Miniature Featherweight Semiconductor Microlaser

WE WILL DEVELOP A REVOLUTIONARY OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY TO ENABLE COMPETITIVE PERFORMANCE (TERABIT/SEC COMMUNICATION BANDWIDTH) AND COSTS IN OPTOELECTRONIC COMPUTING SYSTEMS. THE BASIS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IS TO COMBINE CONVENTIONAL MACRO-OPTICS WITH MICRO-OPTICS IN A SINGLE SYSTEM TO FORM A HYBRID LENS SYSTEM. THE HYBRID SYSTEM WILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGES OF BOTH MACRO- AND MICRO-OPTIC TECHNOLOGIES, THEREBY MAKING THE OPTICAL SYSTEMS PRACTICAL FOR OPTICAL INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN ELECTRONIC CHIPS OR ARRAYS OF OPTICAL LOGIC GATES. IN PHASE I WE WILL: 1) SURVEY A VARIETY OF OPTICAL INTERCONNECTION ARCHITECTURES, CHOOSING TWO OF THEM FOR IN-DEPTH STUDIES; 2) DESIGN AND EVALUATE CONVENTIONAL MACRO-LENS SYSTEMS FOR THESE ARCHITECTURES; 3) DESIGN AND EVALUATE CORRESPONDING HYBRID LENS SYSTEMS, 4) COMPARE THE PERFORMANCES OF THE SYSTEMS AND EVALUATE THEIR RELATIVE MANUFACTURABILITIES; AND 5) REPORT OUR RESULTS AND PREPARE A PHASE II PLAN TO FABRICATE HYBRID LENS SYSTEMS TO BE IMPLEMENTED INTO AN OPTICAL INTERCONNECTION DEMONSTRATION. THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED WILL IMPACT OPTICAL INTERCONNECTS, OPTICAL COMPUTERS, OPTICAL STORAGE, DETECTOR ARRAYS, MACHINE VISION, MEDICAL INSTRUMENTATION AND MANY OTHER LARGE-MARKET MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS.