PHOTONICS | ARTICLE
Controlling Transport and Properties of Light – PHOTONIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS (PIC) FOR VISIBLE LIGHT
JOOST VAN KERKHOF, DOUWE GEUZEBROEK – XIO PHOTONICS, ENSCHEDE, THE NETHERLANDS
Photonic technology is increasingly used in applications in medicine, life and environmental sciences. Whereas currently many of these applications are
implemented using some form of discrete (free-space) optics, much can be gained from a transition to Photonics Integrated Circuits. This follows the
trends in the electronics industry where highly integrated electronic circuits have allowed the combination of many different functions in a small form
factor. Just as it has done for the electronics industry, integrated optics will lead to smaller, cheaper, more reliable and more user friendly devices.
Photonic Integrated Circuits Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are devices on which several or more optical components are integrated; often together with electronic components. Equivalent to the introduction of electronic ICs many years ago, Photonic ICs offer huge advantages. Compared to a system with discrete optical components, a system with a PIC will be simpler, more robust, more reliable, more compact and lower cost. In addition, the small form factor of PICs can enable applications that are not possible to realise with existing discrete components. PICs have been used for several years already in high volumes for optical communication applications, and this use is still increasing significantly. These applications include Fttx and access networks, long-haul and transport networks, and optical datacom. PICs for optical communication typically use wavelengths between 1 and 2 μm. In applications where light is used in the visible range (400-700 nm), the use of PICs is still very rare although the potential benefits can be significant. These applications include several biophotonics applications such as confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, molecular diagnostics and spectroscopy systems. But also laser based display applications and several (food) sorting applications use visible laser light and could benefit from the use of PICs.
<< Figure 1: Example of
Photonic Integrated Circuit for visible light. >>
38 | commercial micro manufacturing international Vol 7 No.4
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