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Activity Funded

Amorphous silicon optical Switch based on an Electrically Reconfigurable Metamaterial

Interruptor óptico baseado num Metamaterial de silicio amorfo Eletricamente Reconfigurável

Reference
2022.07694.PTDC
Project Start Date
2023-03-01
Project End Date
2024-08-31
Principal Investigator
Coinvestigator
Scientific Area
Engineering and technology
Funding Program
Concurso de Projetos de I&D em Todos os Domínios Científicos - 2022 - PEX

Abstract

The goal of the ASER-Meta project is the prototyping of an optical 2x4 reconfigurable switch, electrically controlled by a FPGA module. The resulting prototype is to be considered as a proof of concept for a MOS active-matrix approach to control the behavior of an amorphous silicon MMI structure, where the refractive index of the semiconductor is voltage controlled as a reconfigurable switched metamaterial. So, the device structure is composed by an a-Si:H MMI device, covered by a thin layer ofSiOxNy and a matrix of electrical contacts Au/ITO. Due to its intrinsic low conductivity, a-Si:H lateral transport effects are naturally confined to the region of the charge source. So, a MOS structure (Au/ITO/ SiOxNy /a-Si:H) can be used, in a process very much like the channel creation in a standard TFT, to electrically and dynamically create a localized accumulation of charge and a corresponding local alteration of the a-Si:H refractive index. A matrix distribution of these MOS structures, controlled by a programmable FPGA hardware, allows the dynamical electrical configuration of the material refractive index. In the proposed configuration, each MOS is treated like a pixel and controlled by an active-matrix scheme. A previous definition of the voltage images, optimized by joining FDTD simulations and a machine learning approach, permits the switching operation and a control over the output channels, allowing the generation of completely independent functions, with real-time reconfigurability controlled by FPGA hardware system. The study will be directed to optimize the number and the area of the MOS pixels necessary to operate the switching operation

Institutions

Main Institutions

  • Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Lisboa (IPL ISEL)

Other Institutions

  • Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV)

Funding 49.927,20 €

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Portugal

49.927,20 €