LOW-LOSS HYBRID RF/ELECTROOPTIC SUBSYSTEMS-ON-A-CHIP

"The proposed research program seeks to develop a totally new hybrid waveguide materials platform for low-loss integrated-optic subsystems-on-a-chip that incorporate both electrooptic and RF electronic functionality. The unique architecture of these chipswill integrate mode-matched doped silica input and output waveguides with the electrooptic waveguide region, so as to provide exceptionally low insertion losses for the overall subsystem. An epitaxial thin film of barium titanate will be used for theelectrooptic waveguide material, and an epitaxial thin film of barium strontium titanate will be integrated onto the same chip, away from the optical waveguide region, for use in RF electronic devices, such as phase shifters. The combination of thesecapabilities on a single chip will allow the fabrication of a wide variety of compact, low-loss, low-power subsystems-on-a-chip, such as optical controllers for RF phased array antennas and chips for RF-to-fiber conversion. The fabrication of the uniquematerials platform that enables these advances is made possible by MCT's proprietary Combustion Chemical Vapor Deposition (CCVD) technology, which permits the deposition of complex metal oxides with excellent film uniformity and compositional control in anopen-air, non-vacuum environment. MCT expects that the successful completion of the proposed Phase I program, together with an anticipated Phase II development program and a subsequent Phase