Scientists at ETH Zurich have recently taken a big step toward further optoelectronic development by increasing understanding and modeling of the Pockels effect. Principal investigator Virginie de Mestral and her team conduct the study. Specifically, they are interested in the clamped Pockels tensor of tetragonal barium titanate (BTO). Their findings, published in the journal Physical Review B, are primarily aimed at developing a broadly applicable technique. This approach can be extended to a range of different materials and will greatly improve their utility in industrial applications.
It has established a successful collaboration with the Luisier lab at ETH Zurich, and Nicola Marzari’s group at EPFL Lausanne. Combined, they create advanced simulations to inform and optimize new materials for next-gen optoelectronic devices. These devices, which are critical in connecting an electronic system to an optical network cable, use levels of light signal to transmit data through these signals. As the demand for speed and efficiency continues to rise in communication technologies, this research presents promising developments that could transform the industry.
Understanding the Pockels Effect
Building on a unique physical phenomenon called the Pockels effect — which describes how the polarization of light shifts when an electric field is applied to certain compounds — this counterintuitive effect lies at the heart of countless optoelectronic devices. Virginie de Mestral and co-workers carried out ab initio functional-independent computations. To that end, they aimed to understand this effect better in tetragonal barium titanate. Their further work reveals the significance of calculating the correct clamped Pockels tensor as demonstrated. This is important for maximizing the potential efficiency of BTO-derived devices.
The goal of the research team was to create the simplest and most effective method for barium titanate. They imagined this approach being applicable to manufacture devices with other solution-processable materials in optoelectronics. That kind of flexibility is critical. It gives engineers and researchers a powerful tool to continue the leading edge in a myriad of technologies. With these goals in mind, the team hopes to further our understanding of how these materials interact with electric fields and light. They’re confident that this understanding will make for smarter, swifter, better optoelectronic devices.
Collaboration and Innovation
The joint work of ETH Zurich and EPFL Lausanne emphasizes the need for collaborative, interdisciplinary efforts to push the boundaries of scientific understanding. The Luisier lab’s expertise in electronic materials combined with Marzari’s group’s computational prowess has led to significant insights into material properties. Their collaborative work was aimed at simulating defined inorganic materials, which they were then able to further refine for application and performance in the real world.
This collaboration is of special importance for Lumiphase, a Swiss startup focused on developing high-performance optoelectronic devices. Lumiphase is indeed looking forward to utilizing the learnings from this research to focus and refine its product offerings. These products are at the heart of today’s data communication systems. Linking electronic components together using optical signals increases performance and productivity. This huge step forward is even more impressive considering the enormous growth in capacity required to power today’s technology.
Practical Applications in Data Communication
Optoelectronic devices are key to the future of data communications, providing broadband, low latency connections between electronic data systems and optical transport networks. By using light signals to send data at extremely fast rates, these devices have become one of the most crucial technology enablers generating our increasingly digitized economy. Virginie de Mestral described the mechanics of an optoelectronic transceiver, which involves constructing an interferometer with two arms.
In this configuration, light passes through only one arm of the interferometer. At the same time, the design of the second arm produces distinct wave patterns. And when these waves are brought back together, they produce complex interference patterns that ultimately can be read out as binary data—namely 1s and 0s. This encoding technique is important to sending digital information quickly and accurately across complex networks.
The research team’s pioneering research in optimizing barium titanate’s properties has a direct effect on the performance of these transceivers. Engineers today build upon the foundations of better modeling techniques and further understanding of material interactions. This allows them to design devices ideal for today’s needs and to prepare for future technology breakthroughs.
