Patent — available for licensing
Reduced PIC fabrication cost by one-step method
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Researchers at the NASA Goddard Space Center have developed an innovative technique that allows photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chips with multiple devices to be produced with only a single round of electron beam lithography and etching. Traditionally, fabricating PICs with different types of lasers or devices within the same area requires multiple costly and time-consuming lithography cycles. By introducing a central, non-etched gap along the length of the device between the etched gratings, at least two photonic devices can be fabricated during one lithography and etching cycle. The new geometry allows an engineer to design integrated devices with differing optical properties by varying the non-etched gap width and the etch depth. This innovative approach dramatically reduces manufacturing time and costs while maintaining performance with applications in PIC-based devices across the space, communication, autonomous vehicle, and biomedical industries.