Sound control lights for GPS-free navigation are paved

By adding sound methods to the light-based tip toolkit, researchers at the University of Twente have pushed the boundaries of technology. This allows the atomic clock to be small enough to fit on a satellite or drone, which helps you navigate without GPS.

Imagine you have to find your way with just a compass and a star. This is what David Marpaung and his colleagues did for the light-based chip designer. By discovering steering lights in sound, UT researchers have made available powerful new tools available to expand the scope and performance of this promising technology.

Detailed in Science Advances, Marpaung has essentially made its way into the accuracy and versatility of a well-known physical phenomenon called stimulated Brillouin scattering (SB) ready for mass production.

Once SBS is added to the toolkit, engineers can incorporate subhearts line width lasers, superselective filters, and many other components with unparalleled performance into photonic circuits.

These chips always make waves. “Integrated Brillouin Photonics is a very fertile ground both scientifically and commercially, and our work shoots it from the lab to the fab,” says Marpin.

Electrons, photons, phonons

In the telecommunications industry, Brillouin scattering is usually a nuisance. In optical fibers, the interaction between light and glass causes periodic changes in the density and refractive index of the medium, causing light to scatter and limit the power that can be transmitted from A to B.

However, Brillouin scattering can also be used for good. New methods of information transport and processing emerge by carefully controlling the positive feedback loop between light waves and sound waves (called phonons) passing through the medium produced in the crystal lattice of the material as a result of their interaction with light.

“Think of the third way to shape, redirect or process interactions via phonons after integrated photonics electronics and photon electrons,” explains Malpan.

SBS has never been practical

However, until recently, the use of SBS was not practical. “There have been many proof-of-concept demonstrations, but for a variety of reasons, these face important challenges in terms of practical deployment and scalability,” says PhD Kaixuan Ye. He is a student in the Marpaung group and the first author of Science Advances Paper.

Another major obstacle is the essential properties of sound waves. Like ripples spreading across the sea, sound waves tend to propagate in all directions and disperse energy.

YE and colleague Marpaung discovered that in the optical material Niobate lithium, sound waves can be maneuvered by the direction of light, essentially tuned for insertion into integrated photonics technology.

The power of SBS

To provide a taste of new features available, Marpaung’s group collaborated with Cheng Wang’s research group in Hong Kong City. They manufactured on-chip Brillouin amplifiers and lasers on the TFLN platform. The team also created a multifunctional Brill Wave photonic processor that can filter more complex components, incoming signals.

These demonstrations open the door to real-world applications that Marpaung is already beginning to explore.

“SBS can significantly reduce the dimensions of atomic clocks. Because SBS allows for the ultra-high and stable laser miniaturization required for these devices, chip-scale lasers enable cost-effective integration of satellite and unmanned atomic clocks in satellites and money-door real vehicles (drones). We explain.

“Our work also allows for ultra-fast filtering of unnecessary signals. Integration with high-speed modulators results in better performance, smaller size and lower costs. These filters can be used to mitigate unnecessary interference and interference that are important for 6G radio and GPS/navigation.”