Current optical networks, through which most of the world's data is transmitted, as well as many sensors, require a digital-to-analog conversion, which links digital systems synergistically to analog components.

Using a silicon photonic chip platform, Volker J. Sorger, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at GW, and his colleagues have created a digital-to-analog converter that does not require the signal to be converted in the electrical domain, thus showing the potential to satisfy the demand for high data-processing capabilities while acting on optical data, interfacing to digital systems, and performing in a compact footprint, with both short signal delay and low power consumption.

"We found a way to seamlessly bridge the gap that exists between these two worlds, analog and digital," Sorger said. "This device is a key stepping stone for next-generation data processing hardware."

This work was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-19-1-0277) and the Office of Navy Research (N00014-19-1-2595 of the Electronic Warfare Program).

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Journal Reference:

1. Jiawei Meng, Mario Miscuglio, Jonathan K. George, Aydin Babakhani, Volker J. Sorger. Electronic Bottleneck Suppression in Next‐Generation Networks with Integrated Photonic Digital‐to‐Analog Converters. Advanced Photonics Research, 2020; 2000033 DOI: 10.1002/adpr.202000033