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Technology

The invention is a method and process to create integrated nonlinear photonics, using the material tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5, also known as tantala). ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ researchers deposit tantala material on oxidized silicon wafers, and then fabricate integrated nonlinear photonics devices, using standard semiconductor processing techniques.

Figure 1: Scanning electron microscope image of an air-clad tantala microresonator for frequency-comb generation.

Advantages

• Low optical losses to enable efficient nonlinear photonics processes
• Low tensile stress for high yield in nanofabrication
• Low thermal processing temperature to maintain compatibility for co-integration with other integrated photonics materials

Metrics of Tantala Material

• Nonlinear coefficient = 6.2 x 10^-19 m²/W
• Transparency range = 320 nm – 8000 nm
• Material Stress = 38 Mpa
• Thermo-optic coefficient = 8.8 x 10^-6/K
• Maximum Resonator Q = 3.8 x 10⁶

Applications

• Precision Metrology
• Microresonator Frequency Comb Generation
• Optical Signal Generation and Processing
• High Speed Data Communications
• Sensing, Positioning, and Navigation
• Quantum Computing

What's Next?

ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder and National Institute for Standards in Technology (NIST) researchers will continue to refine and improve the existing technology. This is a promising technology that is ready for licensing. We are currently looking for industry partners to commercialize this variable and robust technology.