Reconfigurable Materials for Photonic Systems

In this Small Business Technology Transfer Program (STTR) - Phase I project we will develop reconfigurable photonic circuits using single and coupled micro-resonators embedded with colloidal quantum dots. Specifically, we will develop two archetype devices that demonstrate the feasibility of using optical coupling in active resonators to obtain bistable behavior. The first device demonstration is a bistable two mode laser using coupled active microdisks. In the second proposed device, two active waveguides will be coupled via a single microring resonator to realize an all-optical flip-flop. Here, coupling of the clockwise and counterclockwise modes creates a memory effect. The proposed devices will be simulated using software that will be developed as part of this program. The fabrication of the devices will be done using a combination of soft lithography and photolithography. In addition to their specific functionalities, these novel device demonstrations and their development will likely enable the production of lower cost all-optical photonic circuits as compared to more traditional production techniques. BENEFIT: Design, develop, and analyze new basic photonic switching element with bi-state optical reconfigurability (all-optical flip-flop). The element will be based on a microring resonator with active waveguide fabricated using colloidal quantum dot based active medium.