CIAN Lecture Series Webinar – Gilles Lamant

Posted on April 27, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Integrated Photonics IC

Date:  Friday, April 28, 2017
Time:  2pm PST, 2pm AZT, 5pm EST

Please register by clicking on the link: Webinar   or copy and pasting to your browser: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4749423321647453185

Biography


Gilles Lamant
Cadence

Gilles graduated from ESIEE (Ecole Supérieure D’Ingénieurs en Electronique et Electrotechnique), Paris, France in 1991.

He joined Cadence during his last year of study to work on his thesis (1989). He holds an Engineering Degree with a double major (Signal processing and component modeling).

After working in the field (including 8+ years in Japan and 2+ years in Russia), with customers in the areas of analog, Mixed-signal designs and custom layout, he joined the R&D team in San Jose. He lead the migration of the Virtuoso platform to the industry standard database (OpenAccess). He was instrumental in enabling the FinFet flow in the Virtuoso advanced node platform. About 4 years ago, he engaged into following the photonics industry, and in the last 2 years, lead the Virtuoso development and integration with Virtuoso two main partners, Lumerical and PhoeniX.

Looking forward at the next disturbance in the force is his job. He is currently learning about spin-tropics, spin-wave devices.

Gilles has about 20 patents, several as a single author.

Gilles hobbies include Lego, Pottery and doing things with my 2 twin boys (~6 yo).

Abstract

The close integration of photonics ICs with their electrical counterpart has highlighted for many large companies the big gap in design methodology/productivity/predictability between the two. This has triggered an attempt to leverage the EDA investment (technical and methodology) to ramp up photonics IC design. This is very similar to what has happen on the manufacturing side, with Silicon Photonics taking advantages of all the advances made in CMOS manufacturing.

We will review several key examples of EDA methodologies (such as schematic driven layout) that can be used and leverage to increase photonics design productivity. At the same time, we will highlight some differences between the two domains, and how these are dealt with in a production environment such as Virtuoso.

Finally we will present some highlights of what can further be done to leverage the 3D, 2.5D IC methodology, signal integrity capabilities and packaging features of the electronics tools as the EPDA solution matures.

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OIDA 2017 Conference & Poster Competition

Posted on April 18, 2017 by | Leave a comment

The recent OIDA/CIAN Workshop sponsored by IPIC and Go!Foton on March 19th, in Los Angeles, CA was a success!

The workshop was targeted at companies and innovators considering or already investing in integrated photonics to meet their future product requirements, and who need to understand key manufacturing challenges and how they can be addressed. Read more about the conference.
Key questions addressed included:

  • What supply chain, manufacturing, and packaging challenges are common across applications?
  • What common or standardized elements exist across applications?
  • What resources are available and how can gaps be filled?

Also during the conference a poster judging competition took place. Three top posters were selected as winners.

1st Place Winner

Jordan Davis
University of California, San Diego

Project Abstract

Silicon photonic waveguides are typically designed to operate with the fundamental mode due to low cross talk with higher order modes and low propagation loss. However, currently, silicon photonics is being exploited for operation with higher order modes propagation for mode-division multiplexing (MDM).  This approach utilizes the orthogonal modes of a waveguide by encoding information both in space and wavelength to augment bandwidth limited wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) systems. Conventionally, ring resonators and grating structures are applied to achieve spatial modes conversion. In this paper, we explore an alternative approach to mode conversion using counter-directional resonators. We introduce a cavity into grating-assisted directional couplers, offering both flexibility in design and wavelength selectivity provided by resonant structures. Our compact (54.5 μm2) device is demonstrated experimentally to operate with resonant 1st and 2nd order guided TE-modes.

From the Winner

OIDA was a chance for me to visualize the hurdles that photonic startups are meeting. I learned about the opportunities that exist to bring a product to market and the prices associated with these products.

2nd Place Winner

Peter Weigel
University of California, San Diego

Project Abstract

This research focuses on bringing lithium niobate films-on-insulator (LNOI) to the foundry-fabricated silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. This is done by fabricating bonded SOI-LNOI integrated devices, mitigating thermal stresses in the bonded stack to allow for standard fabrication procedures, and creating a fully functioning PDK of hybrid Si-LN optical device components for third party users. This technology enables compact devices in LN and highly efficient nonlinear optical devices based in Si, both of which are unattainable with each standalone bulk material platform.

From the Winner

The OIDA workshop at OFC 2017 was an exceptional opportunity to hear of the different routes researchers in academia and industry are currently taking to grow integrated photonics from a low-production, manually-intensive industry into something akin to the booming industry that integrated electronics has been for the last five decades. I left the workshop with a feeling of profound fortune to have the chance to work in a field with such impressive men and women.

3rd Place Winner

Alexander Gazman
Columbia University

Project Abstract

This research is focused on developing silicon photonic subsystems for high-performance computers and data-center applications. To be able to integrate the silicon photonic technology and utilize its functionality, software-defined control planes ought to reconfigure their operation based on the network needs. Previously we developed a subsystem consisting of a fast tunable laser and a silicon photonic chip operating as a demultiplexer. The demonstrated FPGA-based controlled plane allowed the user to choose a desired wavelength of operation and spatial switching: unicast, multicast or broadcast. In the presented work at the OIDA we added another layer of a feedback control ensure thermal stability of our subsystem.

From the Winner

The industry speakers broaden my view on their take on the silicon photonic technology. Additional applications were presented along with commercialization challenges.

 

This poster session was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

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Career-FIT Opportunity in Ireland – Apply Today

Posted on March 1, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Career-FIT: Career Development Fellowships in the National Technology Centre Programme

CALL FOR APPLICANTS

www.horizon2020.ie/career-FIT

ENTERPRISE IRELAND invites applicants to its new Marie Sklodowska-Curie cofunded transnational programme that offers an opportunity for experienced researchers to develop their careers in market focused applied research in Ireland’s Technology Centres, with an enterprise secondment (of 6-12 months in an enterprise Ireland client company) during the Fellowship (of 36 months). Covering a wide range of academic and industry areas aligned with Ireland’s Smart Specialisation Strategy, the 15 Technology Centres were established to encourage greater efficiency in the interaction between researchers, industry, and the public sector, in research that promotes economic growth by its direct relevance to industry agendas. Each multidisciplinary Centre offers excellent facilities and equipment for Fellow use: experienced scientific staff to support the Fellow’s research and extensive enterprise relationships on which market focused applied research can be progressed.

Career-FIT is a postdoctoral fellowship programme, part-funded by Horizon 2020and part-funded by Enterprise Ireland. A key feature of Career-FIT is the opportunity for an experienced researcher from outside Ireland to develop their careers in market focused applied research through 3-year fellowships with secondment into industry through Ireland’s Technology Centres.

Successful candidates will carry out research in Ireland and will gain inter-sectoral and interdisciplinary exposure thorough this programme.

Experienced researchers are defined as those who are in possession of a doctoral degree or have at least four years of full-time equivalent research experience.

There will be two calls under the Career-FIT programme. The first call has an application deadline of 31 March 2017. The second call will open in 2018. There will be 25 fellowships awarded in each call.

For more details and contact information see here.

 

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CIAN Student Retreat Innovation to Market Workshop 2017

Posted on February 21, 2017 by | Leave a comment

This year’s Student Retreat and Innovation to Market Workshop took place in San Francisco, CA. Students from across the CIAN universities attended to participate in the professional development and innovation workshops. Two speakers gave workshops for the students. Below is included the recording of Will Tungpagasit’s presentation on Startup Life and Bri McWhorter’s summary of best practices in formal presentations.

will-tungpagasitStartup Life: Fact and Fiction
Will Tungpagasit
Shabuta Corp.

Will Tungpagasit, engineer and entrepreneur, will share his experiences founding and building companies in Silicon Valley. He will clarify the hype surrounding the industry, what options you have to actually building a company, and specific strategies on how to innovate efficiently via entrepreneurship. Afterwards, he’ll lead a brainstorming session and meditation workshop.

bri-mcwhorterPresentation Fundamentals: Formal presentations, Elevator Pitches & Developing Your Brand
Bri McWhorter
Activate to Captivate

Using acting tools, learn the techniques that all the best public speakers utilize to craft a dynamic and compelling speech. Become familiar with the necessary vocal, articulation and breath support tools that every presenter should have. Figure out how to distill your message to clearly articulate your ideas and take advantage of every opportunity which comes your way. Explore what makes you unique, clarify your career goals and make a plan to develop your personal brand.

Defining Your Audience:
Formal Presentations, Elevator Pitches and Developing Your Brand
By Bri McWhorter

No matter where you are presenting your ideas, whether it is in a formal presentation, an elevator pitch or developing your brand, you need to think about your audience first. How you craft and deliver your message depends on who you are speaking to.

 1. Presentation

Think about what type of audience you will be addressing. Are they a technical audience or a general one? What type of jargon is appropriate? How much detail can you go into? Knowing these answers will help you develop and organize your message.

Once you have that message, you have to think about the best way to deliver it. Focus on telling your story, rather than reiterating facts. Tell the audience why they should care about your research. Get them invested in the process.

2. Elevator Pitch

In an elevator pitch, you have a very small window of time where you have to capture your audience’s attention. Have a few pitches ready depending on whom you are talking to. That way, once you know a bit about their background, you can jump into the pitch that best fits the situation.

However, it isn’t enough to have different ideas of pitches, you need to workshop them. Practice with people from different backgrounds. See what works and what doesn’t. Then adjust your message depending on that feedback. It would be a shame to miss an opportunity to connect with someone because you didn’t take the time to work on perfecting your pitches.

3. Developing Your Brand

Knowing who your target audience is will help you decide which social media platforms to utilize. There are so many options available and it can be a bit overwhelming when you are starting out. For example, if you are trying to target young millennials, Snapchat is a good place to start. However, if you are trying to reach experts in your industry, I would suggest utilizing LinkedIn first, so you can establish a larger professional network.

Once you decide who you want to target, start connecting with people. Engage with posts they’ve written. Share your own ideas by writing articles. Establish your voice and take advantage of every networking opportunity that social media provides.

Summary

During a presentation, a pitch, or building your brand, always think about your audience first. Craft your goal by thinking about things from their perspective. This will help you create, distil and deliver your message in the most effective way.

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Posted in Education, Industry & You, Research, Videos

Lumerical hosts Webinar

Posted on February 1, 2017 by | Leave a comment

web_lcml-feb2017Recently, photonic design methodologies incorporating mature electronic design automation (EDA) software with optical design and simulation tools have emerged to support reliable photonic integrated circuit (PIC) design. Critical to any of these design methodologies is a Process Design Kit (PDK). The PDK provides the required fundamental information to produce a design based on a specific foundry process, from component geometries and cells for layout, to design rules, process variability data and simulation models. Essential to first-time-right designs, and the foundation of reliable fabless design methodologies for PICs is the inclusion of a calibrated photonic compact model library (CML) in the photonic PDK. The photonic CML enables a separation of component design from circuit design where PIC designers can scale complexity and optimize circuit performance and yield, confident that the underlying component geometry, material composition, and component design physics are represented by the CML, thereby ensuring reliable fabrication and predictable operation of their designs.

Lumerical’s suite of photonic design tools provides an infrastructure that supports the development and distribution of CMLs for PIC simulation and design. Typically, a CML is built upon a combination of accurate component-level simulation results and experimentally measured data. Lumerical works with leading integrated photonics foundries and researchers to develop modeling methods and libraries of the most advanced integrated photonics components.

We are hosting a complimentary webinar to introduce the Lumerical Compact Model Library (LCML), a reference library of common photonic elements and corresponding model development workflows. The webinar will show users how the LCML can be used to:

  • develop foundry-calibrated models for Process Design Kits (PDKs);
  • develop custom components and models for internal libraries;
  • and, design innovative photonic circuits and systems.

Two sessions will be held on February 7, 2017. Complete session details, as well as registration information, can be found here: https://www.lumerical.com/support/webinar/intro_lcml.html

To evaluate Lumerical simulation products, visit our Download Center and register for a 30-day trial.

As a photonic simulation software provider, Lumerical develops tools which enable product designers to understand light, and predict how it behaves within complex structures, circuits, and systems. Our current simulation software suite offers optical (FDTD Solutions, MODE Solutions), electrical (DEVICE CT), and thermal (DEVICE HT) simulation for component design, as well as circuit simulation for system design (INTERCONNECT).

lumerical__gr_web_250p

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CIAN Lecture Series Webinar – Lou Norman

Posted on November 3, 2016 by | Leave a comment

Current Security Threats and How to Stop Them

Date:  Thursday, November 10, 2016
Time:  12pm PST, 1pm AZT, 3pm EST

Please register by clicking on the link: Webinar   or copy and pasting to your browser:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/394402895690035459

Biography

lounormanLou Norman
Security Consulting Systems Engineer
CISCO

Lou Norman is a Security Consulting Systems Engineer with 30  years of network EXPERIENCE.  His network design experience has been utilized in Fortune 500 companies, Universities, and large school districts across the Southwest.  His current role has him focused on information security design for government and education sectors for Cisco Systems.  He holds both CCIE and CISSIP certifications, and lives in Tucson, Arizona.

Abstract

There are many security challenges facing organizations today. Everything from Ransomware and data exfiltration. We will cover the current security landscape, specific threats and exploits, and steps to prevent your organization from network threats.

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CIAN Lecture Series Webinar – Rajat Sharma

Posted on October 21, 2016 by | Leave a comment

Towards Understanding and Exploring Artificial Nonlinearities in Silicon/Dielectric Waveguides

Date:  Friday, October 28, 2016
Time:  1pm PST, 4pm EST

Please register by clicking on the link: Webinar   or copy and pasting to your browser:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8733183742582077953

Biographys


rajatRajat Sharma
Ph.D. Candidate
University of California, San Diego

Rajat is a 4th year PhD student working with Prof. Shaya Fainman at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UCSD. The main focus of his research is engineering nonlinearities in silicon. He graduated with a B.S and M.S in Electrical Engineering, with a specialization in microelectronics and VLSI, from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in 2012.

Abstract

Starting from our past-experience in studying the linear electro-optic properties of strained-silicon waveguides, we carry forth a detailed analysis of various mechanisms contributing towards the exhibited (apparent) nonlinearity. We show, both theoretically and experimentally, that the bulk of the linear electro-optic response exhibited by such waveguides can be accounted for by the so-called free-carrier, capacitive, plasma-dispersion effect. The nature (magnitude and sign) of this effect is then shown to be critically dependent on the fixed-charges that are induced on the interface between a semiconductor and a dielectric. As such, this study becomes relevant and must be taken into account, not just for silicon waveguides, but all semiconductor waveguides. The range of tunability of both the real and imaginary part of the refractive index is measured and reported, the knowledge of which can be used in desigining high-efficiency silicon-slot capacitive modulators as well as low-loss passive devices. Furthermore, in our investigations, we find that commonly used clads (in strained silicon waveguides) like silicon nitride (SiNx) can exhibit bulk second-order nonlinearity. This is demonstrated via both free-space and in-waveguide measurements and a coefficient as high as 2.23 pm/V is reported for the case of the as-deposted PECVD SiNx. This value, though small, serves as a starting point in our efforts towards leveraging the SiNx platform for on-chip modulation and nonlinear wavemixing. The value of the exhibited coefficient can be enhanced manifolds by either shifting to non-stoichiometric silicon rich nitride (SRN) and or using SiNx in a slot configuration  with silicon and utilizing the electric field induced second harmonic effect (EFISH).

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Posted in Industry & You, Research, Videos

O’Brien Brings Advanced Packaging Research to CIAN

Posted on September 21, 2016 by | Leave a comment

Dr. Peter O’Brien was recently appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the College of Optical Science at the University of Arizona. Dr. O’Brien brings expertise across a wide range of photonic packaging and integration technologies to CIAN, enabling advanced photonic devices to be packaged into fully working prototypes. Although his appointment only started in late 2015, collaborations between Dr. O’Brien and CIAN researchers are already producing results. For example, Dr. O’Brien has collaborated with Prof. Ming Wu and his postdoctoral researcher Dr. Tae Joon Seok to demonstrate packaging of UC Berkeley’s MEMs optical switch.

This enabled a fully packaged device to be tested in systems experiments performed by Prof. George Papen at UCSD. Results from this collaboration were presented at CIAN’s annual review in Columbia University last May, and a paper about this work will be presented at the IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC) in October. Further collaborations have started with Prof. Keren Bregman (Columbia) and Prof. Robert Norwood (Arizona), and it is expected that new collaborations will start over the coming months.

peterobrienlab

Dr. Tae Joon Seok (second from right) visiting the Photonic Packaging Group at the Tyndall Institute (April 2016). The photo includes Dr. Peter O’Brien, Jun Su Lee (packaging group researcher) and Howyuan Hwang (packaging group PhD student).

 

peter2

Peter O’Brien with his son, Conan, visiting Optical Sciences in Arizona.

Dr. Peter O’Brien is head of the Photonics Packaging Group at the Tyndall National Institute, University College Cork, Ireland. He is also Deputy Director of the Science Foundation Ireland-Irish Photonics Integration Centre. Since establishing the Photonics Packaging Group in 2009, Dr. O’Brien has built a research team who address challenges in the area of highly integrated photonic devices for applications in communications, biomedical devices and sensors.
His group has developed a range of photonic packaging technologies which have been made available to users worldwide through a foundry service in collaboration with IMEC.

library

Dr. Peter O’Brien hosting an outreach event at the Geasa-Marana Library in Marana, AZ.

They have also prepared a range of packaging design rules, which have recently been implemented in PIC design tools such as those available through Phoenix Software and Luceda Photonics.

These design rules provide valuable guidance to PIC designers, ensuring their photonic devices are compatible with standard packaging technologies. The group has established research collaborations with institutes including UC Berkeley, University of Arizona, CERN, IMEC, CEA-LETI and Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz.

 

peterDr. O’Brien received a degree in Physics from Trinity College Dublin, and a Masters and PhD in Physics from University College Cork. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the California Institute of Technology and a research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, where he was involved in the development of submillimeter wave devices for imaging and sensing applications. Dr O’Brien also founded a photonics company specializing in the development of bio-imaging systems, which he sold in 2009.

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Posted in Announcements

CIAN Lecture Series Webinar – Mahajan & Ghobadi from Microsoft

Posted on September 20, 2016 by | Leave a comment

A Look at the Optical Layer of Cloud Networks

Date:  Monday, October 17, 2016
Time:  1pm PST, 4pm EST

Please register by clicking on the link: Webinar   or copy and pasting to your browser:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8126853657085849345

Biographys

ratulDr. Ratul Mahajan
Principal Research Scientist
Microsoft

Ratul Mahajan is a Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research and an Affiliate Professor at the University of Washington. His research interests include all aspects of networked systems. His current work focuses on network verification and optical networks. His past work spans connected homes, software-defined networking, Internet routing and measurements, and vehicular networks. He has published over 50 papers in top-tier venues such as SIGCOMM, SOSP, MobiCom, and CHI and many technologies that he has developed power Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure. He has been recognized as ACM Distinguished Scientist and ACM SIGCOMM Rising Star and has won the ACM SIGCOMM Test of Time Award, the William R. Bennett prize, two SIGCOMM best paper awards, and Microsoft Research Graduate Fellowship.

moniaDr. Monia Ghobadi
Research Scientist
Microsoft

Monia Ghobadi is a postdoc at Microsoft Research. Her research interests are broadly in systems and networking, with recent focus on optical networking and congestion control. She received her PhD from University of Toronto and worked at Google’s data center team before joining Microsoft Research.

Abstract

To keep pace with the tremendous bandwidth growth in cloud networking, large scale proviers, such as Microsoft, employ optical technologies ubiquitously.  In fact, Microsoft’s long haul network carries hundreds of Tbps of data using optical links, and in its data center networks, all switch-to-switch links are optical.  Despite their almost-ubiquitous presence, little is known today about even basic characteristics (e.g., signal power, attenuation) opical links in such networks.

We conduct one of the first large-scale study of the optical layer of long haul and data center networks.  Our analysis uncovers several findings that can help improve network planning, increase capacity, and reduce transceiver cost.  In long haul networks, we find that substantial gain can be achieved using bandwidth variable transponders and changes in Q-factor can predict future optical-layer outages.  In data center networks, we find that the optical layer is significantly over-engineered in terms of optical power budget and monitoring optical layer metrics can lead to faster mitigation of packet corruption.

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Summer 2016 IOU Program Results

Posted on September 15, 2016 by | Leave a comment

For the Summer 2016 Integrated Optics for Undergraduates (IOU) Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program CIAN hosted six students from across the country at three different CIAN universities. Students, institutions, mentors, and projects are all listed below along with a few pictures of their time this summer.

To learn more about Summer 2017 IOU REU program and to apply, visit us here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Norfolk State University

Dennis Yi
Princeton University
Mentor: Dr. Demetris Geddis
Project: Computational Optimization of Band-Pass Thin-Film Optical Fibers

Columbia University

Patty Cho
Columbia University
Mentor: Dr. Keren Bergman, Yishen Huang
Project: A Machine Learning Approach to Minimize EDFA Power Excursions for Dynamic Optical Networks

Francois Mertil
New York City College of Technology
Mentor: Dr. Keren Berman, Nathan Abrams
Project: Programmable 4×4 Silicon Photonic Switch Fabric Composed of Mach Zehnder Interferometer (MZI)

John Mikalopas
Western Connecticut State University
Mentor: Dr. Michal Lipson
Project: Optimizing the Transfer of Graphene for Specific Applications Using Polymer Support Layers

University of California Berkeley

Vy-An Phan
UC Berkeley
Mentor: Dr. Connie Chang-Hasnain
Project: Time-of-Flight LIDAR System

Jianheng Luo
UC Berkeley
Mentor: Dr. Ming Wu
Project: MMI Crossing Design for 1300nm Photonic Switch

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Posted in Research