Programmable Integrated Photonic Devices: Design, Fabrication and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few decades, photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have emerged as a powerful technology to route and manipulate light signals for several applications. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI), silicon nitride, lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) and many other technological platforms have been developed, providing a large set of highly performing components, such as tunable directional couplers, filters, modulators, sources and detectors. In particular, the possibility to reconfigure the optical operation at run-time through an external control, either based on electronics or optics, has paved the way to so-called programmable PICs.

Programmable PICs promise to implement several functions on chips, making them an enabling and powerful tool for various applications. Indeed, complex reconfigurable interferometric systems not only add upgradability in standard photonic-based applications as telecommunications, spectroscopic sensing and metrology, but also represent a key ingredient in quantum information processing and neuromorphic computing.

The research interest in programmable PICs is flourishing and the community is progressively growing. Novel components, platforms and functionalities are continuously being presented, opening up additional applications in various research fields. In light of this, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles on the design of innovative programmable PICs, development of materials, technological advances in the fabrication of the optical components and complementary electronics, and groundbreaking applications of these devices.

Dr. Francesco Ceccarelli
Dr. Simone Atzeni
Prof. Dr. Francesco Morichetti
Guest Editors

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