MORPHIC: Programmable photonic circuits enabled by silicon photonic MEMS
Wim Bogaerts, Hamed Sattari, Pierre Edinger, Alain Yuji Takabayashi, Iman Zand, Xiaojing Wang, A. B. Lobo Ribeiro, Moises A. Jezzini de Anda, Carlos Errando-Herranz, Giuseppe Talli, Kumar Saurav, M.A. Garcia Porcel, Peter Verheyen, Banafsheh Abasahl, Frank Niklaus, Niels Quack, Kristinn B. Gylfason, Peter O’Brien, Umar Khan
Abstract
In the European project MORPHIC we develop a platform for programmable silicon photonic circuits enabled by waveguide-integrated micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). MEMS can add compact, and low-power phase shifters and couplers to an established silicon photonics platform with high-speed modulators and detectors. This MEMS technology is used for a new class of programmable photonic circuits, that can be reconfigured using electronics and software, consisting of large interconnected meshes of phase shifters and couplers. MORPHIC is also developing the packaging and driver electronics interfacing schemes for such large circuits, creating a supply chain for rapid prototyping new photonic chip concepts. These will be demonstrated in different applications, such as switching, beamforming and microwave photonics.