Ming C. Wu (Advisor)

Integrated silicon photonic switches can serve as primary building blocks for low-latency, high-bandwidth interconnects for communication in data-intensive scenarios ranging from servers in datacenters to chiplets in multi-chip integrated packages. Our group has been developing MEMS-based large-scale silicon photonic switches which are particularly attractive for their low-loss, high-extinction, and low-power performance as well as sub-microsecond switching speed. Previous demonstrations, although fully compatible with CMOS foundries, relied upon a custom fabrication stack. The goal of the...

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) play a pivotal role in scaling trapped ion quantum systems. However, current quantum PICs suffer from low ion densities. We present a novel quantum PIC for individual optical control of closely-spaced trapped ion qubits. Our device achieves effectively achromatic beam focusing from 405 nm to 810 nm (and beyond) via a planar waveguide lens and a 3D-printed biconic mirror. Moreover, we have measured 30 dB crosstalk at a 5 µm pitch for the 532 nm and 729 nm barium and calcium gate wavelengths, surpassing the state-of-the-art. Finally, our monolithic surface...