Docket #: S18-019
Fully-automated design of grating couplers (software)
Stanford researchers at the Vuckovic Lab have created a computational nanophotonic design library for gradient-based optimization called the Stanford Photonic INverse design Software (Spins). This extremely flexible and adaptable photonics design software can be used to design any linear, passive photonic element. To use Spins, the designer simply specifies a design region and desired functionality for a device. The software will then automatically design an optimized device that meets these specifications.
Spins is now being licensed to any interested parties through Stanford's Office of Technology Licensing (OTL).
Spins-B is an open source version available on Github.
Stage of Research:
Prototypes - The team designed and experimentally demonstrated a spatial-mode demultiplexer, wavelength demultiplexer, compact broadband power splitter and directional coupler.
This invention is an application of Spins (Stanford reference S18-012 "Inverse design software for nanophotonic structures - Spins")
Applications
- Designing innovative structures for efficient optical devices
- Examples include silicon photonics components such as power splitters, wavelength demultiplexers, fiber-to-chip grating coupler design, mode converters, metasurface design, quantum circuits (photonic and microwave) LEDs, solar cells, lasers designs
Advantages
- Fully automated and efficient - no human guidance required
- Allows user to 'design by specification'
- Uses gradient-based optimization methods not derivative-free optimization methods which are computationally inefficient and only work well for small numbers of degrees of freedom
- Resulting designs are significantly more compact, have higher performance, and can potentially realize novel functionalities
- Devices can be easily fabricated by standard lithography techniques
Publications
- Alexander Y. Piggott, Eric Y. Ma, Logan Su, Geun Ho Ahn, Neil V. Sapra, Dries J.F. Vercruysse, Andrew M. Netherton, Akhilesh S.P. Khope, John E. Bowers, Jelena Vu?kovi? Inverse-designed photonics for semiconductor foundries ACS Photonics Feb. 14, 2020.
- Ki Youl Yang, Jinhie Skarda, Michele Cotrufo, Avik Dutt, Geun Ho Ahn, Mahmoud Sawaby, Dries Vercruysse, Amin Arbabian, Shanhui Fan, Andrea Alù & Jelena Vu?kovi? Inverse-designed non-reciprocal pulse router for chip-based LiDAR Nature Photonics (2020).
- Logan Su, Dries Vercruysse, Jinhie Skarda, Neil V. Sapra, Jan A. Petykiewicz, and Jelena Vu?kovi? Nanophotonic inverse design with SPINS: Software architecture and practical considerations Appl. Phys. Rev. 7, 011407 (2020) Featured in ScienceDaily, PhysOrg, EurekAlert, and more.
- Neil V. Sapra, Ki Youl Yang, Dries Vercruysse, Kenneth J. Leedle, Dylan S. Black, R. Joel England, Logan Su, Rahul Trivedi, Yu Miao, Olav Solgaard, Robert L. Byer, Jelena Vu?kovi? On-chip integrated laser-driven particle accelerator Science Vol. 367, Issue 6473, pp. 79-83 (2020).
- Neil V. Sapra, Dries Vercruysse, Logan Su, Ki Youl Yang, Jinhie Skarda, Alexander Y. Piggott, Jelena Vu?kovi? Inverse design and demonstration of broadband grating couplers Applied Physics (2018).
- Fully-automated optimization of grating couplers Logan Su, Rahul Trivedi, Neil V. Sapra, Alexander Y. Piggott, Dries Vercruysse, Jelena Vu?kovi?. (2017)
- Alexander Y. Piggott, Jan Petykiewicz, Logan Su & Jelena Vu?kovi? Fabrication-constrained nanophotonic inverse design Scientific Reports 7,1786 (2017).
- Alexander Y. Piggott, Jesse Lu, and Jelena Vu?kovi? Silicon Photonics: Design approach to integrated photonics explores entire space of fabricable devices Laser Focus World, (2016) (Review).
- Alexander Y. Piggott, Jesse Lu, Konstantinos G. Lagoudakis, Jan Petykiewicz, Thomas M. Babinec, and Jelena Vu?kovi? Inverse design and demonstration of a compact and broadband on-chip wavelength demultiplexer Nature Photonics 9, 374–377 (2015).
- Alexander Y. Piggott, Jesse Lu, Thomas M. Babinec, Konstantinos G. Lagoudakis, Jan Petykiewicz, Jelena Vuckovic Inverse design and implementation of a wavelength demultiplexing grating coupler Scientific Reports 4, 7210, (2014).
- Jesse Lu and Jelena Vuckovic Nanophotonic computational design Optics Express Vol. 21, 11, pp. 13351-13367 (2013).
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