Inverse-designed silicon nitride nanophotonics

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light and Harvard University have developed three functional components for photonic microchips that are up to 500 times smaller than conventional designs using inverse design, a computer algorithm. The components—wavelength splitters, spatial mode sorters, and mirrors—were fabricated in thick silicon nitride and are compatible with commercial foundry processes. The results were published in Tata Communications. The research was supported by the United States — DARPA and the United States — National Science Foundation.