EU CLARITY project aims to advance mid-IR photonic systems

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]