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Spins - Inverse design software for nanophotonic structures
Stanford Reference:
18-012
Abstract
Summary of invention:
This software suite called
Spins
, automates the design of arbitrary nanophotonic devices by leveraging gradient-based optimization techniques that can explore a large space of possible designs. The resulting devices have higher efficiencies, smaller footprints, and novel functionalities.
Spins
is now being licensed to any interested parties through
Stanford’s Office of Technology Licensing (OTL)
.
Spins-B
is an open source version available on
Github (OTL)
.
Problem:
Currently, the design of photonic devices and systems remains extremely labor-intensive and requires engineers with detailed knowledge and extensive experience.
Solution:
To improve upon traditional photonics design methods, the Vuckovic group at Stanford University has developed
Spins
, an automated photonics design suite that can:
Automatically design photonic devices with no human guidance
Design any passive, linear photonic element
Efficiently search the full space of fabricable devices using gradient-based optimization
Produce designs that are significantly more compact, have higher performance, and potentially realize novel functionalities
Incorporate fabrication constraints to ensure devices are readily fabricable
Streamline the design process for planar waveguide devices and grating couplers through the use of provided device design kits which only require the user to input high level parameters
Stage of Development:
Prototypes
-The team designed and experimentally demonstrated a spatial-mode demultiplexer, wavelength demultiplexer, compact broadband power splitter and directional coupler.
A module of
Spins
for grating couplers is described in Stanford docket
S18-019
Fully-automated design of grating couplers
.
Licenses
Commercial site and distribution licenses are available.
Academic and US government lab licenses are available at a discounted price.
Contact the Stanford Office of Technology Licensing Office for more details.
Applications
Designing innovative structures for efficient optical devices
Examples include silicon photonics components, such as power splitters, wavelength demultiplexers, fiber-to-chip grating coupler design, mode converters, metasurface design, quantum circuits (photonic and microwave) LEDs, solar cells, lasers designs
Advantages
Fully automated and efficient
Allows user to ‘design by specification’
Uses gradient-based optimization methods not derivative-free optimization methods which are computationally inefficient and only work well for small numbers of degrees of freedom
Devices can be easily fabricated by standard lithography techniques
Publications
On-chip integrated laser-driven particle accelerator,
Neil V. Sapra, Ki Youl Yang, Dries Vercruysse, Kenneth J. Leedle, Dylan S. Black, R. Joel England,Logan Su, Rahul Trivedi, Yu Miao, Olav Solgaard, Robert L. Byer, Jelena Vučković
Science
(2020)
Inverse-designed non-reciprocal pulse router for chip-based LiDAR,
Ki Youl Yang, Jinhie Skarda, Michele Cotrufo, Avik Dutt, Geun Ho Ahn, Mahmoud Sawaby, Dries Vercruysse, Amin Arbabian, Shanhui Fan, Andrea Alù, Jelena Vučković
Nature Photonics
(2020)
Inverse-Designed Photonics for Semiconductor Foundries,
A.Y. Piggott, E.Y. Ma, …J. Vuckovic
ACS Photonics
Feb. 14, 2020.
Nanophotonic inverse design with SPINS: Software architecture and practical considerations,
Logan Su, Dries Vercruysse, Jinhie Skarda, Neil V. Sapra, Jan A. Petykiewicz, and Jelena Vučković.
Applied Physics Reviews
7, 011407 (2020) Featured in ScienceDaily, PhysOrg, EurekAlert, and more.
Inverse design and demonstration of broadband grating couplers
, Neil V. Sapra, Dries Vercruysse, Logan Su, Ki Youl Yang, Jinhie Skarda, Alexander Y. Piggott, Jelena Vučković.
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics
(2019)
Fully-automated optimization of grating couplers,
Logan Su, Rahul Trivedi, Neil V. Sapra, Alexander Y. Piggott, Dries Vercruysse, Jelena Vučković.
Optics Express
(2018)
Inverse design and demonstration of a compact on-chip narrowband three-channel wavelength demultiplexer,
Logan Su, Alexander Y. Piggott, Neil V. Sapra, Jan Petykiewicz, Jelena Vučković.
ACS Photonics
(2018)
Fabrication-constrained nanophotonic inverse design,
Alexander Y. Piggott, Jan Petykiewicz, Logan Su & Jelena Vučković.
Scientific Reports
7, 1786 (2017)
Inverse design and demonstration of a compact and broadband on-chip wavelength demultiplexer,
Alexander Y. Piggott, Jesse Lu, Konstantinos G. Lagoudakis, Jan Petykiewicz, Thomas M. Babinec, and Jelena Vučković,
Nature Photonics
9, 374–377 (2015)
Inverse design and implementation of a wavelength demultiplexing grating coupler,
Alexander Y. Piggott, Jesse Lu, Thomas M. Babinec, Konstantinos G. Lagoudakis, Jan Petykiewicz, Jelena Vuckovic,
Scientific Reports
4, 7210, (2014) [Supplementary info]
Nanophotonic computational design
Jesse Lu and Jelena Vuckovic,
Optics Express
Vol. 21, 11, pp. 13351-13367 (2013)
Spins Overview
Spins Tutorial
Spins Usage Example
Innovators & Portfolio
Geun Ho Ahn
more technologies from Geun Ho Ahn »
Jesse Lu
Jan Petykiewicz
more technologies from Jan Petykiewicz »
Alexander Piggott
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Neeraj Sapra
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Jinhie Skarda
more technologies from Jinhie Skarda »
Logan Su
more technologies from Logan Su »
Rahul Trivedi
more technologies from Rahul Trivedi »
Dries Vercruysse
more technologies from Dries Vercruysse »
Jelena Vuckovic
more technologies from Jelena Vuckovic »
Date Released
5/11/2020 12:00
Licensing Contact
Luis Mejia, Senior Licensing Manager, Physical Sciences
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Related Keywords
PS: photonics: components
PS: communications: optical
PS: optics: information processing
PS: quantum computing
PS: photonics: nanophotonics
PS: photonics: signal processing
PS: photonics: devices
PS: photonics: integrated circuit
PS: photonics: systems
phototransistor
PS: photonics: silicon
PS: communications: optical interconnects
PS: sensors: optical
PS: optics: waveguide