Advanced Photonic Switch (APS)
Abstract
(U)The objective of the Advanced Photonic Switch (APS) program is to develop a technology for creating on-chip, photonic switching devices which can be fabricated in a silicon-compatible process. Most high performance photonic switching devices are fabricated with compound semiconductors, but silicon manufacturing technologies now offer potential advantages due to the great precision being driven by commercial mainstream markets for microelectronics. This program is pursuing advanced technologies that will take full advantage of those commercial capabilities but will exploit them to produce photonic devices that maximize switching speed, minimize device power dissipation and transmission losses, small area, and decreased sensitivity to ambient temperature variations. The photonic switches developed in this program will be spectrally broad-band, capable of simultaneously switching multiple, high bit-rate wavelength channels, and scalable to complex port switches. The switching devices developed in APS will benefit low power, high bandwidth, low latency, photonic communications networks, thereby benefiting a broad array of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) problems and the larger U.S. National interests in network-based activities. APS will transition to industry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2011
- Source ID
- 262633f67ed50597bd56c4081586b5d8