Phase I Project Summary
Firm: ODIS, Inc
Contract Number: SBIR 2010-I NNX11CD96P
Project Title: Optoelectronic Infrastructure for RF/Optical Phased Arrays
Identification and Significance of Innovation:
The problem addressed is the next generation of device integration for ultra high bandwidth and optoelectronic capability. POET (Planar Optoelectronic Technology) is the innovative solution. It is a monolithic circuit based on epitaxial growth in GaAs. Currently at 1µm wavelength based on quantum wells, it has the potential to operate out to 1.5µm based on quantum dot growth. POET is the only technology to offer high performance complementary electronics monolithically combined with all optoelectronic functions, which include waveguide based operation of lasers, detectors, modulators, amplifiers, switches and interferometers . It also implements vertical cavity operation of the OE devices simultaneously with the waveguide interconnect. The significance of POET is to displace Si CMOS and thus become the new foundation of the integrated and OE circuit industry. POET addresses many system requirements of future NASA missions. The RF/Optical phased array is the application chosen to define POET capabilities. Operating in Ka band, these arrays launch RF and optical power. POET enables a single chip to define the aperture for both signal types. POET enables RF beam control using optical waveguide signals for beam steering. It also uses vertical cavity arrays on the same chip for directional control of the optical beam.
Technical Objectives and Work Plan:
The overall technical objective was to advance the TRL level of POET such that design issues could be seriously considered. To give more focus, the application of the common aperture for the RF and optical arrays at Ka band was chosen as a challenging prospect to benefit from the integration of optical and electronic devices. The specific objectives pertaining to the common aperture problem are to determine how optical signals could provide power distribution and beam steering for the RF mode of operation and how the POET device functionality could be adapted through innovation to address these requirements. Simultaneously within the same fabrication an objective was to determine how the POET device family could implement and sustain an optical laser beam. The quality and optical flux density of the beam were of great interest since the planar topology may allow coherent operation for the first time by achieving the high brightness associated with supermodes. Another objective was to devise a mechanism to steer the laser beam with electrical signals alone which is only possible with a coherent array achieved with small inter-laser spacing. The work plan consisted of modeling, architecture definition, and POET development through growth and fabrication.
Technical Accomplishments:
During the Phase I effort, an implementation of a RF phased array was developed based upon the routing of optical signals in a POET integrated circuit. The RF power is transported as the modulation on an optical carrier and is converted to RF by detection in a traveling wave (TW) photodiode at the antenna. The antenna feed line is designed as the terminating resistance for the detector. To achieve beam steering by true time delay a new micro-resonator structure is developed that enables field effect control of the waveguide coupling parameter and therefore the differential group delay(DGD). A series feed structure is devised that uses waveguide delay combined with DGD to achieve the correct timing for each transmit cell in both x and y directions. The optical beam is created with a 2D VCSEL array in POET with coupling by anti-guiding to achieve a coherent output. Steering is achieved through control of the local VCSEL drive current. Photomasks were developed to implement the micro-resonator controlled delay, the resonant modulator, the TW detector, the VCSELs and the transistors. Transfer of POET to a DoD manufacturing line continued and transistor speeds (1µm device) of 38.6FGz has been obtained on the first wafers
NASA Application(s):
NASA applications benefiting from POET integrated circuits are found in all current electronic and optical systems. The RF/optical phased array was addressed here. In addition, POET circuits can be used to implement photonic ADC and DAC circuits involved in the transmit and receive functions for all radar and imaging systems. Lasercom is another application where POET offers power efficient and high speed transceivers. Internal to the satellite, POET implements all-optical packet switching , OE routing functions and digital processing all with reduced power and higher speed. POET also performs VIS-NIR-SWIR-MWIR-LWIR imaging without the cooling requirement and with integrated readout circuits.
Non-NASA Commercial Application(s):
POET is a generalized integrated circuit platform that supports optoelectronics. The commercial market areas identified are 1) the general wireless market where POET will enable a single chip to combine all of the hand held functions, 2)the microprocessor market which targets the desk top and the blade server functions, and 3)the imaging market including visible and IR which will encompass the camera market for hand-helds. There are many other vertically integrated markets as well such as the laser array market for laser pumps , industrial cutting and medical analysis. A year ago ODIS contracted a market analysis to be performed of the POET value based on existing IP. Based on the IP alone, a value of »$1B was reached considering exclusively the three markets identified. If ODIS were to raise additional funds to tackle one of these markets the company value would rise accordingly.
Name and Address of Principal Investigator: (Name, Organization, Street, City, State, Zip)
Geoff W. Taylor
54 Ahern Rd.
Mansfield, CT. , 06269
Name and Address of Offeror: (Firm, Street, City, State, Zip)
ODIS, Inc.
3 Corporate Drive, Suite 204
Shelton, CT. 0648
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