Integrated Photonic Devices

Integrated Microsphere Planar Lightwave Circuits

Dr Senthil Ganapathy, Ms Yuwapat Panitchob and collaborators from other groups

Planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) offer a rugged, low-cost, mass-manufacturable route to the device requirements of future telecommunications systems. The limitations include the long path lengths required for many optical interactions and the difficulty in producing tight waveguide bends with low loss. Microsphere resonators, primarily demonstrated so far coupled to tapered fibres, have the potential to become key components in photonic circuits. PLCs present an ideal platform for the precise placement of individual or arrays of microspheres, to realise highly functional robust circuits. We make efforts to explore the enhancement of conventional waveguide technologies by realising microspheres from advanced glasses with tailored optical properties, positioning them in PLCs using self-assembly techniques, and realising a wide range of passive, lasing and nonlinear switching devices.