The Governing Council of the University of Toronto

Purpose

Current technology relies on radio-frequency communication to and from satellites to ground stations. Optical satellite communications can support much larger bandwidths but require adaptive optical correction systems to correct for atmospheric turbulence and maintain high throughput, but conventional bulk-optics systems can be prohibitively expensive. To mitigate cost and space issues, the Project will develop an on-chip adaptive optics (AO) phase shifting system using the integrated silicon photonic analogue of a deformable mirror. The on-chip “deformable mirror” operates through an array of grating couplers, phase sensors, and phase shifters to correct the wavefront of a free-space optical beam directly in the plane of an integrated photonic chip, leading to numerous advantages, including reduced bulk, reduced cost, and increase volume production.