Ming C. Wu (Advisor)

Optical interconnects are the next evolutionary step for computer server systems, replacing traditional copper interconnects to increase communication bandwidth and reduce overall power consumption. A variety of implementation techniques to bring optics to the rack-to-rack, board-to-board, and chip-to-chip scale are heavily pursued in the research space. In this dissertation we present a micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) based free-space optical link for board-to-board interconnects.

As with any free-space optical system, alignment is critical for the correction of undesired...

High quality factor (Q) optical whispering gallery mode resonators are a key component in many on-chip optical systems, such as delay lines, modulators, and add-drop filters. They are also a convenient, compact structure for studying optomechanical interactions on-chip. In all these applications, optical Q is an important factor for high performance. For optomechanical reference oscillators in particular, high mechanical Q is also necessary. Previously, optical microresonators have been made in a wide variety of materials, but it has proven challenging to demonstrate high optical Q and...

Lidar (light detection and ranging) technology has the potential to revolutionize the way automated systems interact with their environments and their users. Most lidar systems in the industry today rely on pulsed (or, "time-of-flight") lidar, which has reached limits in terms of depth resolution. Coherent lidar schemes, such as frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) lidar, offer significant advantage in achieving high depth resolution, but are often too complex, too expensive, and/or too bulky to be implemented in the consumer industry. FMCW, and its close cousin, swept-source optical...