EU CLARITY project aims to advance mid-IR photonic systems

Nov. 29, 2011

Athens, Greece--A consortium of research organizations is undertaking a European Union-funded project knows as CLARITY (Compact uLtrA-efficient mid-infRared photonIc sysTems based on low noise quantum cascade laser sources, wide band frequencY converters and near-infrared photodetectors). The project plans to deliver a new class of mid-IR tools offering at least one order of magnitude lower noise level and thus higher sensitivity compared to current state-of-the-art solutions and the potential for on-chip-integration of photonic functions, paving the way for a mid-infrared lab-on-a-chip system.

The project goals are to develop a set of technologies to radically improve mid-infrared photonic systems in terms of performance, size, and cost. The three primary goals are: 1) the design and implement of quantum cascade laser systems with sub-shot noise performance; 2) wide-band, highly efficient mid-to-near-infrared (IR) converters relying on third order nonlinear effects in silicon waveguides and soft-glass fibers, and 3) mid-IR photonic integrated circuits based on III-V and IV materials uniting the novel technological concepts of the project in a single chip.

The 3-year project began in September 2011 and involves consortium members from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, III-V Lab and CEA-LETI (France), Technical University of Darmstadt (Germany), the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton (UK), and Norsk Elektro Optikk (Norway).

For more information see www.clarity-project.eu or contact the project coordinator:
Professor Dimitris Syvridis
Optical Communications Laboratory
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Dept. of Informatics and Telecommunications
Panepistimiopolis, Ilissia, Athens 15784, Greece

Tel: +30 210 727 5322
Fax: +30 210 727 5333
Email: [email protected]

About the Author

Conard Holton | Editor at Large

Conard Holton has 25 years of science and technology editing and writing experience. He was formerly a staff member and consultant for government agencies such as the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and engineering companies such as Bechtel. He joined Laser Focus World in 1997 as senior editor, becoming editor in chief of WDM Solutions, which he founded in 1999. In 2003 he joined Vision Systems Design as editor in chief, while continuing as contributing editor at Laser Focus World. Conard became editor in chief of Laser Focus World in August 2011, a role in which he served through August 2018. He then served as Editor at Large for Laser Focus World and Co-Chair of the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar from August 2018 through January 2022. He received his B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, with additional studies at the Colorado School of Mines and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.