LUKAS CHROSTOWSKI: Computer chips are everywhere-- computers, cell phones,
tablets-- and they have revolutionized our world.
these chips, known as integrated circuits,
began with tens of transistors in the 1960s.
Amazingly, today's smartphone has over two billion transistors
on a single chip.
We have a similar opportunity to fabricate
photonic chips, which use photons or light instead of electricity.
And instead of working with individual components such as lenses
and optical fibers, we can now integrate many components
on a single silicon photonics chip.
So where are optical chips used today?
You already know that we're seeing explosive growth in internet data
traffic with a lot of this coming from smartphone apps and wireless devices.
But did you know that behind the scenes there's
an extensive network of optical fibers, photonic components,
and data centers that transmit and route your phone calls and data?
A typical data center has thousands of optical cables moving data
around as fast as possible and with low power consumption.
As we move into the future, we see big challenges
in making computing chips work faster and keep pace with Moore's law.
High speed optical interconnects will be the solution.
Hence you will see optics within computers and even
within computer chips themselves.
It also turns out that optical chips can be
used to make other useful devices such as sensors, including medical sensors.
Imagine a future where if you're sick, your smartphone
can perform a complete blood analysis and let
you know which disease you have.
It's almost beyond imagination what you could do with millions
of optical components on a single chip.
Now, what if you and I could sit down together
and build such an optical communication chip or medical sensor chip?
Well, that's what this course is about.
The key is that you, the participant, design your own chip.
We fabricate it for you using a state-of-the-art electron beam
lithography facility, and we test it using our automated optical probe
stations.
Then you analyze the results.
And amazingly, we can do this together and online in six weeks.
We will walk you through a simple project that addresses
the fundamental wave nature of light.
We will study optical interference and optical wave guides,
and you will design an optical interferometer,
which is widely used device in applications
such as communications and sensing.
I've often said that silicon photonics is like playing with Lego,
except that you design an optical structure, such as interferometer,
and the pieces are nanometers in size.
You get to assemble silicon anyway you like and use your creativity.
If you're an experienced designer, let's use this course
as an opportunity to experiment with exotic devices such as ring
resonators, Bragg gratings, sub wavelengths materials, and slot wave
guides.
Whether you're a student or a mid-career professional,
we will advance your skills and knowledge.
A complete design fabrication cycle will open your eyes to the opportunities
and challenges and make for an extremely exciting and rewarding learning
opportunity.
Come and discover what the world of silicon photonics has to offer you.