index plastic optical fiber (SI-POF). For that purpose, it combines two techniques: continuous-time equalization and duobinary modulation. An addition of both enables the receiver to operate at 3.125 Gbps. The prototype contains a transimpedance amplifier, a continuous-time equalizer and a duobinary decoder. The prototype has been implemented in a cost-effective 0.18-μm CMOS process and is fed with 1.8 V.

A multi-rate low-voltage continuous-time adaptive equalizer is presented in this paper. It was designed to compensate the high-frequency attenuation of a 50-m 1-mm core step-index plastic optical fiber (SI-POF) for input data ranges from 400 Mbps up to 1.25 Gbps. The equalization is based on the power-spectrum technique and the circuit operates with a single supply voltage of 1 V. The structure is formed by two loops which do not interact with each other; one loop adapts to changes in the channel length and the other in the data rates.

We present a low-voltage merged CDR and cntinuous-time adaptive equalizer capable to compensate the attenu- ation of a SI-POF channel while at the same time synchronizing and regenerating the incoming signal in a single stage. The system operates at 1.25 Gbps for NRZ modulation through a 50-m SI-POF channel and it is designed in standard 0.18-μm CMOS fed at 1 V with a power consumption of 43.4 mW.