Improved architectures and related methods for enhancing entangled photon generation in optical systems are described. Photons from a light source are coupled from the fundamental mode into an optical resonator in a higher-order mode. The optical resonator comprises a photon generation portion configured to generate entangled photons from the coupled photons. The entangled photons are selectively extracted from the optical resonator in the fundamental mode while the remaining photons propagate through the optical resonator mode and combine with the source photons entering the optical resonator. While the source photons propagating or entering the optical resonator resonate within the optical resonator, the entangled photons are not resonant with the optical resonator, and are selectively extracted before traversing a complete cycle in the optical resonator. Extracted entangled photons can then be output for use in, for example, a communication system.

An optical neural network is constructed based on photonic integrated circuits to perform neuromorphic computing. In the optical neural network, matrix multiplication is implemented using one or more optical interference units, which can apply an arbitrary weighting matrix multiplication to an array of input optical signals. Nonlinear activation is realized by an optical nonlinearity unit, which can be based on nonlinear optical effects, such as saturable absorption. These calculations are implemented optically, thereby resulting in high calculation speeds and low power consumption in the optical neural network.

Microring resonators are devices that includes a set of waveguides that guide light, where at least one of the waveguides is a closed loop that operates to increase an intensity of the light over each round-trip. Microring resonators can be configured to operate as light filters and/or light modulators, and have application, for example, in the field of optical communication technology. Due to temperature sensitivity of microring resonators, however, a heating device is needed to maintain a microring resonator at a desired temperature. The present disclosure provides a microring resonator heating device that includes at least two coaxially arranged contacts providing radial current flow to heat the microring resonator.

According to various embodiments, a tunable optical device comprises a tunable optical metasurface on a substrate with an integrated driver circuit. In some embodiments, the tunable optical device includes a photon shield layer to prevent optical radiation from disrupting operation of the driver circuit. In some embodiments, the tunable optical device includes a diagnostic circuit to detect and disable defective optical structures of the metasurface. In some embodiments, the tunable optical device includes an integrated heater circuit that maintains a liquid crystal of the metasurface above a minimum operating temperature. In some embodiments, the tunable optical device includes an integrated lidar sequencing controller, a steering pattern subcircuit, and a photodetector circuit.

Examples herein relate to optical systems. In particular, implementations herein relate to an optical system including an optical transmitter configured to transmit optical signals. The optical transmitter includes a first optical source coupled to an input waveguide and configured to emit light having different wavelengths through the input waveguide. The optical transmitter includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer that includes a first arm and a second arm. The MZI further includes a first optical coupler configured to couple the emitted light from the input waveguide to the first and second arms and an array of two or more second optical sources coupled to the first arm. Each of the two or more second optical sources are configured to be injection locked to a different respective wavelength of the emitted light transmitted from the first optical source. The MZI further includes a second optical coupler configured to combine the emitted light from the first and second arms after propagating therethrough.

A semiconductor device include: a first bus waveguide; a first silicon ring optically coupled to the first bus waveguide; a backup silicon ring optically coupled to the first bus waveguide; a first heater and a second heater configured to heat the first silicon ring and the backup silicon ring, respectively; and a first switch, where the first switch is configured to electrically couple the first silicon ring to a first radio frequency (RF) circuit when the first switch is at a first switching position, and is configured to electrically couple the backup silicon ring to the first RF circuit when the first switch is at a second switching position.

Disclosed are a terahertz signal generation apparatus and a terahertz signal generation method using the same. The terahertz signal generation apparatus includes first and second resonators configured to respectively output an optical signal of a first resonant frequency and an optical signal of a second resonant frequency from an optical signal input through a gain medium, an optical modulator configured to optically modulate the output optical signal of the second resonant frequency, an optical combiner configured to combine the CW optical signal of the first resonant frequency and the modulated optical signal of the second resonant frequency, and a signal generator configured to generate a terahertz signal using heterodyne beating between the CW optical signal of the first resonant frequency and the modulated optical signal of the second resonant frequency, wherein the first resonant frequency and the second resonant frequency are processed to have a predetermined frequency difference.

Embodiments of the disclosure provide an optical ring modulator. The optical ring modulator includes waveguide with a first semiconductor material of a first doping type, and a second semiconductor material having a second doping type adjacent the first semiconductor material. A P-N junction is between the first semiconductor material and the second semiconductor material. A plurality of photonic crystal layers, each embedded within the first semiconductor material or the second semiconductor material, has an upper surface that is substantially coplanar with an upper surface of the waveguide structure.

A visible light source includes a substrate, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser including an active semiconductor region configured to emit infrared light and a first reflector configured to reflect the infrared light emitted by the active semiconductor region, a second reflector configured to reflect the infrared light and form a vertical cavity for the infrared light with the first reflector, and one or more micro-resonators configured to receive the infrared light and generate visible light in one or more colors using the infrared light through optical parametric oscillation. The visible light source also includes one or more output couplers configured to couple the visible light in one or more colors from the one or more micro-resonators into free space or into a photonic integrated circuit.

Gallium nitride (GaN) integrated circuit technology with optical communication is described. In an example, an integrated circuit structure includes a layer or substrate having a first region and a second region, the layer or substrate including gallium and nitrogen. A GaN-based device is in or on the first region of the layer or substrate. A CMOS-based device is over the second region of the layer or substrate. An interconnect structure is over the GaN-based device and over the CMOS-based device, the interconnect structure including conductive interconnects and vias in a dielectric layer. A photonics waveguide is over the interconnect structure, the photonics waveguide including silicon, and the photonics waveguide bonded to the dielectric layer of the interconnect structure.