arXiv subjects

Marco Sampietro

Publications and source records attributed to Marco Sampietro.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

High-precision automated setting of arbitrary magnitude and phase of Mach-Zehnder interferometers for scalable optical computing

Photonic technologies offer promising solutions to the power consumption, bandwidth constraints and latency limits of electronic hardware used in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence. Recently, many studies have proposed and successfully demonstrated photonic accelerators based on integrated meshes of Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZIs), enabling matrix-vector multiplications directly in the optical domain. While being fast and energy efficient, these photonic architectures still struggle to get the required precision for such applications, because setting the complex coefficients of MZI tunable gates with a high accuracy is still an unsolved problem. This work demonstrates high-precision automated setting and stabilization of MZI-based optical gates with a resolution of 7.01 and 8.04 bits for the output power and phase, respectively. Demonstration is achieved on a multistage silicon photonic circuit comprising a coherent input vector generator, an MZI matrix-vector multiplier, and a coherent receiver for phase measurement. The proposed control strategy can configure the MZIs to any desired working point, without any prior calibration or complex algorithm for the correction of hardware non-idealities, and prevents the propagation of programming errors, thus allowing scalability towards optical processors of large size.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Sequential Monitoring and Control of a Silicon Photonic Coherent Beam Adder and Analyzer

Joint communication and sensing applications require devices that can analyze multiple electromagnetic waves and process them in real time directly in the analog domain. In optics, the growing maturity of photonic integrated platforms allows the fabrication of complex circuits that can perform such operations, but their large number of sensors and actuators requires scalable control strategies to efficiently monitor and actively stabilize their functionality at runtime. In this work, we report on a multi-aperture silicon photonic programmable circuit that operates both as a coherent beam adder and a multi-aperture beam analyzer. The circuit consists of a reconfigurable mesh of Mach-Zehnder interferometers controlled through monolithically integrated electronic circuits, which are used to serialize/deserialize the readout of integrated sensors and the driving of actuators with a time-multiplexed addressing scheme. The circuit operation is validated in a communication and sensing scenario, where the photonic chip is used to simultaneously receive a 25 Gbit/s high-speed transmission and to measure the phase difference between the input light beams.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Integrated electronic controller for dynamic self-configuration of photonic circuits

Reconfigurable photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can implement arbitrary operations and signal processing functionalities directly in the optical domain. Run-time configuration of these circuits requires an electronic control layer to adjust the working point of their building elements and make them compensate for thermal drifts or degradations of the input signal. As the advancement of photonic foundries enables the fabrication of chips of increasing complexity, developing scalable electronic controllers becomes crucial for the operation of complex PICs. In this paper, we present an electronic application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for reconfiguration of PICs featuring numerous tuneable elements. Each channel of the ASIC controller independently addresses one optical component of the PIC, as multiple parallel local feedback loops are operated to achieve full control. The proposed design is validated through real-time reconfiguration of a 16-channel silicon photonics adaptive beam coupler. Results demonstrate automatic coupling of an arbitrary input beam to a single-mode waveguide, dynamic compensation of beam wavefront distortions and successful transmission of a 50 Gbit/s signal through an optical free-space link. The low power consumption and compactness of the electronic chip provide a scalable paradigm that can be seamlessly extended to larger photonic architectures.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Self-Adaptive Integrated Photonic Receiver for Turbulence Compensation in Free Space Optical Links

In Free Space Optical (FSO) communication systems, atmospheric turbulence distorts the propagating beams, causing a random fading in the received power. This perturbation can be compensated using a multi-aperture receiver that samples the distorted wavefront on different points and adds the various signals coherently. In this work, we report on an adaptive optical receiver that compensates in real time for scintillation in FSO links. The optical front-end of the receiver is entirely integrated in a silicon photonic chip hosting a 2D Optical Antenna Array and a self-adaptive analog Programmable Optical Processor made of a mesh of tunable Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The photonic chip acts as an adaptive interface to couple turbulent FSO beams to single-mode guided optics, enabling energy and cost-effective operation, scalability to systems with a larger number of apertures, modulation-format and data-protocol transparency, and pluggability with commercial fiber optics transceivers. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed receiver with optical signals at a data rate of 10 Gbit/s transmitted in indoor FSO links where different turbulent conditions, even stronger than those expected in outdoor links of hundreds of meters, are reproduced.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2017

All-optical mode unscrambling on a silicon photonic chip

Propagation of light beams through scattering or multimode systems may lead to randomization of the spatial coherence of the light. Although information is not lost, its recovery requires a coherent interferometric reconstruction of the original signals, which have been scrambled into the modes of the scattering system. Here, we show that we can automatically unscramble four optical beams that have been arbitrarily mixed in a multimode waveguide, undoing the scattering and mixing between the spatial modes through a mesh of silicon photonics Mach-Zehnder interferometers. Using embedded transparent detectors and a progressive tuning algorithm, the mesh self-configures automatically and reset itself after significantly perturbing the mixing, without turning off the beams. We demonstrate the recovery of four separate 10 Gbits/s information channels, with residual cross-talk between beams of -20dB. This principle of self-configuring and self-resetting in optical systems should be applicable in a wide range of optical applications.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2014

ContactLess Integrated Photonic Probe for light monitoring in InP-based devices

The increasing complexity of photonic integrated circuits requires the possibility to monitor the state of the circuit in order to stabilize the working point against environmental fluctuations or to perform reliable reconfiguration procedures. Although InP technologies can naturally integrate high-quality photodiodes, their use as tap monitors necessarily affects the circuit response and is restricted to few units per chip. They are hence unsuited for very large circuits, where transparent power monitors become key components. In this paper we present the implementation of a ContactLess Integrated Photonic Probe (CLIPP) realizing a non invasive integrated light monitor on InP-based devices. We describe an innovative vertical scheme of the CLIPP monitor which exploits the back side of the chip as a common electrode, thus enabling a reduction of the device footprint and a simplification of the electrical connectivity. We characterize the response of the CLIPP and demonstrate its functionality as power monitor. Lastly, we provide a direct demonstration that CLIPP monitor allows to access more accurate information on the working point of photonic integrated circuits compared to conventional external or integrated photodetectors.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2014

Non-invasive monitoring and control in silicon photonics by CMOS integrated electronics

As photonics breaks away from today's device level toward large scale of integration and complex systems-on-a-chip, concepts like monitoring, control and stabilization of photonic integrated circuits emerge as new paradigms. Here, we show non-invasive monitoring and feedback control of high quality factor silicon photonics resonators assisted by a transparent light detector directly integrated inside the cavity. Control operations are entirely managed by a CMOS microelectronic circuit, hosting many parallel electronic read-out channels, that is bridged to the silicon photonics chip. Advanced functionalities, such as wavelength tuning, locking, labeling and swapping are demonstrated. The non-invasive nature of the transparent monitor and the scalability of the CMOS read-out system offer a viable solution for the control of arbitrarily reconfigurable photonic integrated circuits aggregating many components on a single chip.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2013

Non-invasive light observer

Photonic technologies lack non-invasive monitoring tools to inspect the light inside optical waveguides. This is one of the main barriers to large scale of integration, even though photonic platforms are potentially ready to host several thousands of elements on a single chip. Here, we demonstrate non-invasive light observation in silicon photonics devices by exploiting photon interaction with intra-gap energy states localized at the waveguide surface. Light intensity is measured through a ContactLess Integrated Photonic Probe (CLIPP) that introduces no measurable extra-photon absorption and a phase perturbation as low as 0.2 mrad, comparable to thermal fluctuations of less than 3 mK. Multipoint light monitoring is demonstrated with a sensitivity of -30 dBm and a dynamic range of 40 dB. CLIPP technology is simple, inherently CMOS compatible, and scalable to hundreds of probing points per chip. This concept provides a viable way to real-time conditioning and feedback control of densely-integrated photonic systems.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2007

Time Dependent Inelastic Emission and Capture of Localized Electrons in Si n-MOSFETs Under Microwave Irradiation

Microwave irradiation causes voltage fluctuations in solid state nanodevices. Such an effect is relevant in atomic electronics and nanostructures for quantum information processing, where charge or spin states are controlled by microwave fields and electrically detected. Here the variation of the characteristic times of the multiphonon capture and emission of a single electron by an interface defect in submicron MOSFETs is calculated and measured as a function of the microwave power, whose frequency of the voltage modulation is assumed to be large if compared to the inverse of the characteristic times. The variation of the characteristic times under microwave irradiation is quantitatively predicted from the microwave frequency dependent stationary current generated by the voltage fluctuations itself. The expected values agree with the experimental measurements. The coupling between the microwave field and either one or two terminals of the device is discussed. Some consequences on nanoscale device technology are drawn.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2006

Microwave Irradiation Effects on Random Telegraph Signal in a MOSFET

We report on the change of the characteristic times of the random telegraph signal (RTS) in a MOSFET operated under microwave irradiation up to 40 GHz as the microwave field power is raised. The effect is explained by considering the time dependency of the transition probabilities due to a harmonic voltage generated by the microwave field that couples with the wires connecting the MOSFET. From the dc current excited into the MOSFET by the microwave field we determine the corresponding equivalent drain voltage. The RTS experimental data are in agreement with the prediction obtained with the model, making use of the voltage data measured with the independent dc microwave induced current. We conclude that when operating a MOSFET under microwave irradiation, as in single spin resonance detection, one has to pay attention into the effects related to microwave irradiation dependent RTS changes.

cond-mat.other↗

arXiv2005

Effect of the Triplet State on the Random Telegraph Signal in Si n-MOSFETs

We report on the static magnetic field dependence of the random telegraph signal (RTS) in a submicrometer silicon n-metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor. Using intense magnetic fields and $^{3}$He temperatures, we find that the characteristic time ratio changes by 3 orders of magnitude when the field increases from 0 to 12 T. Similar behaviour is found when the static field is either in-plane or perpendicular to the two dimensional electron gas. The experimental data can be explained by considering a model which includes the triplet state of the trapping center and the polarization of the channel electron gas.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗