Based on the wavelength transparency of the Butler matrix (BM) beamforming network, we demonstrate a multi-beam optical phased array (MOPA) with an emitting aperture composed of grating couplers at a 1.55 μm pitch for wavelength-assisted two-dimensional beam-steering. The device is capable of simultaneous multi-beam operation in a field of view (FOV) of 60° × 8° in the phased-array scanning axis and the wavelength-tuning scanning axis, respectively. The typical beam divergence is about 4° on both axes. Using multiple linearly chirped lasers, multi-beam frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) ranging is realized with an average ranging error of 4 cm. A C-shaped target is imaged for proof-of-concept 2D scanning and ranging.

We propose a terahertz (THz) vortex emitter that utilizes a high-resistance silicon resonator to generate vortex beams with various topological charges. Addressing the challenge of double circular polarization superposition resulting from the high refractive index contrast, we regulate the transverse spin state through a newly designed second-order grating partially etched on the waveguide’s top side. The reflected wave can be received directly by a linearly polarized antenna, simplifying the process. Benefiting from the tuning feature, a joint detection method involving positive and negative topological charges identifies and detects rotational Doppler effects amid robust micro-Doppler interference signals. This emitter can be used for the rotational velocity measurement of an on-axis spinning object, achieving an impressive maximum speed error rate of ∼2 % . This approach holds promise for the future development of THz vortex beam applications in radar target detection and countermeasure systems, given its low cost and potential for mass production.

Microring-based optical switches are promising for wavelength-selective switching with the merits of compact size and low power consumption. However, the large insertion loss, the high fabrication, and the temperature sensitivity hinder the scalability of silicon microring optical switch fabrics. In this paper, we utilize a three-dimensional (3D) microring-based optical switch element (SE) on a multi-layer Si3N4-on-SOI platform to realize high-performance large-scale optical switch fabrics. The 3D microring-based SE consists of a Si/Si3N4 waveguide overpass crossing in the bottom and the top layers, and Si3N4 dual-coupled microring resonators (MRRs) in the middle layer. The switch is calibration-free and has low insertion loss. With the 3D microring-based SEs, we implement an 8×8 crossbar optical switch fabric. As the resonance wavelengths of all SEs are well aligned, only one SE needs to be turned on in each routing path, which greatly reduces the complexity of the switch control. The optical transmission spectra show a box-like shape, with a passband width of ∼69GHz and an average on-state loss of ∼0.37dB. The chip has a record-low on-chip insertion loss of 0.52–2.66 dB. We also implement a non-duplicate polarization-diversity optical switch by using the bidirectional transmission characteristics of the crossbar architecture, which is highly favorable for practical applications. 100 Gb/s dual-polarization quadrature-phase-shift-keying (DP-QPSK) signal is transmitted through the switch without significant degradation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that 3D MRRs have been used to build highly scalable polarization-diversity optical switch fabrics.

On-chip Fourier-transform spectrometers (FTSs) based on Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) arrays suffer from severe central wavelength and fringe contrast variation due to fabrication errors. Even though a calibration matrix can be employed to correctly retrieve the input spectra, environmental temperature variation greatly degrades the retrieving performance. In this paper, we devise a dual-layer Si3N4 waveguide interferometer to reduce the temperature sensitivity. The beating of the even and odd supermodes in the dual-layer waveguide generates periodic intensity fluctuations in the spectrum. Since these two modes have similar modal profiles, their thermal sensitivity and propagation loss are relatively balanced, leading to a low temperature sensitivity and a high interference extinction ratio. We designed and fabricated a passive FTS based on a 32-channel dual-layer Si3N4 waveguide array. Experimental results show that the temperature sensitivity is reduced to 10 pm/°C, which is almost half that of single-layer Si3N4 MZI-based FTSs. With this chip, we accurately reconstructed various types of optical spectra, including single and two sparse laser lines, and broadband optical spectra. Our method can fit a wide wavelength range, which is a promising technology to improve the practical applications of on-chip FTSs.

Integrated quantum key distribution (QKD) systems based on photonic chips have high scalability and stability, and are promising for further construction of global quantum communications networks. On-chip quantum light sources are a critical component of a fully integrated QKD system; especially a continuous-variable QKD (CV-QKD) system based on coherent detection, which has extremely high requirements for the light sources. Here, for what we believe is the first time, we designed and fabricated two on-chip tunable lasers for CV-QKD, and demonstrated a high-performance system based on these sources. Because of the high output power, fine tunability, and narrow linewidth, the involved on-chip lasers guarantee the accurate shot-noise-limited detection of quantum signals, center wavelength alignment of nonhomologous lasers, and suppression of untrusted excess noise. The system’s secret key rate can reach 0.75 Mb/s at a 50 km fiber distance, and the secure transmission distance can exceed 100 km. Our results mark a breakthrough toward building a fully integrated CV-QKD, and pave the way for a reliable and efficient terrestrial quantum-secure metropolitan area network.

Recently, significantly raised interests have emerged for the 2 µm waveband as an extended new window for fiber optic communication. Much research progress has been made on the photonic integrated circuits for the 2 µm waveband, especially on the CMOS-compatible silicon-on-insulator wafer. In this work, a silicon integrated microring modulator (MRM) with record high-speed performances at the 2 µm waveband was demonstrated. An L-shaped PN junction was specially designed for 2 µm to achieve a high modulation efficiency with VπL of 0.85V·cm. The measured 3 dB bandwidth is 18 GHz, supporting up to 50 Gbps signaling at 2 µm. Additionally, optical bistability induced by the thermo-optical effect and nonlinear effects was analyzed theoretically and observed experimentally in the 2 µm MRM for the first time to our knowledge. Nonlinear coupled mode theory and the Runge–Kutta method were used to simulate the behaviors of bistability in the 2 µm MRM. The simulation and experimental results indicate that, when the MRM is launched by a high optical power, the distorted resonant spectrum under an optical bistable state deteriorates the modulation efficiency and signal performances. This work breaks the record of high-speed silicon MRM at 2 µm, drawing a promising prospect for the silicon photonic integration and high-speed interconnection at the 2 µm waveband, and it provides the referenceable analysis of optical bistability, which guides the design and experimental investigation of 2 µm MRM.

Optical signaling without a high voltage driver for electric-optic modulation is in high demand to reduce power consumption, packaging complexity, and cost. In this work, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a silicon mode-loop Mach–Zehnder modulator (ML-MZM) with record-high modulation efficiency. We used a mode-loop structure to recycle light twice in the phase shifter. With an L-shaped PN junction, a comparably large overlap between the PN junction and optical modes of both TE0 and TE1 was achieved to lower the driving voltage or decrease the photonic device size. Proof-of-concept high-efficiency modulation with low VπL of 0.37V·cm was obtained. Subvoltage Vπ can be realized with a millimeter’s length phase shifter by this scheme, which makes the realization of CMOS-compatible driverless modulation highly possible. 40 Gb/s signaling with a bit error rate below the 7% forward-error-correction threshold was then demonstrated with the fabricated ML-MZM, indicating great potential for high-speed optical communication.