Robert Kaps

In recent years, communication technology has increasingly been faced with the challenge that new technologies require more and more transmission bandwidths. In order to meet these requirements, there is an ongoing transition to optical communication using fibre optics. However, the electronic processing of data and signals requires the optical signals to be reconverted after transmission. This is where photonics offers an innovative approach that can enable more compact and efficient transceiver modules with photonic integrated circuits (PICs).

Similar to electrical engineering, there are some basic elements in photonics that can be used to integrate larger networks. One fundamental setup is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with an active phase shifter. Currently, these phase shifters are produced thermo-electrically, but this means high energy consumption due to the constant current required for phase shifting. This is where the research approach that I am pursuing in collaboration with the IMW (Institute for Materials Science) comes in.

Our aim is to develop an alternative solution for thermo-electric phase shifters based on electrochromic materials. The idea is to integrate miniaturised lithium-ion battery cells on a photonic chip to implement the phase shifters. My tasks include the design, simulation and measurement of the photonic substructure for this project.