Iman Aryanfar

Tailoring of the Brillouin gain for on-chip widely tunable and reconfigurable broadband microwave photonic filters

An unprecedented Brillouin gain of 44 dB in a photonic chip enables the realization of broadly tunable and reconfigurable integrated microwave photonic filters. More than a decade bandwidth reconfigurability from 30 up to 440 MHz, with a passband ripple <1.9  dB is achieved by tailoring the Brillouin pump. The filter central frequency is continuously tuned up to 30 GHz with no degradation of the passband response, which is a major improvement over electronic filters. Furthermore, we demonstrate pump tailoring to realize multiple bandpass filters with different bandwidths and central frequencies, paving the way for multiple on-chip microwave filters and channelizers.

Advanced Integrated Microwave Signal Processing With Giant On-Chip Brillouin Gain

Processing of microwave signals using photonics has several key advantages for applications in wireless communications. However, to bring photonic-based microwave signal processing to the mainstream requires a reduction of the form factor. Integration is a route for achieving high-performance, low-cost, and small-footprint microwave photonic devices. A high on-chip stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) gain is essential for synthesizing several key functionalities for advanced integrated microwave signal processing. We have optimized our on-chip SBS platform to achieve a record on-chip gain of 52 dB. In this paper, we discuss the implications of this giant gain from the viewpoint of new enabled technologies. The giant gain can be distributed over wide frequencies, which can be exploited for the realization of reconfigurable microwave bandpass, bandstop, and multiband filters. High gain also enables the demonstration of low-threshold on-chip lasers, which can be of relevance for a low-noise radio-frequency signal generation. These wide ranges of functionalities are made possible by the breakthrough on-chip gain makes Brillouin-based microwave photonic signal processing a promising approach for real-world implementation in the near future.

Signal interference RF photonic bandstop filter.

In the microwave domain, signal interference bandstop filters with high extinction and wide stopbands are achieved through destructive interference of two signals. Implementation of this filtering concept using RF photonics will lead to unique filters with high performance, enhanced tuning range and reconfigurability. Here we demonstrate an RF photonic signal interference filter, achieved through the combination of precise synthesis of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) loss with advanced phase and amplitude tailoring of RF modulation sidebands. We achieve a square-shaped, 20-dB extinction RF photonic filter over a tunable bandwidth of up to 1 GHz with a central frequency tuning range of 16 GHz using a low SBS loss of ~3 dB. Wideband destructive interference in this novel filter leads to the decoupling of the filter suppression from its bandwidth and shape factor. This allows the creation of a filter with all-optimized qualities.

Mode conversion using stimulated Brillouin scattering in nanophotonic silicon waveguides

We theoretically and numerically investigate Stimulated Brillouin Scattering generated mode conversion in high-contrast suspended silicon nanophotonic waveguides. We predict significantly enhanced mode conversion when the linked effects of radiation pressure and motion of the waveguide boundaries are taken into account. The mode conversion is more than 10 times larger than would be predicted if the effect of radiation pressure is not taken into account: we find a waveguide length of 740 μm is required for 20dB of mode conversion, assuming a total pump power of 1W. This is sufficient to bring the effect into the realm of chip-scale photonic waveguides. We explore the interaction between the different types of acoustic modes that can exist within these waveguides, and show how the presence of these modes leads to enhanced conversion between the different possible optical modes.

Chip-based Brillouin radio frequency photonic phase shifter and wideband time delay

We report a chip-based true-time-delay unit based on stimulated Brillouin scattering that uses an on-off Brillouin gain of 52 dB to enable 4 ns delay over a bandwidth of 100 MHz and a phase shift of ∼200°. To verify these operations, we use a two-tap microwave filter configuration and observed changes in the free spectral range of the filter and shift in the spectrum of the filter. The realization of these functionalities on chip-scale devices is critical for phased-array antennas, multibeam satellites, delay lines, arbitrary waveform generation, and reconfigurable microwave photonic filters.

On-chip stimulated Brillouin scattering for microwave photonic signal processing

This paper gives an overview of the applications of on-chip stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in RF photonic signal processing, including for high extinction notch filtering, tunable phase shifter, instantaneous frequency measurement, and bandwidth-reconfigurable signal processing.

On-chip tunable microwave photonic filters with a reconfigurable bandwidth of up to 440 MHz

Microwave photonic filters tunable up to 30 GHz are realized on a chip using stimulated Brillouin scattering. Tailoring of the pump allows bandwidth reconfigurability from 50MHz to 440MHz with a pass band ripple of <;2dB.

Reconfigurable and frequency-agile on-chip microwave photonic bandpass and bandstop filters using stimulated Brillouin scattering

In this paper, we present our recent results in the area of microwave photonics. Integrated microwave photonic bandpass and bandstop filters were realized using stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). Our recent breakthrough in the fabrication of chalcogenide waveguides has allowed us to achieve an on-chip SBS gain of >40 dB, enabling for the first time the tailoring of the SBS response well beyond the intrinsic linewidth (~30 MHz). An electrical comb generated by an arbitrary waveform generator was modulated onto an optical carrier to generate a broadened pump which via the SBS effect created a flat and rectangular bandpass filter response in the RF domain. Controlling the number of pump lines allowed bandwidth reconfigurability from 30 MHz to 440 MHz. The measured selectivity and the passband ripple were >20 dB and <1.9 dB, respectively and the center frequency of the filter was tuned up to 30 GHz. A bandstop filter response was realized by using a novel RF interferometry technique via accurate control of the amplitude and phase of the sidebands of the modulated probe. The bandwidth was reconfigurable from 75 MHz-300 MHz and the central frequency of the filter was tunable up to 30 GHz.

Stimulated Brillouin Scattering, hybrid acoustic modes and nonreciprocal mode-conversion in nanophotonic waveguides

We theoretically investigate non-reciprocal mode-conversion arising from Stimulated Brillouin Scattering (SBS) in sub-micron nanophotonic waveguides. We find that hybrid acoustic modes can be efficiently generated via radiation pressure, leading to enhancement of SBS-based mode conversion.