A UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved quantum technology development a significant step ahead, demonstrating a new kind of silicon photonic chip that could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks. He is exploring emerging application areas for this technology while helping his students bridge the gap between theory and practice.
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 is making historic investments in semiconductor research, workforce development and manufacturing. Learn how UW ECE is prepared and well-positioned to leverage these opportunities.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni is developing a new type of computer chip for use in data centers. This “smart” chip will help make AI and machine learning applications faster, more powerful and energy efficient.
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team that has developed an innovative miniature camera, which uses a hybrid optical system over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart.
The annual UW ECE Awards ceremony recognizes exceptional teaching, research, and entrepreneurship efforts in the Department, as well as outstanding mentorship, student impact, and collaborative work.
A UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved quantum technology development a significant step ahead, demonstrating a new kind of silicon photonic chip that could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks. He is exploring emerging application areas for this technology while helping his students bridge the gap between theory and practice.
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 is making historic investments in semiconductor research, workforce development and manufacturing. Learn how UW ECE is prepared and well-positioned to leverage these opportunities.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni is developing a new type of computer chip for use in data centers. This “smart” chip will help make AI and machine learning applications faster, more powerful and energy efficient.
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team that has developed an innovative miniature camera, which uses a hybrid optical system over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart.
The annual UW ECE Awards ceremony recognizes exceptional teaching, research, and entrepreneurship efforts in the Department, as well as outstanding mentorship, student impact, and collaborative work.
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_32135" align="alignright" width="500"]
A UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved quantum technology development a significant step ahead, demonstrating a new kind of silicon photonic chip that could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world. Shown above: An optical image of the electrically controlled coupled cavity array in the team’s silicon photonic chip. The image depicts the wiring structure and optical micrograph of the coupled cavity array. This visual, provided by Abhi Saxena, is an edge detected output that uses an optical microscope image as an input.[/caption]
Today, we are living in the midst of a race to develop a quantum computer, one that could be used for practical applications. This device, built on the principles of quantum mechanics, holds the potential to perform computing tasks far beyond the capabilities of today’s fastest supercomputers. Quantum computers and other quantum-enabled technologies could foster significant advances in areas such as cybersecurity and molecular simulation, impacting and even revolutionizing fields such as online security, drug discovery and material fabrication.
An offshoot of this technological race is building what is known in scientific and engineering circles as a “quantum simulator” — a special type of quantum computer, constructed to solve one equation model for a specific purpose beyond the reach of a standard computer. For example, in medical research, a quantum simulator could theoretically be built to help scientists simulate a specific, complex molecular interaction for closer study, deepening scientific understanding and speeding up drug development.
But just like building a practical, usable quantum computer, constructing a useful quantum simulator has proven to be a daunting challenge. The idea was first proposed by mathematician Yuri Manin in 1980. Since then, researchers have attempted to employ trapped ions, cold atoms and superconducting qubits to build a quantum simulator capable of real-world applications, but to date, these methods are all still a work in progress. Recent advances in superconducting system design and fabrication have led to several successful implementations of prototypical quantum simulators that demonstrate small-scale quantum systems. However, there have been challenges in enlarging these systems to a usable size, as well as operating difficulties when attempting to use superconducting systems to simulate actual quantum materials.
Now, a UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved this effort a significant step ahead, demonstrating in Nature Communications that a new kind of silicon photonic chip could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world. Majumdar is an expert in optics, photonics, and the development of quantum technologies. At the UW, in addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, he is a co-chair of QuantumX and a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems.
“We’ve shown that photonics is a leading contender for quantum simulation, and photonic chips are a reality,” Majumdar said. “We believe that these chips can play a very important role in building a quantum simulator.”
“This is a very good platform for realizing a useful quantum simulator that could be scaled to large sizes,” added Abhi Saxena, lead author of the paper and recent UW ECE alumnus. Saxena graduated in 2023 with his doctoral degree and now works for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado.
Other members of the research team include Arnab Manna, a doctoral student in the physics department and UW ECE Assistant Professor Rahul Trivedi, a quantum systems expert who assisted the group with theoretical aspects of their research.
The advantages of a silicon photonic chip — scalable, measurable, programmable
[caption id="attachment_32136" align="alignright" width="600"]
The UW research team. From left to right, UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar, lead author and recent UW ECE alumnus Abhi Saxena (Ph.D. ‘23), physics doctoral student Arnab Manna, UW ECE Assistant Professor Rahul Trivedi[/caption]
Photonics is a branch of optics (the study of behavior and properties of light) that applies generation, detection, and manipulation of light to enable a wide range of technologies, such as lasers, fiber optics, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A key advantage photonics has over other methods of building a quantum simulator platform is that photonic devices can be fabricated in CMOS foundries, which have been used for decades to produce semiconductor chips.
“The fabrication process that we have for this chip can directly latch onto the already well-matured silicon fabrication that we do for transistors and other computer chips,” Saxena said. “Whereas for other quantum simulator platforms that’s not feasible, even though many of them have already demonstrated prototypical devices.”
As a case in point, the research team created their silicon photonic chip at the Washington Nanofabrication Facility on the UW campus. Their fabrication method will help lower production costs for building a quantum simulator, and perhaps more importantly, make it possible to scale the chip up enough for it to be usable in a wide range of quantum simulation devices.
At the heart of the chip the team designed is a “photonic coupled cavity array.” This array is a pseudo-atomic lattice made up of eight photonic resonators. It is a place where photons can be confined, raised and lowered in energy, and moved around in a controlled manner, essentially forming circuits. Important technical innovations by the team related to the array include creating a mathematical algorithm that allowed them to map, or characterize, the chip in detail, using only information available on the boundaries of the chip, and designing a new kind of architecture for heating and independently controlling each cavity in the array, which let the team program the device. According to Majumdar and Saxena, these two innovations on a silicon photonic chip have never been accomplished before.
“We are demonstrating everything on a chip, and we have shown scalability, measurability and programmability — solving three of the four major obstacles to using a silicon photonic chip as a platform for a quantum simulator,” Majumdar said. “Our solution is a small size, it is not misalignment-prone, and we can program it.”
What the future holds
Moving forward, the research team seeks to solve what they see as the fourth, and final, major obstacle to building a fully realized quantum simulator, creating a condition called “nonlinearity.” Unlike the electrons commonly found in electronic circuits, which repel each other because of their negative electrical charge, photons, by their nature, do not interact with each other. An equivalent interaction is needed in a quantum simulator to create nonlinearity and complete the circuitry. The team is currently exploring several different approaches to address this issue.
Also on the research team’s agenda is to fine-tune their silicon photonic chip, optimizing it for standard chip foundries, so the chip can be manufactured at semiconductor fabrication plants around the world. Majumdar and Saxena both said that this aspect of development would be, relatively speaking, an easier hurdle, and they expressed optimism about the impact their chip will have.
“Through this work, we presented a solid foundation for a platform that demonstrates photonics and the semiconductor-based technology we are using as viable alternatives to create quantum simulators,” Saxena said. “I think that up until now, many in the scientific and engineering communities have generally avoided considering photonics for this purpose. But our work shows that it is realistically possible, so it is a very good incentive for more people to begin moving in this direction.”
For more information about the research described in this article, read the team’s paper in Nature Communications or contact Arka Majumdar.
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31929" align="alignright" width="600"]
UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks, focusing on long-range connectivity and sensing. He leads the Networking and Emerging Wireless Technologies Lab (NEWT) at the UW. Gadre is exploring emerging application areas for wireless technology, and he helps his students bridge the gap between theory and practice by assigning them real-world projects. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Most of us are familiar with wireless technology because we use it every day to bring our smartphones, laptop computers, and other mobile devices online. The wireless-enabled Internet of Things is also weaving itself into ordinary life through a wide range of devices, including smart televisions, smart appliances, and virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri. Wireless networks form a foundation for these technologies, linking devices together, connecting people, and acting as a conduit for taking in and processing information from the world around us.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks, focusing on long-range connectivity and sensing. He is exploring up-and-coming application areas for this technology, such as satellite and underwater networks, as well as the next evolution of 5G connectivity. He is also helping his students to bridge the gap between theory and practice by assigning them real-world projects and evaluating their implementation of wireless technology.
Gadre’s previous work has focused on low-power, wide-area wireless networks, which deploy low-power, sometimes battery-free, sensors that are networked together and distributed across large areas that can range from several square yards to thousands of square miles. This type of wireless system can be useful in many kinds of environments and technology domains. For example, low-power, wide-area wireless networks can be used to help link communication satellites together in space or monitor the health of crops and moisture levels in the ground. Following up on real-world deployments of these types of wireless networks, Gadre now works with students in his Networking and Emerging Wireless Technologies Lab, known as the NEWT lab, to apply wireless network expertise toward improving sensing and communication capabilities of the next generation of wireless technologies.
Wireless technology is applicable to many different areas, and the same tools that could improve connectivity with satellites could also apply to connecting our cell phones. What is unique about my lab is that we attempt to understand real-world behavior in order to evolve wireless communication and sensing across multiple domains. — UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre
Gadre joined UW ECE in September 2022, shortly after receiving his doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He noted robust support in the Department for his focus area.
“UW ECE is one of the best electrical and computer engineering departments in the world. It provides a unique mix of expertise across layers both above and below my area,” Gadre said. “For example, we have the best circuits faculty at UW ECE, as well as amazing data science and machine learning experts in both electrical and computer engineering and computer science, which is a great complement to my expertise in building end-to-end wireless systems and bringing them into reality.”
Gadre’s work on wireless networks has already earned him numerous awards and honors, including a 2021 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) SIGBED-SIGSOFT Frank Anger Memorial Award for his cross-disciplinary research across embedded systems and software engineering. He has received Best Paper Awards at the 2018 and 2020 International Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks (IPSN), and he received the Best Presentation Award at the 2020 IPSN Ph.D. Forum. He has also published and presented papers at premier cyber-physical systems and mobile systems venues, such as the IPSN, the USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation (NSDI), MobiCom and the IEEE’s International Conference on Communication (ICC).
“We are very fortunate to have Akshay in our Department,” said UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins. “He brings a level of expertise and enthusiasm for wireless technology development that can be hard to find. I’m looking forward to seeing how he will continue to push the field ahead and bring new opportunities to our students and industry partners.”
Turning vision into reality
[caption id="attachment_31936" align="alignright" width="550"]
The NEWT lab is building augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) tools for improving wireless communication and sensing. Shown above, Gadre operates an AR/VR headset to investigate how wireless signal propagation (onscreen) is affected by buildings on the UW campus. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
While Gadre’s doctoral studies were, for the most part, exploring one type of wireless network technology for applications in urban areas, at UW ECE, he is expanding his research focus.
“We are going to explore satellite networks and create satellite constellations, as well as underwater networks and build better sensors for these scenarios,” Gadre said. “Another dimension that I am extremely curious about is leveraging modern millimeter-wave radars and using them for sensing the world around us, and then using that sensed information to improve 5G, 6G and 7G connectivity.”
During his doctoral work, Gadre experimented with deploying sensors as part of low-power, wide-area wireless networks in various urban environments. What he discovered was that there was a gap between how well the technology performed in the lab as compared to how well it performed in the field.
“The reality was these sensors could not communicate very far, and the connectivity was also fragile,” Gadre said. “That drove me to explore this area of research, focusing on how we could bridge the gap between the claims and vision for this technology with reality.”
Part of the reason for this gap is that there are four important factors that must be considered for each implementation of wireless technology — battery life, transmittal range, data throughput and signal latency (speed). These four factors create constraints that apply to every wireless network in the real world. Each network deployment must be customized to handle these constraints, which can vary greatly depending on the type of environment in which the network is implemented. For example, the constraints for a wireless network connecting satellites in space are quite different from those for a wireless network on the ground measuring soil moisture in a farmer’s field.
To tackle this and other complex challenges across wireless technology domains, Gadre is now creating teams in his lab, where multiple undergraduate and graduate students will work together in tandem with doctoral students, who will be leading many of the lab’s largest projects. And because this is team-driven work with real-world applications, Gadre and his students will collaborate with several different industry partners, including companies such as Microsoft Research and T-Mobile.
Gadre is also collaborating with UW ECE professors Chris Rudell, Sajjad Moazeni and Matt Reynolds and said that he is looking forward to working with data science and machine learning experts at UW ECE and in other UW schools and departments. He is currently pursuing collaborations with the Husky Satellite Lab and is in talks with UW ECE Associate Professor Payman Arabshahi, who is the department’s associate chair for education, industry liaison, and is the UW lead for the National Science Foundation’s Center for Soil Technologies (SoilTech). Gadre and Arabshahi are investigating the feasibility of wireless satellite networks that could assist SoilTech with its mission to develop remote sensing and analysis tools that can share real-time soil dynamics data with the scientific community. They are also discussing possible applications for Gadre’s research through the Applied Physics Laboratory, which would include developing wireless networks that could assist with underwater ocean research.
“Wireless technology is applicable to many different areas, and the same tools that could improve connectivity with satellites could also apply to connecting our cell phones,” Gadre said. “What is unique about my lab is that we attempt to understand real-world behavior in order to evolve wireless communication and sensing across multiple domains.”
Piquing students’ curiosity, working with cutting-edge technology
[caption id="attachment_31940" align="alignright" width="550"]
Students collecting image data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather satellites in Gadre's EE 595A course: Advanced Topics in Communication — mmWave and Space Networked Systems. Photo provided by Akshay Gadre.[/caption]
Gadre teaches a mix of undergraduate and graduate students at UW ECE. He said that he customizes and evolves his teaching style over time according to the needs of the students he is working with. For undergraduates, he aims to pique their curiosity and guide them toward a deeper understanding of electrical and computer engineering. For graduate students, he exposes them to cutting-edge technologies as soon as possible. For all students, he provides project-driven assignments aimed at bringing them closer to actual tasks they might do in academic research or in their first industry positions.
“Students need to learn how to build things,” Gadre said. “I prefer that approach to simply teaching concepts that may not be applied until after graduation, when students get jobs. Why not apply the knowledge during the course itself? This provides a deeper learning experience.”
In his spare time, Gadre enjoys playing chess, board games and video games, and he is working on starting a student board game club at UW ECE. He said that this would not only be fun and a stress-reducer for students, but he believes the activity could facilitate social connections that would be helpful to students in their academic journeys. Gadre also said that he wants students to know that he is always available to help them when needed.
“The most exciting thing about teaching is the happiness I see on students’ faces when they understand something, and that click of ‘Eureka’ happens,” Gadre said. “Those are the most fulfilling moments for me, when students gain confidence in the areas that I teach, and I know that they are becoming more mature in how they are thinking about the problems they are presented with in class. Seeing a student’s face light up when they realize, ‘Oh, that’s why it works that way,’ — that’s quite fulfilling to me.”
Visit Akshay Gadre’s bio page to learn more about his work as a researcher and educator at UW ECE.
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31742" align="alignright" width="600"]
A recently designed microchip from the lab of UW ECE Professor Chris Rudell (in gold, mounted to the green circuit board shown above). This chip is a 2.4 GHz full-duplex transceiver, which employs multiple self-interference cancellation techniques to improve signal fidelity and efficiently use limited bandwidth. The chip has a broad range of applications, including use in satellite communications and radar; shipping, aviation, and space industries; and 5G technologies. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Semiconductors, also known as integrated circuits or microchips, have become a necessity for modern life. Long considered to be the brains of modern electronics, these tiny chips can be found in almost every electronic device in use today. And their impact is vast, supporting every sector of the U.S. economy, as well as national security. Currently, all major U.S. defense systems and platforms rely on microchips for their performance, and in many cases, simply to operate.
It is with these things in mind that the White House passed into law the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which is making historic investments in semiconductor research, workforce development and manufacturing. The CHIPS Act aims to bolster supply chains and reassert the U.S. as a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. Over the next couple of years, billions of dollars will be pouring into this effort, and faculty from universities and colleges around the country will be competing for research and development funding, including many from UW ECE.
“At UW ECE, we have top-notch faculty researchers, strong industry partnerships, and we recently redesigned our undergraduate curriculum to offer academic pathways for students interested in pursuing studies and careers related to the semiconductor industry,” said UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li, who is the Department’s associate chair for research. “We also have hired two new faculty members whose research is in chip design, and we plan to add more faculty with semiconductor expertise in the near future.”
[caption id="attachment_31710" align="alignright" width="400"]
The Bespoke Silicon Group (BSG) Ten chip from the lab of UW ECE and Allen School Professor Michael Taylor.[/caption]
Li, as well as other UW ECE faculty, such as Professor Michael Taylor, who holds a joint appointment in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, have contributed to and partnered on several proposals and initiatives that would help to bring CHIPS Act funding into semiconductor research and workforce development at UW ECE. The Department has also spent a significant amount of money over the last two years to upgrade and refurbish its electronics teaching labs.
“Semiconductor design and development is at the heart of electrical and computer engineering, so our Department is well-positioned to leverage funding and support stemming from the CHIPS and Science Act.” said UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins. “I’m especially excited about the opportunities this will provide for our students and faculty, as well as how it will strengthen our existing collaborations and create new industry, government and community partnerships.”
UPWARDS for the Future
[caption id="attachment_31717" align="alignright" width="400"]
UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li is the Department’s associate chair for research and a principal investigator in UPWARDS for the Future. UPWARDS is aimed at providing advanced training and research opportunities that will grow the nation's semiconductor workforce. It will also help the U.S. and Japan build more of the microchips that both nations need. Photo by Ryan Hoover | UW ECE[/caption]
One of those new partnerships is the U.S.-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research & Development in Semiconductors (UPWARDS) for the Future, which begins September 1, 2023. UPWARDS brings together six U.S. universities and five Japanese universities with Micron Technology to provide advanced training and research opportunities that will grow the semiconductor workforce and help the U.S. and Japan build more of the microchips that both nations need. A total of $60 million in funding is available for this collaboration, including a $10 million grant provided by the National Science Foundation’s new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, which was authorized by the CHIPS Act. Matching funds were provided by Micron and Tokyo Electron. Li is a principal investigator for the grant, alongside David Bergsman, who is an assistant professor in the chemical engineering department.
“Our nation’s success in advanced technologies depends on having a strong workforce,” said Washington Senator Maria Cantwell in a recent press release about UPWARDS, which she had a hand in creating. “This NSF award, led by the University of Washington, will help establish the Pacific Northwest as a leader in training the more than 90,000 students, faculty, and skilled professionals needed to build the most advanced chips right here in the United States. If we want to lead the world tomorrow, we must invest in worker training today.”
Looking ahead
[caption id="attachment_31712" align="alignright" width="400"]
The EOS24 Chip is advanced silicon photonic technology developed in the lab of UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni. It contains high-speed optical transmitters and is flip-chip bonded onto a high density printed circuit board. This chip has applications in high-speed modulators, optical communication and computing.[/caption]
This fall, UW ECE is looking forward to welcoming two new assistant professors, Ang Li and Hossein Naghavi, who produce research important to semiconductor development. Li has expertise in computer architecture, digital very large-scale integrated (VLSI) design, and reconfigurable integrated systems, and Naghavi is an expert in integrated terahertz electronics.
Overall, UW ECE is experiencing rapid growth, partly in response to the CHIPS Act. The Department plans to add five new faculty members next year, including one position at the associate professor level that will be focused on semiconductor design. The number of undergraduate degrees produced annually at UW ECE is also projected to scale up significantly in the next two to three years. This is mostly because of the increasing need for more electrical and computer engineers, but it is also driven by market demand for skilled semiconductor engineers, which is being stimulated by the CHIPS Act.
The UW College of Engineering is designing a plan for an interdepartmental, multidisciplinary curriculum focused on semiconductor technology. This curriculum would provide university-wide, multiple pathways for students and could include offering new undergraduate minors and certificate programs. Professor Mo Li noted the UW’s stature as a flagship university for Washington state as well as its proximity to and existing partnerships with Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Micron, and Intel — all key players in designing, developing, manufacturing, and distributing microchips.
“Our industry partners tell us what kind of skills they need for particular types of jobs in the semiconductor industry,” Li said. “We want the curriculum we develop to match industry needs. So, then we will know that if a student gets this certificate or that minor, they will have the complete skill set for the job they are looking for. That’s the benefit for both sides, for our industry partners, future employers, and most importantly, for our students.”
Learn more about the CHIPS and Science Act on the White House website, and about the UPWARDS partnership in Senator Maria Cantwell’s recent press release, as well as in the UW student newspaper, The Daily. Contact Professor Mo Li for more information about how this historic legislation is impacting UW ECE.
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[caption id="attachment_31605" align="alignright" width="600"]
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni (shown above) is developing a new type of computer chip for use in data centers that support cloud computing. This “smart” chip will help to make AI and machine learning applications faster, more powerful and energy efficient. Photo by Ryan Hoover | UW ECE[/caption]
Over the last few years, the world has seen great advances in computing power as evidenced by popular artificial intelligence and machine learning applications such as Uber, Siri, and most recently, ChatGPT. At the same time, these types of applications and the large numbers of devices that use them have been placing ever-greater demands on data centers that support cloud computing, which serves as a backbone for information technology. As one might expect, the need for computational speed, power and capacity has been growing exponentially.
Overall, growth in computing power is continuing to keep pace with these demands, following Moore’s law, which states that the speed and capability of computers can be expected to double every two years as a result of increases in the numbers of transistors that a microchip can contain. However, what is not keeping pace with this rapid evolution are the networking components between computing and memory devices in data centers. This presents a serious problem, because even if robust computing power is available, it will always be limited by the speed and bandwidth of whatever network it is plugged into.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni, who was recently featured in UW News, has been tackling this problem through research supported by a 2022 NSF CAREER award. His work is focused on developing a new type of computer chip and network architectures for use in data centers that support AI and machine learning applications. This effort is aimed at increasing data center network speed, capacity, and energy efficiency. Now, his work will be augmented by a 2023 Google Research Scholar Program award, which will allow Moazeni to further expand this research.
“I’ve been working on proposing some ideas for the physical implementation of this chip while conducting system-level simulations and modeling,” Moazeni said. “I’m very grateful to Google, because this award and support helps me and my team to expand the scope of the system-level modeling that we are doing.”
The Google Research Scholar Program provides unrestricted gifts to support research at institutions around the globe, and it is focused on funding world-class research conducted by early-career professors. 2023 award recipients were announced online this summer and include Moazeni and UW ECE alumnus Vikram Iyer (Ph.D. ‘21), who is an assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
Smart, co-packaged optics in a chip
Moazeni is developing a “smart” silicon photonic chip, which can serve as a bridge between electrical and optical signals for a computer processor. And because it is a smart chip, it can also assist the processor with computing tasks, such as memory access and data retrieval across a large network of devices. In electrical and computer engineering, this smart chip is known as a type of “co-packaged optics,” so named because of its role as an electro-optical interconnect and its proximity to the computer processor.
“Typically, people look at a silicon photonic chip as a kind of co-packaged technology that acts as an electro-optical bridge. It takes the electrical data and converts it into optical signals, and it usually just talks directly to the processor,” Moazeni said. “Here, what we wanted to do was to add some compute power on top of this into the chip, and then have it communicate with the memory as well. So, the chip is going to be more than just an electro-optical converter. It’s going to do some processing on top of that. That’s why we call it a smart chip.”
This smart chip is very energy efficient and could dramatically increase computing capacity of networked devices. Moazeni estimates that the chip will be approximately 10 times more energy efficient than current interconnect approaches, and it will be able to achieve 10 to 100 times higher bandwidth. He also noted that the smart chip could spur further improvements in data center device networks.
“If this smart chip enables the energy efficiency and the high bandwidth with the data densities we are targeting, then it could enable new system-level architectures,” Moazeni said. “Today, data center architecture is based on the limitations of networking. So, if we can improve network connectivity, it can enable new architectures.”
Technology with broad impact
The technology Moazeni is developing promises to have a broad impact on society and the world at large. In addition to helping data centers better handle the demands of popular AI and machine learning applications, this smart chip and new network architectures Moazeni is proposing and developing will enable advances in any area reliant on computing speed, power, and capacity. This, for example, could include things such as AI-driven drug discovery and medical diagnosis, predicting global weather patterns, forecasting climate change, working out complex supply-chain logistics and supporting air traffic control — a wide range of applications relevant and vital to modern life.
Moazeni plans to continue this research over at least the next four years, and he emphasized the importance of improving network speed, capacity, and energy efficiency.
“We’ve probably increased computational power more than 100 times over the last decade, but we are reaching the end of Moore’s law, and even now, you cannot gain that much from a computing power increase anymore,” Moazeni said. “So, as we move forward, we definitely need to focus on closing the gap between computing and network communication. That’s what this smart chip and redesign of existing network architectures will help us to do.”
For more information about this research, which is supported by an NSF CAREER award and a Google Research Scholar Program award, contact Sajjad Moazeni. More information about Moazeni’s work in a broader context can be found in this recent UW News article.
[post_title] => Sajjad Moazeni receives Google Research Scholar Program award to develop faster computer networks for AI and machine learning in the cloud
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31563" align="alignright" width="550"]
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team helping to make high-quality, color cameras smaller and lighter for mobile platforms, such as next-generation smartphones, drones, and point-of-care medical devices. The team recently developed a miniature camera that uses an innovative hybrid optical system over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart. Shown above: a close-up view of the raised camera “bump” on the back of a typical smartphone today. Majumdar and Fröch’s research advance could help to reduce the size of this camera bump or eliminate it entirely, containing smartphone cameras completely within the phone frame and significantly reducing manufacturing costs. Photo by Ryan Hoover | UW ECE[/caption]
Our smartphone cameras have become a staple of modern life. Each day, millions of photos and videos are captured with smartphones as people snap pictures and record videos of loved ones and memorable moments, such as playing with a favorite pet, appreciating a dramatic city skyline, or enjoying a beautiful sunset. Meanwhile, other mobile devices that incorporate small cameras, such as aerial drones, continue to grow in popularity as people explore looking at the world around us in new and exciting ways.
Because demand for mobile devices is high, and smaller is often considered to be better, there is an ongoing technological race to make the cameras contained within smartphones, drones, and other mobile platforms smaller and lighter than they already are. But the engineering challenges involved in doing this, whether using traditional refractive camera lenses or more advanced technology, grow greater as cameras continue to shrink in size.
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team taking on these challenges and helping to make cameras smaller and lighter for mobile platforms, such as next-generation smartphones, drones and point-of-care medical devices. As described in their recent paper in Science Advances, the team has developed a miniature camera capable of capturing full-color, high quality images, using an innovative hybrid optical system that is over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart.
This new camera’s optical system is considered to be a hybrid, because it combines a traditional refractive lens (similar to the kind of lens found in a pair of glasses) with advanced meta-optics — flat, planar surfaces consisting of microscopic structures known as “nanopillars,” which are used to manipulate light and provide a degree of control at a sub-wavelength scale not possible with refractive lenses. This combination helps to resolve chromatic and geometric imperfections in photos and video, which have long been a problem for researchers using meta-optics alone. The camera's hybrid system also includes an artificial neural network, which uses its computing power to fill-in image gaps that the optical side of the system may not be able to capture. This three-part hybrid framework is allowing researchers such as Majumdar and Fröch to completely reimagine what an optical system could be.
“We are really thinking about optics as more of an information processing device, rather than as an image-forming device,” Majumdar said. “We want to capture enough information from the scene to create an image, rather than try to collect all of it. If we capture enough information, then the computation backend can form an accurate image. That way, we can reduce the size of our device.”
Majumdar and Fröch collaborated on this project with researchers from Tampere University in Tampere, Finland, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council in Harwell, United Kingdom. Fabrication of the meta-optics contained within the camera took place at the Washington Nanofabrication Laboratory on the UW campus.
The billion-dollar bump
[caption id="attachment_31566" align="alignright" width="500"]
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar (left) and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch (right)[/caption]
On the back of most smartphones today is a small, raised bump, where the phone’s camera resides. The reason this bump is there is because the average smartphone camera contains eight or nine refractive lenses that together create the camera’s optical stack. Although these refractive lenses are tiny, when added together, they need more vertical space than what the depth of a smartphone typically allows.
“That bump is actually a billion-dollar problem,” Majumdar said. “It doesn’t matter that much to the end-user, but to create packaging that accounts for the bump, companies have to spend a lot of money, and that cost gets passed on to the consumer.”
To help address the issue of the bump by reducing the size of the camera’s optical stack, Majumdar and his research team built their camera using one refractive lens and a layer of meta-optics only one micron thick. That’s much thinner than the thickness of a grain of sand (62 to 500 microns) or the width of a single human hair (70 to 100 microns).
In addition to engineering a hybrid optical system that is over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart, this camera’s aperture, which is directly proportional to how much visual information the device can take in, is over 10 times larger than similar cameras in the marketplace. And not only is the camera the team developed significantly smaller and lighter, with a much larger aperture than what is commercially available, it even captures images that are of superior quality.
“For me, what this research advance demonstrates is that even when the optics are incredibly small, you can still preserve color and image quality,” Majumdar said. “This points to other applications for this device beyond smartphones or drones.”
It is also worth pointing out that as the device makes its way into the marketplace, less glass and plastic material will be needed to build it than its predecessors. When multiplied over millions of smartphones and devices, this could contribute to significantly reducing the environmental impact of technologies using this type of camera.
A wide range of future applications
Majumdar said he is excited about this new camera and applying its design framework to other applications. Those include incorporating the optical system into point-of-care medical devices, such as endoscopes and angioscopes, which use very small cameras to scan inside arteries, veins, and other hard-to-access areas inside the human body. Other applications, such as object detection in cameras used by autonomous vehicles and robotics are on the horizon, as is using the camera for hyperspectral imaging, which reveals aspects of an image undetectable to the human eye alone. Hyperspectral imaging has several possible uses in precision agriculture, for example, thermal imaging of fields to detect when crops need watering, and hand-held (smartphone) food inspection, which could detect whether fruits and vegetables might contain a bit of rot inside a shiny exterior.
With all these things in mind, Majumdar plans to commercialize aspects of this new technology through his startup company Tunoptix, which is an industry leader in broadband meta-optics imaging. He also plans to work with his UW research team along with researchers at Tampere University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council to package all the discrete components of this camera into one, integrated system that can be commercialized. He expects this miniature camera to make its way into the marketplace within three to five years.
“One of the main things I’d like people to know is that even after significant optimization of devices such as smartphones, there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Majumdar said. “Once you add a computational backend, like we did, and co-design the optics with computation, then a lot of things can be done that were not possible before.”
Funding and support for UW researchers participating in this project was provided by the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the U.S. Department of Defense. Learn more about this research by reading “Miniature Color Camera via Flat Hybrid Meta-Optics” in Science Advances or this press release from Tampere University. More information is also available by contacting Arka Majumdar.
[post_title] => Reimagining optics for smartphone cameras and other devices
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[post_content] => Article by UW ECE staff, photos by Ryan Hoover
[caption id="attachment_31472" align="alignright" width="650"]
UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins (center) with some of the 2023 UW ECE Award recipients. From left to right: Outstanding Mentorship Award recipient Luyao Niu, Student Impact Award recipient Matt Guo, UW ECE graduate student Abhi Saxena, who was a runner-up for the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student, UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins, Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recipients Shruti Misra and Lane Smith, and Outstanding Teaching Award recipient Mahmood Hameed.[/caption]
Every year, UW ECE holds an awards ceremony that honors students, faculty and staff for their outstanding contributions to the Department. This year, the UW ECE Awards event was held at the end of spring quarter in the Paul G. Allen Center Atrium. The event was well-attended and hosted by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins.
“Today, we honor our faculty, students and staff for their outstanding contributions to the Department,” Klavins said at the ceremony. “Award recipients represent exceptional achievements; embody UW ECE core values such as leadership, collaboration and teamwork; and foster diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The UW ECE Awards ceremony recognizes exceptional teaching, research, and entrepreneurship efforts in the Department, as well as outstanding mentorship, student impact, and collaborative work. This year’s event also included a fond farewell and acknowledgement of contributions to the Department by Associate Professor Sreeram Kannan, who has been with UW ECE for more than eight years. Kannan has been researching communications, machine learning and blockchain technology during his time in the Department. For the last two years, he has been on a leave of absence while founding Eigenlayer, a company that is making blockchains more programmable and scalable. Kannan will soon be moving on from UW ECE to focus on his company full time.
Learn more below about this year’s award recipients.
Outstanding Teaching Award
[caption id="attachment_31479" align="alignleft" width="425"]
UW ECE Professor Denise Wilson presenting UW ECE Assistant Teaching Professor Mahmood Hameed with the Outstanding Teacher Award certificate.[/caption]
Mahmood Hameed
UW ECE Assistant Teaching Professor Mahmood Hameed took on the responsibility of teaching a wide array of classes in his first year at UW ECE. In doing so, he supported the Department in a remarkable way. Although he was faced with many students over the quarter, Hameed took the time to personally make an impact, joining students after class and in teacher assistant meetings to further connections and curiosity. According to UW ECE Professor Denise Wilson, who presented the award, Hameed has a unique ability to engage with a room, teaching the future generation and inspiring them to further their learning.
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
This award recognizes a student or students who demonstrate an outstanding contribution to teaching at UW ECE. This year, there were so many exceptional nominations that the Department selected three award recipients — Xichen Li, Shruti Misra, and Lane Smith. The award was presented at the event by UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds.
[caption id="attachment_31486" align="alignleft" width="300"]
UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins holds an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award certificate with Xichen Li.[/caption]
Xichen Li
Li has been a teaching assistant for classes such as “Advanced Communication Circuits” and “Analog Circuits for Sensors and Systems.” Nominators described Li’s ability to support students in a way that promoted learning and skill development. One nominator wrote, “I cannot speak highly enough of Xichen Li, who has undoubtedly been the most outstanding TA I have had the pleasure of working with. Throughout the EE 536 RFIC course, Xichen consistently went above and beyond to provide me with the support I needed to succeed.”
[caption id="attachment_31496" align="alignleft" width="300"]
UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds presenting an Outstanding Teaching Award certificate to Shruti Misra.[/caption]
Shruti Misra
Misra has been a pillar of the UW ECE community for many years. To the students fortunate enough to have had her as the teaching assistant for the EE 496, 497, 498 Capstone course, known as ENGINE, they would have met an organized professional who dedicates herself to her work and takes genuine pride in seeing the success of her ENGINE students. Misra’s nomination describes her as a “role model for our undergraduates, and her empathy, work ethic and hard work are second to none. She has the imagination, intelligence, and diligence that are marks of a top researcher and TA.”
[caption id="attachment_31498" align="alignleft" width="300"]
UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds presenting an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award certificate to Lane Smith.[/caption]
Lane Smith
Smith has been the teaching assistant for courses EE 454 and the EE 351 labs. Smith has also gone above and beyond for the Department, taking the lead on organizing many student discussion sessions for UW ECE faculty interviews. When gaps in knowledge led to a need for an expert on the EE 351 labs, Smith spent extra time in the months before spring quarter. He not only prepared for his role, but he became the expert that the Department needed and made UW ECE a better place for years to come.
Vikram Jandhyala and Suja Vaidyanathan Endowed Innovation Award
[caption id="attachment_31503" align="alignleft" width="425"]
UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds presenting the Vikram Jandhyala and Suja Vaidyanathan Endowed Innovation Award certificate to Mathew Varghese.[/caption]
Mathew Varghese
This award recognizes a UW ECE undergraduate or graduate student who has demonstrated entrepreneurial potential. Recent graduate Mathew Varghese was this year’s recipient, and the award was presented by UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds.
Varghese had an overwhelming number of nominations for this honor. Nominators described Varghese as someone who demonstrated a commitment to innovation and empowering communities. Some quotes from his nomination included: “During COVID, Mathew’s swift response in providing face shields for healthcare workers demonstrated his ability to develop practical solutions in times of crisis,”; “Mathew told me that his goal is to positively impact one million people within the next five years through continued dedication to projects that align with his values. Our Department has been lucky to be a part of the legacy he is creating for himself and society around him.”
Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student
[caption id="attachment_31509" align="alignleft" width="425"]
UW ECE and Allen School Professor Joshua Smith presenting the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student certificate to UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Bingzhao Li.[/caption]
Bingzhao Li
This award recognizes a UW ECE doctoral student in their final year of study who has conducted outstanding research in the field of electrical and computer engineering, as evidenced by their publications or recognized by outside researchers in their field. This year’s award recipient was Bingzhao Li, a 2022 UW ECE graduate who is now a postdoctoral scholar in the Laboratory of Photonic Systems at the UW. This lab is overseen by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li, who is Bingzhao Li’s adviser and the Department’s associate chair for research. The award was presented by Joshua Smith, who is the Milton and Delia Zeutschel Professor in Entrepreneurial Excellence in UW ECE and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
Runners-up for the award, which is considered to be an honor in itself, were Niveditha Kalavakonda and Abhi Saxena. According to Smith, both individuals performed outstanding research work and demonstrated true professionalism.
Bingzhao Li was recognized for his research in optics and photonics. An outcome of his research highlighted at the event was a new type of LiDAR he developed alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, with guidance from Professor Li. This new LiDAR system uses on-chip acousto-optic beam steering for high-resolution 3D imaging in the frequency domain. It is a significant improvement over existing technologies, and it achieves a 600% increase in field-of-view to 180 degrees and a 900% improvement in scanning speed. This work and others by Bingzhao Li have been published in Nature and other high-impact journals. Bingzhao Li is now working with Professor Li to commercialize this new technology.
Outstanding Mentorship Award in Electrical and Computer Engineering
[caption id="attachment_31513" align="alignleft" width="425"]
UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins with Luyao Niu, recipient of the Outstanding Mentorship Award in Electrical and Computer Engineering.[/caption]
Luyao Niu
This award recognizes any member of the UW ECE community whose exemplary mentoring and advising activities made important contributions in building a supportive culture in the Department. This year’s recipient was Luyao Niu, and the award was presented by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins.
Niu is a postdoctoral scholar in the Network Security Lab at the UW, where his research focuses on developing scalable algorithms with certifiable guarantees to ensure security and resilience of cyber-physical systems in the presence of attacks and faults. This award recognizes his incredible mentoring contributions to other students in the lab. His nomination stated that, “Dr. Niu’s unwavering commitment, guidance, and dedication have not only profoundly impacted my personal and academic growth but have also significantly enhanced the UW ECE experience for all those fortunate enough to work under his guidance.”
Student Impact Award
[caption id="attachment_31515" align="alignleft" width="425"]
UW ECE Director of Academic Services Stephanie Swanson presenting Matt Guo with the Student Impact Award.[/caption]
Matt Guo
This award recognizes a student who shows an exemplary commitment to UW ECE and whose service has made a lasting impact on the Department. This year’s recipient was Matt Guo, and the award was presented by UW ECE Director of Academic Services Stephanie Swanson.
Guo was nominated for his impact as a teaching assistant and researcher in EE/CSE 371 digital design courses. He demonstrated outstanding competence in technical skills and a genuine passion for promoting educational access through his work. A student mentored by Guo said, “Matt is nothing short of an extraordinary researcher. In the days I spent with him I got to know someone that is genuinely passionate about his work and the mission behind it.” As noted by Guo’s nominator, “His work has not only benefited the current cohort of students but also set a benchmark for future iterations of the course, ensuring that future generations of engineers will benefit from his dedication and expertise.”
Chair’s Outstanding Collaboration and Teamwork Award
[caption id="attachment_31517" align="alignleft" width="425"]
UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins alongside the UW front desk team with their award certificates. Team members are (from left to right): Rosita Rasyid, Andy Xiong, Padmini Bhagavatula, Ary Prasetyowati, and Vincent Wu (not pictured).[/caption]
The UW ECE front desk team
This award from the UW ECE Chair recognizes exemplary collaborative work. It was presented by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins, and this year’s recipients were members of the UW ECE front desk team — Ary Prasetyowati, Andy Xiong, Padmini Bhagavatula, Vincent Wu, and Rosita Rasyid. According to Klavins, the UW ECE front desk team is the glue that holds the Department together. The day-to-day functions they cover ensure that the Department operates smoothly. Without fail, Klavins said, they jump into action when needed and are a prime example of flexibility and performing with grace under pressure. He also said that Prasetyowati’s leadership, management, and delightful manner have helped to define UW ECE culture. Klavins noted that all members of the front desk team have demonstrated resourcefulness and a willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of the Department. One quote from a nominator read, “They serve as the front lines of our Department and are often the first people that our students, visitors and guests encounter when they first enter UW ECE. We couldn’t have better people serving as the face of our Department.”
UW ECE congratulates all award recipients. Thanks for your outstanding efforts and contributions to the University and to the Department!
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[_finalHTML:protected] => https://www.ece.uw.edu/spotlight/new-chip-for-quantum-technology/A new kind of chip for quantum technology
A UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved quantum technology development a significant step ahead, demonstrating a new kind of silicon photonic chip that could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world.
Akshay Gadre — developing long-range wireless networks for earth, space and underwater
UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks. He is exploring emerging application areas for this technology while helping his students bridge the gap between theory and practice.
How UW ECE is ready for the CHIPS and Science Act
The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 is making historic investments in semiconductor research, workforce development and manufacturing. Learn how UW ECE is prepared and well-positioned to leverage these opportunities.
Sajjad Moazeni receives Google Research Scholar Program award to develop faster computer networks for AI and machine learning in the cloud
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni is developing a new type of computer chip for use in data centers. This “smart” chip will help make AI and machine learning applications faster, more powerful and energy efficient.
Reimagining optics for smartphone cameras and other devices
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team that has developed an innovative miniature camera, which uses a hybrid optical system over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart.
Congratulations to 2023 UW ECE Awards recipients!
The annual UW ECE Awards ceremony recognizes exceptional teaching, research, and entrepreneurship efforts in the Department, as well as outstanding mentorship, student impact, and collaborative work.
The advantages of a silicon photonic chip — scalable, measurable, programmable
[caption id="attachment_32136" align="alignright" width="600"] The UW research team. From left to right, UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar, lead author and recent UW ECE alumnus Abhi Saxena (Ph.D. ‘23), physics doctoral student Arnab Manna, UW ECE Assistant Professor Rahul Trivedi[/caption]
Photonics is a branch of optics (the study of behavior and properties of light) that applies generation, detection, and manipulation of light to enable a wide range of technologies, such as lasers, fiber optics, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A key advantage photonics has over other methods of building a quantum simulator platform is that photonic devices can be fabricated in CMOS foundries, which have been used for decades to produce semiconductor chips.
“The fabrication process that we have for this chip can directly latch onto the already well-matured silicon fabrication that we do for transistors and other computer chips,” Saxena said. “Whereas for other quantum simulator platforms that’s not feasible, even though many of them have already demonstrated prototypical devices.”
As a case in point, the research team created their silicon photonic chip at the Washington Nanofabrication Facility on the UW campus. Their fabrication method will help lower production costs for building a quantum simulator, and perhaps more importantly, make it possible to scale the chip up enough for it to be usable in a wide range of quantum simulation devices.
At the heart of the chip the team designed is a “photonic coupled cavity array.” This array is a pseudo-atomic lattice made up of eight photonic resonators. It is a place where photons can be confined, raised and lowered in energy, and moved around in a controlled manner, essentially forming circuits. Important technical innovations by the team related to the array include creating a mathematical algorithm that allowed them to map, or characterize, the chip in detail, using only information available on the boundaries of the chip, and designing a new kind of architecture for heating and independently controlling each cavity in the array, which let the team program the device. According to Majumdar and Saxena, these two innovations on a silicon photonic chip have never been accomplished before.
“We are demonstrating everything on a chip, and we have shown scalability, measurability and programmability — solving three of the four major obstacles to using a silicon photonic chip as a platform for a quantum simulator,” Majumdar said. “Our solution is a small size, it is not misalignment-prone, and we can program it.”
What the future holds
Moving forward, the research team seeks to solve what they see as the fourth, and final, major obstacle to building a fully realized quantum simulator, creating a condition called “nonlinearity.” Unlike the electrons commonly found in electronic circuits, which repel each other because of their negative electrical charge, photons, by their nature, do not interact with each other. An equivalent interaction is needed in a quantum simulator to create nonlinearity and complete the circuitry. The team is currently exploring several different approaches to address this issue.
Also on the research team’s agenda is to fine-tune their silicon photonic chip, optimizing it for standard chip foundries, so the chip can be manufactured at semiconductor fabrication plants around the world. Majumdar and Saxena both said that this aspect of development would be, relatively speaking, an easier hurdle, and they expressed optimism about the impact their chip will have.
“Through this work, we presented a solid foundation for a platform that demonstrates photonics and the semiconductor-based technology we are using as viable alternatives to create quantum simulators,” Saxena said. “I think that up until now, many in the scientific and engineering communities have generally avoided considering photonics for this purpose. But our work shows that it is realistically possible, so it is a very good incentive for more people to begin moving in this direction.”
For more information about the research described in this article, read the team’s paper in Nature Communications or contact Arka Majumdar.
[post_title] => A new kind of chip for quantum technology
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31929" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks, focusing on long-range connectivity and sensing. He leads the Networking and Emerging Wireless Technologies Lab (NEWT) at the UW. Gadre is exploring emerging application areas for wireless technology, and he helps his students bridge the gap between theory and practice by assigning them real-world projects. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Most of us are familiar with wireless technology because we use it every day to bring our smartphones, laptop computers, and other mobile devices online. The wireless-enabled Internet of Things is also weaving itself into ordinary life through a wide range of devices, including smart televisions, smart appliances, and virtual assistants such as Alexa and Siri. Wireless networks form a foundation for these technologies, linking devices together, connecting people, and acting as a conduit for taking in and processing information from the world around us.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre is an expert on wireless networks, focusing on long-range connectivity and sensing. He is exploring up-and-coming application areas for this technology, such as satellite and underwater networks, as well as the next evolution of 5G connectivity. He is also helping his students to bridge the gap between theory and practice by assigning them real-world projects and evaluating their implementation of wireless technology.
Gadre’s previous work has focused on low-power, wide-area wireless networks, which deploy low-power, sometimes battery-free, sensors that are networked together and distributed across large areas that can range from several square yards to thousands of square miles. This type of wireless system can be useful in many kinds of environments and technology domains. For example, low-power, wide-area wireless networks can be used to help link communication satellites together in space or monitor the health of crops and moisture levels in the ground. Following up on real-world deployments of these types of wireless networks, Gadre now works with students in his Networking and Emerging Wireless Technologies Lab, known as the NEWT lab, to apply wireless network expertise toward improving sensing and communication capabilities of the next generation of wireless technologies.
Wireless technology is applicable to many different areas, and the same tools that could improve connectivity with satellites could also apply to connecting our cell phones. What is unique about my lab is that we attempt to understand real-world behavior in order to evolve wireless communication and sensing across multiple domains. — UW ECE Assistant Professor Akshay Gadre
Gadre joined UW ECE in September 2022, shortly after receiving his doctoral degree in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. He noted robust support in the Department for his focus area.
“UW ECE is one of the best electrical and computer engineering departments in the world. It provides a unique mix of expertise across layers both above and below my area,” Gadre said. “For example, we have the best circuits faculty at UW ECE, as well as amazing data science and machine learning experts in both electrical and computer engineering and computer science, which is a great complement to my expertise in building end-to-end wireless systems and bringing them into reality.”
Gadre’s work on wireless networks has already earned him numerous awards and honors, including a 2021 Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) SIGBED-SIGSOFT Frank Anger Memorial Award for his cross-disciplinary research across embedded systems and software engineering. He has received Best Paper Awards at the 2018 and 2020 International Conference on Information Processing in Sensor Networks (IPSN), and he received the Best Presentation Award at the 2020 IPSN Ph.D. Forum. He has also published and presented papers at premier cyber-physical systems and mobile systems venues, such as the IPSN, the USENIX Symposium on Networked Systems Design and Implementation (NSDI), MobiCom and the IEEE’s International Conference on Communication (ICC).
“We are very fortunate to have Akshay in our Department,” said UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins. “He brings a level of expertise and enthusiasm for wireless technology development that can be hard to find. I’m looking forward to seeing how he will continue to push the field ahead and bring new opportunities to our students and industry partners.”
Turning vision into reality
[caption id="attachment_31936" align="alignright" width="550"] The NEWT lab is building augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) tools for improving wireless communication and sensing. Shown above, Gadre operates an AR/VR headset to investigate how wireless signal propagation (onscreen) is affected by buildings on the UW campus. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
While Gadre’s doctoral studies were, for the most part, exploring one type of wireless network technology for applications in urban areas, at UW ECE, he is expanding his research focus.
“We are going to explore satellite networks and create satellite constellations, as well as underwater networks and build better sensors for these scenarios,” Gadre said. “Another dimension that I am extremely curious about is leveraging modern millimeter-wave radars and using them for sensing the world around us, and then using that sensed information to improve 5G, 6G and 7G connectivity.”
During his doctoral work, Gadre experimented with deploying sensors as part of low-power, wide-area wireless networks in various urban environments. What he discovered was that there was a gap between how well the technology performed in the lab as compared to how well it performed in the field.
“The reality was these sensors could not communicate very far, and the connectivity was also fragile,” Gadre said. “That drove me to explore this area of research, focusing on how we could bridge the gap between the claims and vision for this technology with reality.”
Part of the reason for this gap is that there are four important factors that must be considered for each implementation of wireless technology — battery life, transmittal range, data throughput and signal latency (speed). These four factors create constraints that apply to every wireless network in the real world. Each network deployment must be customized to handle these constraints, which can vary greatly depending on the type of environment in which the network is implemented. For example, the constraints for a wireless network connecting satellites in space are quite different from those for a wireless network on the ground measuring soil moisture in a farmer’s field.
To tackle this and other complex challenges across wireless technology domains, Gadre is now creating teams in his lab, where multiple undergraduate and graduate students will work together in tandem with doctoral students, who will be leading many of the lab’s largest projects. And because this is team-driven work with real-world applications, Gadre and his students will collaborate with several different industry partners, including companies such as Microsoft Research and T-Mobile.
Gadre is also collaborating with UW ECE professors Chris Rudell, Sajjad Moazeni and Matt Reynolds and said that he is looking forward to working with data science and machine learning experts at UW ECE and in other UW schools and departments. He is currently pursuing collaborations with the Husky Satellite Lab and is in talks with UW ECE Associate Professor Payman Arabshahi, who is the department’s associate chair for education, industry liaison, and is the UW lead for the National Science Foundation’s Center for Soil Technologies (SoilTech). Gadre and Arabshahi are investigating the feasibility of wireless satellite networks that could assist SoilTech with its mission to develop remote sensing and analysis tools that can share real-time soil dynamics data with the scientific community. They are also discussing possible applications for Gadre’s research through the Applied Physics Laboratory, which would include developing wireless networks that could assist with underwater ocean research.
“Wireless technology is applicable to many different areas, and the same tools that could improve connectivity with satellites could also apply to connecting our cell phones,” Gadre said. “What is unique about my lab is that we attempt to understand real-world behavior in order to evolve wireless communication and sensing across multiple domains.”
Piquing students’ curiosity, working with cutting-edge technology
[caption id="attachment_31940" align="alignright" width="550"] Students collecting image data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather satellites in Gadre's EE 595A course: Advanced Topics in Communication — mmWave and Space Networked Systems. Photo provided by Akshay Gadre.[/caption]
Gadre teaches a mix of undergraduate and graduate students at UW ECE. He said that he customizes and evolves his teaching style over time according to the needs of the students he is working with. For undergraduates, he aims to pique their curiosity and guide them toward a deeper understanding of electrical and computer engineering. For graduate students, he exposes them to cutting-edge technologies as soon as possible. For all students, he provides project-driven assignments aimed at bringing them closer to actual tasks they might do in academic research or in their first industry positions.
“Students need to learn how to build things,” Gadre said. “I prefer that approach to simply teaching concepts that may not be applied until after graduation, when students get jobs. Why not apply the knowledge during the course itself? This provides a deeper learning experience.”
In his spare time, Gadre enjoys playing chess, board games and video games, and he is working on starting a student board game club at UW ECE. He said that this would not only be fun and a stress-reducer for students, but he believes the activity could facilitate social connections that would be helpful to students in their academic journeys. Gadre also said that he wants students to know that he is always available to help them when needed.
“The most exciting thing about teaching is the happiness I see on students’ faces when they understand something, and that click of ‘Eureka’ happens,” Gadre said. “Those are the most fulfilling moments for me, when students gain confidence in the areas that I teach, and I know that they are becoming more mature in how they are thinking about the problems they are presented with in class. Seeing a student’s face light up when they realize, ‘Oh, that’s why it works that way,’ — that’s quite fulfilling to me.”
Visit Akshay Gadre’s bio page to learn more about his work as a researcher and educator at UW ECE.
[post_title] => Akshay Gadre — developing long-range wireless networks for earth, space and underwater
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31742" align="alignright" width="600"] A recently designed microchip from the lab of UW ECE Professor Chris Rudell (in gold, mounted to the green circuit board shown above). This chip is a 2.4 GHz full-duplex transceiver, which employs multiple self-interference cancellation techniques to improve signal fidelity and efficiently use limited bandwidth. The chip has a broad range of applications, including use in satellite communications and radar; shipping, aviation, and space industries; and 5G technologies. Photo by Ryan Hoover / UW ECE[/caption]
Semiconductors, also known as integrated circuits or microchips, have become a necessity for modern life. Long considered to be the brains of modern electronics, these tiny chips can be found in almost every electronic device in use today. And their impact is vast, supporting every sector of the U.S. economy, as well as national security. Currently, all major U.S. defense systems and platforms rely on microchips for their performance, and in many cases, simply to operate.
It is with these things in mind that the White House passed into law the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which is making historic investments in semiconductor research, workforce development and manufacturing. The CHIPS Act aims to bolster supply chains and reassert the U.S. as a global leader in semiconductor manufacturing. Over the next couple of years, billions of dollars will be pouring into this effort, and faculty from universities and colleges around the country will be competing for research and development funding, including many from UW ECE.
“At UW ECE, we have top-notch faculty researchers, strong industry partnerships, and we recently redesigned our undergraduate curriculum to offer academic pathways for students interested in pursuing studies and careers related to the semiconductor industry,” said UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li, who is the Department’s associate chair for research. “We also have hired two new faculty members whose research is in chip design, and we plan to add more faculty with semiconductor expertise in the near future.”
[caption id="attachment_31710" align="alignright" width="400"] The Bespoke Silicon Group (BSG) Ten chip from the lab of UW ECE and Allen School Professor Michael Taylor.[/caption]
Li, as well as other UW ECE faculty, such as Professor Michael Taylor, who holds a joint appointment in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, have contributed to and partnered on several proposals and initiatives that would help to bring CHIPS Act funding into semiconductor research and workforce development at UW ECE. The Department has also spent a significant amount of money over the last two years to upgrade and refurbish its electronics teaching labs.
“Semiconductor design and development is at the heart of electrical and computer engineering, so our Department is well-positioned to leverage funding and support stemming from the CHIPS and Science Act.” said UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins. “I’m especially excited about the opportunities this will provide for our students and faculty, as well as how it will strengthen our existing collaborations and create new industry, government and community partnerships.”
UPWARDS for the Future
[caption id="attachment_31717" align="alignright" width="400"] UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li is the Department’s associate chair for research and a principal investigator in UPWARDS for the Future. UPWARDS is aimed at providing advanced training and research opportunities that will grow the nation's semiconductor workforce. It will also help the U.S. and Japan build more of the microchips that both nations need. Photo by Ryan Hoover | UW ECE[/caption]
One of those new partnerships is the U.S.-Japan University Partnership for Workforce Advancement and Research & Development in Semiconductors (UPWARDS) for the Future, which begins September 1, 2023. UPWARDS brings together six U.S. universities and five Japanese universities with Micron Technology to provide advanced training and research opportunities that will grow the semiconductor workforce and help the U.S. and Japan build more of the microchips that both nations need. A total of $60 million in funding is available for this collaboration, including a $10 million grant provided by the National Science Foundation’s new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, which was authorized by the CHIPS Act. Matching funds were provided by Micron and Tokyo Electron. Li is a principal investigator for the grant, alongside David Bergsman, who is an assistant professor in the chemical engineering department.
“Our nation’s success in advanced technologies depends on having a strong workforce,” said Washington Senator Maria Cantwell in a recent press release about UPWARDS, which she had a hand in creating. “This NSF award, led by the University of Washington, will help establish the Pacific Northwest as a leader in training the more than 90,000 students, faculty, and skilled professionals needed to build the most advanced chips right here in the United States. If we want to lead the world tomorrow, we must invest in worker training today.”
Looking ahead
[caption id="attachment_31712" align="alignright" width="400"] The EOS24 Chip is advanced silicon photonic technology developed in the lab of UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni. It contains high-speed optical transmitters and is flip-chip bonded onto a high density printed circuit board. This chip has applications in high-speed modulators, optical communication and computing.[/caption]
This fall, UW ECE is looking forward to welcoming two new assistant professors, Ang Li and Hossein Naghavi, who produce research important to semiconductor development. Li has expertise in computer architecture, digital very large-scale integrated (VLSI) design, and reconfigurable integrated systems, and Naghavi is an expert in integrated terahertz electronics.
Overall, UW ECE is experiencing rapid growth, partly in response to the CHIPS Act. The Department plans to add five new faculty members next year, including one position at the associate professor level that will be focused on semiconductor design. The number of undergraduate degrees produced annually at UW ECE is also projected to scale up significantly in the next two to three years. This is mostly because of the increasing need for more electrical and computer engineers, but it is also driven by market demand for skilled semiconductor engineers, which is being stimulated by the CHIPS Act.
The UW College of Engineering is designing a plan for an interdepartmental, multidisciplinary curriculum focused on semiconductor technology. This curriculum would provide university-wide, multiple pathways for students and could include offering new undergraduate minors and certificate programs. Professor Mo Li noted the UW’s stature as a flagship university for Washington state as well as its proximity to and existing partnerships with Microsoft, Amazon, Boeing, Micron, and Intel — all key players in designing, developing, manufacturing, and distributing microchips.
“Our industry partners tell us what kind of skills they need for particular types of jobs in the semiconductor industry,” Li said. “We want the curriculum we develop to match industry needs. So, then we will know that if a student gets this certificate or that minor, they will have the complete skill set for the job they are looking for. That’s the benefit for both sides, for our industry partners, future employers, and most importantly, for our students.”
Learn more about the CHIPS and Science Act on the White House website, and about the UPWARDS partnership in Senator Maria Cantwell’s recent press release, as well as in the UW student newspaper, The Daily. Contact Professor Mo Li for more information about how this historic legislation is impacting UW ECE.
[post_title] => How UW ECE is ready for the CHIPS and Science Act
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31605" align="alignright" width="600"] UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni (shown above) is developing a new type of computer chip for use in data centers that support cloud computing. This “smart” chip will help to make AI and machine learning applications faster, more powerful and energy efficient. Photo by Ryan Hoover | UW ECE[/caption]
Over the last few years, the world has seen great advances in computing power as evidenced by popular artificial intelligence and machine learning applications such as Uber, Siri, and most recently, ChatGPT. At the same time, these types of applications and the large numbers of devices that use them have been placing ever-greater demands on data centers that support cloud computing, which serves as a backbone for information technology. As one might expect, the need for computational speed, power and capacity has been growing exponentially.
Overall, growth in computing power is continuing to keep pace with these demands, following Moore’s law, which states that the speed and capability of computers can be expected to double every two years as a result of increases in the numbers of transistors that a microchip can contain. However, what is not keeping pace with this rapid evolution are the networking components between computing and memory devices in data centers. This presents a serious problem, because even if robust computing power is available, it will always be limited by the speed and bandwidth of whatever network it is plugged into.
UW ECE Assistant Professor Sajjad Moazeni, who was recently featured in UW News, has been tackling this problem through research supported by a 2022 NSF CAREER award. His work is focused on developing a new type of computer chip and network architectures for use in data centers that support AI and machine learning applications. This effort is aimed at increasing data center network speed, capacity, and energy efficiency. Now, his work will be augmented by a 2023 Google Research Scholar Program award, which will allow Moazeni to further expand this research.
“I’ve been working on proposing some ideas for the physical implementation of this chip while conducting system-level simulations and modeling,” Moazeni said. “I’m very grateful to Google, because this award and support helps me and my team to expand the scope of the system-level modeling that we are doing.”
The Google Research Scholar Program provides unrestricted gifts to support research at institutions around the globe, and it is focused on funding world-class research conducted by early-career professors. 2023 award recipients were announced online this summer and include Moazeni and UW ECE alumnus Vikram Iyer (Ph.D. ‘21), who is an assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
Smart, co-packaged optics in a chip
Moazeni is developing a “smart” silicon photonic chip, which can serve as a bridge between electrical and optical signals for a computer processor. And because it is a smart chip, it can also assist the processor with computing tasks, such as memory access and data retrieval across a large network of devices. In electrical and computer engineering, this smart chip is known as a type of “co-packaged optics,” so named because of its role as an electro-optical interconnect and its proximity to the computer processor.
“Typically, people look at a silicon photonic chip as a kind of co-packaged technology that acts as an electro-optical bridge. It takes the electrical data and converts it into optical signals, and it usually just talks directly to the processor,” Moazeni said. “Here, what we wanted to do was to add some compute power on top of this into the chip, and then have it communicate with the memory as well. So, the chip is going to be more than just an electro-optical converter. It’s going to do some processing on top of that. That’s why we call it a smart chip.”
This smart chip is very energy efficient and could dramatically increase computing capacity of networked devices. Moazeni estimates that the chip will be approximately 10 times more energy efficient than current interconnect approaches, and it will be able to achieve 10 to 100 times higher bandwidth. He also noted that the smart chip could spur further improvements in data center device networks.
“If this smart chip enables the energy efficiency and the high bandwidth with the data densities we are targeting, then it could enable new system-level architectures,” Moazeni said. “Today, data center architecture is based on the limitations of networking. So, if we can improve network connectivity, it can enable new architectures.”
Technology with broad impact
The technology Moazeni is developing promises to have a broad impact on society and the world at large. In addition to helping data centers better handle the demands of popular AI and machine learning applications, this smart chip and new network architectures Moazeni is proposing and developing will enable advances in any area reliant on computing speed, power, and capacity. This, for example, could include things such as AI-driven drug discovery and medical diagnosis, predicting global weather patterns, forecasting climate change, working out complex supply-chain logistics and supporting air traffic control — a wide range of applications relevant and vital to modern life.
Moazeni plans to continue this research over at least the next four years, and he emphasized the importance of improving network speed, capacity, and energy efficiency.
“We’ve probably increased computational power more than 100 times over the last decade, but we are reaching the end of Moore’s law, and even now, you cannot gain that much from a computing power increase anymore,” Moazeni said. “So, as we move forward, we definitely need to focus on closing the gap between computing and network communication. That’s what this smart chip and redesign of existing network architectures will help us to do.”
For more information about this research, which is supported by an NSF CAREER award and a Google Research Scholar Program award, contact Sajjad Moazeni. More information about Moazeni’s work in a broader context can be found in this recent UW News article.
[post_title] => Sajjad Moazeni receives Google Research Scholar Program award to develop faster computer networks for AI and machine learning in the cloud
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[post_date] => 2023-07-18 10:46:20
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[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_31563" align="alignright" width="550"] UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team helping to make high-quality, color cameras smaller and lighter for mobile platforms, such as next-generation smartphones, drones, and point-of-care medical devices. The team recently developed a miniature camera that uses an innovative hybrid optical system over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart. Shown above: a close-up view of the raised camera “bump” on the back of a typical smartphone today. Majumdar and Fröch’s research advance could help to reduce the size of this camera bump or eliminate it entirely, containing smartphone cameras completely within the phone frame and significantly reducing manufacturing costs. Photo by Ryan Hoover | UW ECE[/caption]
Our smartphone cameras have become a staple of modern life. Each day, millions of photos and videos are captured with smartphones as people snap pictures and record videos of loved ones and memorable moments, such as playing with a favorite pet, appreciating a dramatic city skyline, or enjoying a beautiful sunset. Meanwhile, other mobile devices that incorporate small cameras, such as aerial drones, continue to grow in popularity as people explore looking at the world around us in new and exciting ways.
Because demand for mobile devices is high, and smaller is often considered to be better, there is an ongoing technological race to make the cameras contained within smartphones, drones, and other mobile platforms smaller and lighter than they already are. But the engineering challenges involved in doing this, whether using traditional refractive camera lenses or more advanced technology, grow greater as cameras continue to shrink in size.
UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch are part of an international research team taking on these challenges and helping to make cameras smaller and lighter for mobile platforms, such as next-generation smartphones, drones and point-of-care medical devices. As described in their recent paper in Science Advances, the team has developed a miniature camera capable of capturing full-color, high quality images, using an innovative hybrid optical system that is over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart.
This new camera’s optical system is considered to be a hybrid, because it combines a traditional refractive lens (similar to the kind of lens found in a pair of glasses) with advanced meta-optics — flat, planar surfaces consisting of microscopic structures known as “nanopillars,” which are used to manipulate light and provide a degree of control at a sub-wavelength scale not possible with refractive lenses. This combination helps to resolve chromatic and geometric imperfections in photos and video, which have long been a problem for researchers using meta-optics alone. The camera's hybrid system also includes an artificial neural network, which uses its computing power to fill-in image gaps that the optical side of the system may not be able to capture. This three-part hybrid framework is allowing researchers such as Majumdar and Fröch to completely reimagine what an optical system could be.
“We are really thinking about optics as more of an information processing device, rather than as an image-forming device,” Majumdar said. “We want to capture enough information from the scene to create an image, rather than try to collect all of it. If we capture enough information, then the computation backend can form an accurate image. That way, we can reduce the size of our device.”
Majumdar and Fröch collaborated on this project with researchers from Tampere University in Tampere, Finland, and the Science and Technology Facilities Council in Harwell, United Kingdom. Fabrication of the meta-optics contained within the camera took place at the Washington Nanofabrication Laboratory on the UW campus.
The billion-dollar bump
[caption id="attachment_31566" align="alignright" width="500"] UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar (left) and UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Johannes Fröch (right)[/caption]
On the back of most smartphones today is a small, raised bump, where the phone’s camera resides. The reason this bump is there is because the average smartphone camera contains eight or nine refractive lenses that together create the camera’s optical stack. Although these refractive lenses are tiny, when added together, they need more vertical space than what the depth of a smartphone typically allows.
“That bump is actually a billion-dollar problem,” Majumdar said. “It doesn’t matter that much to the end-user, but to create packaging that accounts for the bump, companies have to spend a lot of money, and that cost gets passed on to the consumer.”
To help address the issue of the bump by reducing the size of the camera’s optical stack, Majumdar and his research team built their camera using one refractive lens and a layer of meta-optics only one micron thick. That’s much thinner than the thickness of a grain of sand (62 to 500 microns) or the width of a single human hair (70 to 100 microns).
In addition to engineering a hybrid optical system that is over 100 times smaller than its commercial counterpart, this camera’s aperture, which is directly proportional to how much visual information the device can take in, is over 10 times larger than similar cameras in the marketplace. And not only is the camera the team developed significantly smaller and lighter, with a much larger aperture than what is commercially available, it even captures images that are of superior quality.
“For me, what this research advance demonstrates is that even when the optics are incredibly small, you can still preserve color and image quality,” Majumdar said. “This points to other applications for this device beyond smartphones or drones.”
It is also worth pointing out that as the device makes its way into the marketplace, less glass and plastic material will be needed to build it than its predecessors. When multiplied over millions of smartphones and devices, this could contribute to significantly reducing the environmental impact of technologies using this type of camera.
A wide range of future applications
Majumdar said he is excited about this new camera and applying its design framework to other applications. Those include incorporating the optical system into point-of-care medical devices, such as endoscopes and angioscopes, which use very small cameras to scan inside arteries, veins, and other hard-to-access areas inside the human body. Other applications, such as object detection in cameras used by autonomous vehicles and robotics are on the horizon, as is using the camera for hyperspectral imaging, which reveals aspects of an image undetectable to the human eye alone. Hyperspectral imaging has several possible uses in precision agriculture, for example, thermal imaging of fields to detect when crops need watering, and hand-held (smartphone) food inspection, which could detect whether fruits and vegetables might contain a bit of rot inside a shiny exterior.
With all these things in mind, Majumdar plans to commercialize aspects of this new technology through his startup company Tunoptix, which is an industry leader in broadband meta-optics imaging. He also plans to work with his UW research team along with researchers at Tampere University and the Science and Technology Facilities Council to package all the discrete components of this camera into one, integrated system that can be commercialized. He expects this miniature camera to make its way into the marketplace within three to five years.
“One of the main things I’d like people to know is that even after significant optimization of devices such as smartphones, there is still a lot of room for improvement,” Majumdar said. “Once you add a computational backend, like we did, and co-design the optics with computation, then a lot of things can be done that were not possible before.”
Funding and support for UW researchers participating in this project was provided by the National Science Foundation and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the U.S. Department of Defense. Learn more about this research by reading “Miniature Color Camera via Flat Hybrid Meta-Optics” in Science Advances or this press release from Tampere University. More information is also available by contacting Arka Majumdar.
[post_title] => Reimagining optics for smartphone cameras and other devices
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[post_content] => Article by UW ECE staff, photos by Ryan Hoover
[caption id="attachment_31472" align="alignright" width="650"] UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins (center) with some of the 2023 UW ECE Award recipients. From left to right: Outstanding Mentorship Award recipient Luyao Niu, Student Impact Award recipient Matt Guo, UW ECE graduate student Abhi Saxena, who was a runner-up for the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student, UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins, Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award recipients Shruti Misra and Lane Smith, and Outstanding Teaching Award recipient Mahmood Hameed.[/caption]
Every year, UW ECE holds an awards ceremony that honors students, faculty and staff for their outstanding contributions to the Department. This year, the UW ECE Awards event was held at the end of spring quarter in the Paul G. Allen Center Atrium. The event was well-attended and hosted by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins.
“Today, we honor our faculty, students and staff for their outstanding contributions to the Department,” Klavins said at the ceremony. “Award recipients represent exceptional achievements; embody UW ECE core values such as leadership, collaboration and teamwork; and foster diversity, equity and inclusion.”
The UW ECE Awards ceremony recognizes exceptional teaching, research, and entrepreneurship efforts in the Department, as well as outstanding mentorship, student impact, and collaborative work. This year’s event also included a fond farewell and acknowledgement of contributions to the Department by Associate Professor Sreeram Kannan, who has been with UW ECE for more than eight years. Kannan has been researching communications, machine learning and blockchain technology during his time in the Department. For the last two years, he has been on a leave of absence while founding Eigenlayer, a company that is making blockchains more programmable and scalable. Kannan will soon be moving on from UW ECE to focus on his company full time.
Learn more below about this year’s award recipients.
Outstanding Teaching Award
[caption id="attachment_31479" align="alignleft" width="425"] UW ECE Professor Denise Wilson presenting UW ECE Assistant Teaching Professor Mahmood Hameed with the Outstanding Teacher Award certificate.[/caption]
Mahmood Hameed
UW ECE Assistant Teaching Professor Mahmood Hameed took on the responsibility of teaching a wide array of classes in his first year at UW ECE. In doing so, he supported the Department in a remarkable way. Although he was faced with many students over the quarter, Hameed took the time to personally make an impact, joining students after class and in teacher assistant meetings to further connections and curiosity. According to UW ECE Professor Denise Wilson, who presented the award, Hameed has a unique ability to engage with a room, teaching the future generation and inspiring them to further their learning.
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
This award recognizes a student or students who demonstrate an outstanding contribution to teaching at UW ECE. This year, there were so many exceptional nominations that the Department selected three award recipients — Xichen Li, Shruti Misra, and Lane Smith. The award was presented at the event by UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds.
[caption id="attachment_31486" align="alignleft" width="300"] UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins holds an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award certificate with Xichen Li.[/caption]
Xichen Li
Li has been a teaching assistant for classes such as “Advanced Communication Circuits” and “Analog Circuits for Sensors and Systems.” Nominators described Li’s ability to support students in a way that promoted learning and skill development. One nominator wrote, “I cannot speak highly enough of Xichen Li, who has undoubtedly been the most outstanding TA I have had the pleasure of working with. Throughout the EE 536 RFIC course, Xichen consistently went above and beyond to provide me with the support I needed to succeed.”
[caption id="attachment_31496" align="alignleft" width="300"] UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds presenting an Outstanding Teaching Award certificate to Shruti Misra.[/caption]
Shruti Misra
Misra has been a pillar of the UW ECE community for many years. To the students fortunate enough to have had her as the teaching assistant for the EE 496, 497, 498 Capstone course, known as ENGINE, they would have met an organized professional who dedicates herself to her work and takes genuine pride in seeing the success of her ENGINE students. Misra’s nomination describes her as a “role model for our undergraduates, and her empathy, work ethic and hard work are second to none. She has the imagination, intelligence, and diligence that are marks of a top researcher and TA.”
[caption id="attachment_31498" align="alignleft" width="300"] UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds presenting an Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award certificate to Lane Smith.[/caption]
Lane Smith
Smith has been the teaching assistant for courses EE 454 and the EE 351 labs. Smith has also gone above and beyond for the Department, taking the lead on organizing many student discussion sessions for UW ECE faculty interviews. When gaps in knowledge led to a need for an expert on the EE 351 labs, Smith spent extra time in the months before spring quarter. He not only prepared for his role, but he became the expert that the Department needed and made UW ECE a better place for years to come.
Vikram Jandhyala and Suja Vaidyanathan Endowed Innovation Award
[caption id="attachment_31503" align="alignleft" width="425"] UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds presenting the Vikram Jandhyala and Suja Vaidyanathan Endowed Innovation Award certificate to Mathew Varghese.[/caption]
Mathew Varghese
This award recognizes a UW ECE undergraduate or graduate student who has demonstrated entrepreneurial potential. Recent graduate Mathew Varghese was this year’s recipient, and the award was presented by UW ECE Associate Professor Matt Reynolds.
Varghese had an overwhelming number of nominations for this honor. Nominators described Varghese as someone who demonstrated a commitment to innovation and empowering communities. Some quotes from his nomination included: “During COVID, Mathew’s swift response in providing face shields for healthcare workers demonstrated his ability to develop practical solutions in times of crisis,”; “Mathew told me that his goal is to positively impact one million people within the next five years through continued dedication to projects that align with his values. Our Department has been lucky to be a part of the legacy he is creating for himself and society around him.”
Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student
[caption id="attachment_31509" align="alignleft" width="425"] UW ECE and Allen School Professor Joshua Smith presenting the Yang Award for Outstanding Doctoral Student certificate to UW ECE postdoctoral scholar Bingzhao Li.[/caption]
Bingzhao Li
This award recognizes a UW ECE doctoral student in their final year of study who has conducted outstanding research in the field of electrical and computer engineering, as evidenced by their publications or recognized by outside researchers in their field. This year’s award recipient was Bingzhao Li, a 2022 UW ECE graduate who is now a postdoctoral scholar in the Laboratory of Photonic Systems at the UW. This lab is overseen by UW ECE and Physics Professor Mo Li, who is Bingzhao Li’s adviser and the Department’s associate chair for research. The award was presented by Joshua Smith, who is the Milton and Delia Zeutschel Professor in Entrepreneurial Excellence in UW ECE and the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
Runners-up for the award, which is considered to be an honor in itself, were Niveditha Kalavakonda and Abhi Saxena. According to Smith, both individuals performed outstanding research work and demonstrated true professionalism.
Bingzhao Li was recognized for his research in optics and photonics. An outcome of his research highlighted at the event was a new type of LiDAR he developed alongside UW ECE graduate student Qixuan Lin, with guidance from Professor Li. This new LiDAR system uses on-chip acousto-optic beam steering for high-resolution 3D imaging in the frequency domain. It is a significant improvement over existing technologies, and it achieves a 600% increase in field-of-view to 180 degrees and a 900% improvement in scanning speed. This work and others by Bingzhao Li have been published in Nature and other high-impact journals. Bingzhao Li is now working with Professor Li to commercialize this new technology.
Outstanding Mentorship Award in Electrical and Computer Engineering
[caption id="attachment_31513" align="alignleft" width="425"] UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins with Luyao Niu, recipient of the Outstanding Mentorship Award in Electrical and Computer Engineering.[/caption]
Luyao Niu
This award recognizes any member of the UW ECE community whose exemplary mentoring and advising activities made important contributions in building a supportive culture in the Department. This year’s recipient was Luyao Niu, and the award was presented by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins.
Niu is a postdoctoral scholar in the Network Security Lab at the UW, where his research focuses on developing scalable algorithms with certifiable guarantees to ensure security and resilience of cyber-physical systems in the presence of attacks and faults. This award recognizes his incredible mentoring contributions to other students in the lab. His nomination stated that, “Dr. Niu’s unwavering commitment, guidance, and dedication have not only profoundly impacted my personal and academic growth but have also significantly enhanced the UW ECE experience for all those fortunate enough to work under his guidance.”
Student Impact Award
[caption id="attachment_31515" align="alignleft" width="425"] UW ECE Director of Academic Services Stephanie Swanson presenting Matt Guo with the Student Impact Award.[/caption]
Matt Guo
This award recognizes a student who shows an exemplary commitment to UW ECE and whose service has made a lasting impact on the Department. This year’s recipient was Matt Guo, and the award was presented by UW ECE Director of Academic Services Stephanie Swanson.
Guo was nominated for his impact as a teaching assistant and researcher in EE/CSE 371 digital design courses. He demonstrated outstanding competence in technical skills and a genuine passion for promoting educational access through his work. A student mentored by Guo said, “Matt is nothing short of an extraordinary researcher. In the days I spent with him I got to know someone that is genuinely passionate about his work and the mission behind it.” As noted by Guo’s nominator, “His work has not only benefited the current cohort of students but also set a benchmark for future iterations of the course, ensuring that future generations of engineers will benefit from his dedication and expertise.”
Chair’s Outstanding Collaboration and Teamwork Award
[caption id="attachment_31517" align="alignleft" width="425"] UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins alongside the UW front desk team with their award certificates. Team members are (from left to right): Rosita Rasyid, Andy Xiong, Padmini Bhagavatula, Ary Prasetyowati, and Vincent Wu (not pictured).[/caption]
The UW ECE front desk team
This award from the UW ECE Chair recognizes exemplary collaborative work. It was presented by UW ECE Professor and Chair Eric Klavins, and this year’s recipients were members of the UW ECE front desk team — Ary Prasetyowati, Andy Xiong, Padmini Bhagavatula, Vincent Wu, and Rosita Rasyid. According to Klavins, the UW ECE front desk team is the glue that holds the Department together. The day-to-day functions they cover ensure that the Department operates smoothly. Without fail, Klavins said, they jump into action when needed and are a prime example of flexibility and performing with grace under pressure. He also said that Prasetyowati’s leadership, management, and delightful manner have helped to define UW ECE culture. Klavins noted that all members of the front desk team have demonstrated resourcefulness and a willingness to do whatever it takes to ensure the health of the Department. One quote from a nominator read, “They serve as the front lines of our Department and are often the first people that our students, visitors and guests encounter when they first enter UW ECE. We couldn’t have better people serving as the face of our Department.”
UW ECE congratulates all award recipients. Thanks for your outstanding efforts and contributions to the University and to the Department!
[post_title] => Congratulations to 2023 UW ECE Awards recipients!
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[post_date] => 2023-09-27 08:02:00
[post_date_gmt] => 2023-09-27 15:02:00
[post_content] => By Wayne Gillam | UW ECE News
[caption id="attachment_32135" align="alignright" width="500"] A UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved quantum technology development a significant step ahead, demonstrating a new kind of silicon photonic chip that could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world. Shown above: An optical image of the electrically controlled coupled cavity array in the team’s silicon photonic chip. The image depicts the wiring structure and optical micrograph of the coupled cavity array. This visual, provided by Abhi Saxena, is an edge detected output that uses an optical microscope image as an input.[/caption]
Today, we are living in the midst of a race to develop a quantum computer, one that could be used for practical applications. This device, built on the principles of quantum mechanics, holds the potential to perform computing tasks far beyond the capabilities of today’s fastest supercomputers. Quantum computers and other quantum-enabled technologies could foster significant advances in areas such as cybersecurity and molecular simulation, impacting and even revolutionizing fields such as online security, drug discovery and material fabrication.
An offshoot of this technological race is building what is known in scientific and engineering circles as a “quantum simulator” — a special type of quantum computer, constructed to solve one equation model for a specific purpose beyond the reach of a standard computer. For example, in medical research, a quantum simulator could theoretically be built to help scientists simulate a specific, complex molecular interaction for closer study, deepening scientific understanding and speeding up drug development.
But just like building a practical, usable quantum computer, constructing a useful quantum simulator has proven to be a daunting challenge. The idea was first proposed by mathematician Yuri Manin in 1980. Since then, researchers have attempted to employ trapped ions, cold atoms and superconducting qubits to build a quantum simulator capable of real-world applications, but to date, these methods are all still a work in progress. Recent advances in superconducting system design and fabrication have led to several successful implementations of prototypical quantum simulators that demonstrate small-scale quantum systems. However, there have been challenges in enlarging these systems to a usable size, as well as operating difficulties when attempting to use superconducting systems to simulate actual quantum materials.
Now, a UW research team led by UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar has moved this effort a significant step ahead, demonstrating in Nature Communications that a new kind of silicon photonic chip could work as a solid foundation for building a quantum simulator, one with useful applications in the real world. Majumdar is an expert in optics, photonics, and the development of quantum technologies. At the UW, in addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, he is a co-chair of QuantumX and a member of the Institute for Nano-Engineered Systems.
“We’ve shown that photonics is a leading contender for quantum simulation, and photonic chips are a reality,” Majumdar said. “We believe that these chips can play a very important role in building a quantum simulator.”
“This is a very good platform for realizing a useful quantum simulator that could be scaled to large sizes,” added Abhi Saxena, lead author of the paper and recent UW ECE alumnus. Saxena graduated in 2023 with his doctoral degree and now works for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado.
Other members of the research team include Arnab Manna, a doctoral student in the physics department and UW ECE Assistant Professor Rahul Trivedi, a quantum systems expert who assisted the group with theoretical aspects of their research.
The advantages of a silicon photonic chip — scalable, measurable, programmable
[caption id="attachment_32136" align="alignright" width="600"] The UW research team. From left to right, UW ECE and Physics Associate Professor Arka Majumdar, lead author and recent UW ECE alumnus Abhi Saxena (Ph.D. ‘23), physics doctoral student Arnab Manna, UW ECE Assistant Professor Rahul Trivedi[/caption]
Photonics is a branch of optics (the study of behavior and properties of light) that applies generation, detection, and manipulation of light to enable a wide range of technologies, such as lasers, fiber optics, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A key advantage photonics has over other methods of building a quantum simulator platform is that photonic devices can be fabricated in CMOS foundries, which have been used for decades to produce semiconductor chips.
“The fabrication process that we have for this chip can directly latch onto the already well-matured silicon fabrication that we do for transistors and other computer chips,” Saxena said. “Whereas for other quantum simulator platforms that’s not feasible, even though many of them have already demonstrated prototypical devices.”
As a case in point, the research team created their silicon photonic chip at the Washington Nanofabrication Facility on the UW campus. Their fabrication method will help lower production costs for building a quantum simulator, and perhaps more importantly, make it possible to scale the chip up enough for it to be usable in a wide range of quantum simulation devices.
At the heart of the chip the team designed is a “photonic coupled cavity array.” This array is a pseudo-atomic lattice made up of eight photonic resonators. It is a place where photons can be confined, raised and lowered in energy, and moved around in a controlled manner, essentially forming circuits. Important technical innovations by the team related to the array include creating a mathematical algorithm that allowed them to map, or characterize, the chip in detail, using only information available on the boundaries of the chip, and designing a new kind of architecture for heating and independently controlling each cavity in the array, which let the team program the device. According to Majumdar and Saxena, these two innovations on a silicon photonic chip have never been accomplished before.
“We are demonstrating everything on a chip, and we have shown scalability, measurability and programmability — solving three of the four major obstacles to using a silicon photonic chip as a platform for a quantum simulator,” Majumdar said. “Our solution is a small size, it is not misalignment-prone, and we can program it.”
What the future holds
Moving forward, the research team seeks to solve what they see as the fourth, and final, major obstacle to building a fully realized quantum simulator, creating a condition called “nonlinearity.” Unlike the electrons commonly found in electronic circuits, which repel each other because of their negative electrical charge, photons, by their nature, do not interact with each other. An equivalent interaction is needed in a quantum simulator to create nonlinearity and complete the circuitry. The team is currently exploring several different approaches to address this issue.
Also on the research team’s agenda is to fine-tune their silicon photonic chip, optimizing it for standard chip foundries, so the chip can be manufactured at semiconductor fabrication plants around the world. Majumdar and Saxena both said that this aspect of development would be, relatively speaking, an easier hurdle, and they expressed optimism about the impact their chip will have.
“Through this work, we presented a solid foundation for a platform that demonstrates photonics and the semiconductor-based technology we are using as viable alternatives to create quantum simulators,” Saxena said. “I think that up until now, many in the scientific and engineering communities have generally avoided considering photonics for this purpose. But our work shows that it is realistically possible, so it is a very good incentive for more people to begin moving in this direction.”
For more information about the research described in this article, read the team’s paper in Nature Communications or contact Arka Majumdar.
[post_title] => A new kind of chip for quantum technology
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