2025/03/04 by Yue Hu, Hu, Yue, Xue Bai +33
Engineering · #Advanced Photonic Communication Systems #Applied Physics (physics.app-ph) #FOS: Physical sciences #Optics (physics.optics) #Photonic and Optical Devices #Semiconductor Lasers and Optical Devices
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2503.02567
openalex publication_date 2025/03/04 · openalex created_date 2025/10/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Integrated photonics has revolutionized optical communication, sensing, and computation, offering miniaturized and lightweight solutions for spacecraft with limited size and payload. Novel chip-scale instruments based on ultralow-loss integrated photonic platforms, including lasers, frequency combs and atomic traps, have been developed for space applications. Therefore, quantifying the space compatibility of ultralow-loss photonic integrated circuits (PICs), particularly their radiation resistance, is critical. This study experimentally evaluates the radiation resistance of ultralow-loss Si3N4, 4H-SiC, and LiNbO3 PICs under intense γ-ray and high-energy proton irradiation. Results show that proton irradiation with 1.1 × 1010 p/cm2 total flux does not significantly increase optical loss or alter the refractive index of these PICs, while γ-ray irradiation with 1.2 Mrad accumulated dose only marginally increases their optical loss. These findings provide preliminary evidence of the excellent space compatibility of ultralow-loss Si3N4, 4H-SiC, and LiNbO3 PICs, highlighting their potential for compact and lightweight space systems.