This project aims at developing Photonics Integrated Circuits (PICs) for sensing and quantum communications. As is well known PICs have reached a maturity which makes possible an unprecedented number of optical devices in a chip, with high quality, high reliability, and low price. This maturity and the reduction of costs due to multi-project wafer processes in the generic integration platforms has boosted the use of PICs in multiple new applications and allows the design and fabrication of new devices and complete systems in a chip. In this project we will exploit this integration possibility in a variety of systems for gas and Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) sensing, as well as in quantum random number generation (QRNG) and quantum key distribution (QKD).

We plan to continue our work on dual comb integrated systems by improving our current systems with the integration of a narrow linewidth tunable laserfor acting as master laser and the receiver part, thus developing a full monolithic system solution. We plan to improve Optical Frequency Comb (OFC)generation from semiconductor lasers through techniques such as photon-photon resonance and self-injection locking. The latter will be developed in a hybrid approach, where silicon nitride (SiN) and polymer will be merged with indium phosphide (InP), and represents a joint effort between both subprojects in collaboration with international researchers. We plan to incorporate these improvements in a dual comb hybrid integrated system based on gain switching of semiconductor lasers, that represents a step forward in our integrated photonics development. We plan also to develop electronics for PIC control and signal generation/acquisition and co-packaging of electronics and photonics chips. Our goal is to demonstrate the suitability of the developed systems for gas and temperature sensing, the latter through FBGs.

On quantum communications, we plan to continue research on QRNG and QKD based on discrete components, expanding it through evaluation of randomness of QRNGs using artificial intelligence and moving towards monolithically integrated versions of the systems. All these developments will be based on initial simulations with commercial or proprietary tools, device or system design, fabrication in external foundry for InP and SiN or custom processes for SiN and polymer. Evaluation will be performed on-chip or in packaged devices assembles in-house or externally.

The emphasis in Subproject 1 will be given to OFC optimization and dual comb integrated systems development, both monolithic and hybrid approaches. We will provide support to Subproject 2 in the monolithically integration of the QRNGs.