Vahram Voskerchyan | University of Vigo, QOPHI Lab: Can metasurface miniaturisation and foundry PDKs scale a lab laser pixel to a 256-pixel on-chip display?
06:03 - 07:47
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Summary of the clip:
Can metasurface miniaturisation and foundry PDKs scale a lab laser pixel to a 256-pixel on-chip display?
Heterogeneously packaged PICs are coming, and this example couples a laser so light is nicely arranged across gratings on a chip. That result still needs a more industrial approach: it was a very basic lab experiment. The next target is to scale all of this into at least 256 pixels to show operation on a single chip.
Further shrinking can place all layers in the quantum light chip, and metasurfaces can handle optics, like the Astar work. Meta also released a paper shrinking functionality into the chip for the illcos illuminator, with breathtaking results: images and nice illuminated pixels. Another recent paper moved from this chip to beam scanning.
Designing these kinds of things with foundries is complicated, especially these ski jumps. The speaker supposes it should be very easy for foundries to design those devices: give the PDK, and they can tape out your chips very easily. It is also less processing time and less expensive to design those devices, which is why integrated photonics can enable a lot.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The laser-to-grating coupling was a basic lab experiment that must scale to at least 256 pixels on a single chip.
* Shrinking all layers into the quantum light chip and using metasurface optics, as in Astar work, could push miniaturisation further.
* Foundry design is complicated by ski jumps, yet a PDK and tape-out could cut processing time and design cost for these devices.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Heterogeneously packaged photonic chips can couple a laser and arrange light across on-chip gratings, but scaling from a basic lab experiment to at least 256 pixels on a single chip demands a more industrial approach. Further miniaturisation via quantum light chip layers and metasurface optics, alongside foundry PDKs that simplify tape-out and reduce processing time and cost, points to integrated photonics enabling many devices.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Vahram Voskerchyan
* Companies: University of Vigo, QOPHI Lab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#HeterogeneousPackaging, #QuantumLightChip, #MetasurfaceOptics, #FoundryPDK, #IntegratedPhotonics, #PhotonicDisplays
This is a highlight of the presentation:
Integrated Photonics for Next Generation Display Technology
More Highlights from the same talk.
01:51 - 03:49
Can sputtered waveguides at 2.5 dB/cm and gratings radiating 80% blue light enable an on-chip pixel?
Can sputtered waveguides at 2.5 dB/cm and gratings radiating 80% blue light enable an on-chip pixel?
The demonstrator starts with a sputtering process that offers very high throughput. After wafer development, blue light can propagate in the platform. Waveguiding characterization showed light propagating around 250 nanometers with very low code losses, while the sweet spot was around 60 nanometer for UV light. Blue light also propagates with good losses: 2.5 dB per centimeter at 369, sufficient for a display on chip. The platform is being commercialized, with chips in infrared and UV.
For a pixel in integrated photonics, three modulators and gratings are needed to combine the light in the far field. By modulating the light in each arm, different colors can be developed. The modulators were designed so the light recombines and destructively interferes. After propagating in an MMI, little light remains; the simulation was not good, with around 20% of light still at the output of the waveguides.
Gratings were also designed to make them, at least for blue, radiate 80% of light in the far field, with everything going to the same angle. This is the mask of the first pixel: individually addressed modulators with the gratings as the pixels. The approach therefore combines three modulators, far-field grating output, and per-arm modulation to build an on-chip pixel demonstrator.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Sputtered waveguides propagate blue light with 2.5 dB per centimeter loss at 369, sufficient for a display on chip.
* The UV sweet spot was around 60 nanometer, while light propagating around 250 nanometers had very low code losses.
* The first pixel mask uses individually addressed modulators with gratings as pixels, and blue gratings radiate 80% of light in the far field at the same angle.
📋 **Clip Abstract** A sputtered platform enables blue and UV waveguiding, with 2.5 dB per centimeter at 369 and a UV sweet spot around 60 nanometer, and is being commercialized for infrared and UV chips. The pixel design uses three modulators and gratings to combine light in the far field, with MMI recombination leaving around 20% output in a poor simulation and blue gratings radiating 80% into the same far-field angle.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Vahram Voskerchyan
* Companies: University of Vigo, QOPHI Lab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#SputteringProcess, #UVSweetSpot, #FarFieldGratings, #MMIRecombination, #IntegratedPhotonics, #OnChipDisplays
07:47 - 09:02
Why is integrated photonics the right light engine for holography, autostereoscopic displays and gigahertz beam steering?
Why is integrated photonics the right light engine for holography, autostereoscopic displays and gigahertz beam steering?
Integrated photonics can control both the phase and amplitude of light, so the wavefront itself can be engineered. That capability points directly to holography, small projection systems for the phone and autostereoscopic displays. By modulating light rather than switching a huge pixel array, the engine can shape the optical field. This frames a path to display architectures where the light is computed, not just emitted.
Pushing modulation into the gigahertz range lets the beam scan very fast and track each pixel across the screen. The display can generate all types of images without billions of pixels; it can rapidly simulate and move the beam. Recent work uses liquid crystals on silicon nitride, shrinking the pixel form factor further. The liquid crystal modulates light on top of silicon nitride and can attenuate it. Still rough, but five to six years should bring more integrated photonics into displays.
An older slide still rings true: each of us already has at least three or four displays. That installed base makes the remaining design space feel like real uncharted territory. Many designs become possible once phase, amplitude, liquid-crystal modulation and fast beam movement are treated as variables. The opportunity is not a single architecture but a broad set of architectures. These are described as very exciting opportunities.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Integrated photonics can engineer the wavefront by controlling phase and amplitude.
* Gigahertz modulation supports fast beam scanning that tracks each pixel without billions of pixels.
* Liquid crystals on silicon nitride can attenuate light and shrink pixel form factor, though the approach remains rough.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Integrated photonics can control phase and amplitude to engineer the wavefront, pointing to holography, phone projection and autostereoscopic displays. Gigahertz modulation enables fast beam scanning, while liquid crystals on silicon nitride suggest smaller pixels and a still-rough route toward more integrated photonics in displays.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Vahram Voskerchyan
* Companies: University of Vigo, QOPHI Lab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#SiliconNitride, #LiquidCrystalModulation, #GigahertzBeamScanning, #WavefrontEngineering, #IntegratedPhotonics, #AutostereoscopicDisplays
04:39 - 06:08
Why did generating white light in free space fail to qualify as a workable AR/VR display pixel?
Why did generating white light in free space fail to qualify as a workable AR/VR display pixel?
Applying modulation to the channels changes the pixel's color. The gratings radiate light out of the chip into free space, and this light is coupled from tabletop lasers. Heterogeneous approaches may couple lasers into the chip or integrate all pixels together, producing combination in the far field. RGB can also be modulated in the far field.
After experimenting, a white light was visible, but it was extremely difficult to characterize with the CCD camera. It was unclear whether it was real white light or some kind of bio effect from camera saturations from the laser. A white spot appeared in the middle. Extracting the profile showed that when the green was turned on, white light was generating in free space.
The modulation also works, but it requires super high voltage, around nine volts. After 10 pixels, a whole plate can be made, which is not really suitable for AR/VR. Grating pitch was characterized for deviation from fabrication, and the supercontinuum spectrum showed how much it deviated from simulation. The angle of emission was just a few degrees, and simulation matched the experimental results.
In this short video, you can learn:
* Modulation changed the pixel color while gratings radiated free-space light coupled from tabletop lasers.
* White light in free space was visible, but the CCD camera could not confirm whether it was real or a bio effect from laser saturation.
* The nine-volt modulation and whole-plate scaling after 10 pixels were not really suitable for AR/VR, though emission angle matched simulation within a few degrees.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Modulated channels changed pixel color and gratings radiated light into free space, coupled from tabletop lasers. Free-space white light appeared when green was turned on, but the nine-volt drive, scaling after 10 pixels, and grating-pitch deviations made it unsuitable for AR/VR, despite few-degree emission matching simulation.
About the speaker:
* Speaker: Vahram Voskerchyan
* Companies: University of Vigo, QOPHI Lab
* Event: Eindhoven 2026
* Location: High Tech Campus, Eindhoven
#FreeSpaceWhiteLight, #GratingPitchDeviation, #FarFieldRGBModulation, #SupercontinuumSpectrum, #ARVRDisplays, #IntegratedPhotonics