Exploring Aluminium Oxide: Tutorial at TOM1 – Silicon Photonics and Integrated Optics Session
Dawson Bonneville, University of Twente recently had the opportunity to conduct a tutorial at EOSAM 2024 titled “Aluminium Oxide as a Versatile Broadband Waveguide Platform: From Material Fundamentals, Fabrication and Processing, to Devices, Applications, and Enabled Technologies.”
In this session, he provided an in-depth overview of the Al2O3 waveguide platform, emphasizing its relevance across a wide array of technologies. The unique characteristics of aluminium oxide—particularly its broadband transparency and rare earth solubility—make it a compelling material for various applications in optical science.
Dawson explored the material fundamentals, delved into processing and fabrication techniques, and discussed the operational aspects of devices that leverage this platform. Additionally, he highlighted the diverse applications and technologies that are enabled by aluminium oxide, showcasing its potential in advancing optical solutions.
The audience consisted of PhDs, post-docs, engineers, researchers, and other professionals eager to learn about the latest developments in this field. This tutorial was part of a collaborative effort with the ALUVIA project, which further enriched the discussion and knowledge exchange.
Dawson also presented project H2020 OPHELLIA at the EU Project Session showcasing the exploration of advanced materials and integration technologies that aim to create novel PIC building blocks—specifically high-gain, high-output power (booster) amplifiers and on-chip isolators. These components, previously unavailable in PIC format with the necessary performance, are now closer to reality thanks to OPHELLIA’s groundbreaking work.
We demonstrated how these new building blocks were monolithically integrated onto the Si3N4 photonic platform, resulting in high-performance laser sources with unprecedented coherence and power. Additionally, advanced packaging solutions were highlighted, which contribute to reducing the overall costs dramatically. The presentation underscored how these advancements could revolutionize not only LiDAR systems but also fields like datacom/telecom, sensing/spectroscopy, and quantum technology.
#OPHELLIA #Photonics #Innovation #LiDAR #PIC #EOSAM2024 #AdvancedMaterials #HighPowerLaser #QuantumTechnology #Telecom #Sensing #Research