Photonic Integrated Circuits or Adaptive Ranging and Detection (PICARD)

We propose PICARD (Photonic Integrate Circuits for Adaptive Ranging and Detection), to reduce instrument SWaP, improve performance, and enable new applications by replacing networks of fiber-optic components with integrated photonic chips with a low cost approach. The advantage over the current fiber-optic approaches is significant increase in robustness to the environment by miniaturizing the system, reducing component costs by developing a standard package, and increasing SNR by use of a breakthrough coherent multimode receiver scheme. After completing this project, the multiple centers and programs (NDL/DAWN/LCRD) will have demonstrated usage of PIC technology to pave the way for instrument size reduction and more widespread usage in next generation iterations. We anticipate that fabrication/packaging delays and increased processing requirements might prevent demonstration within the planned timeframe or reduce the expected performance improvements, and we will address these risks by building in margin and digitization rate. Beyond immediate infusion into NDL and DAWN, the planned subsystems to be developed here represent a pan-Agency effort by PIC specialists to demonstrate the widespread utility of this technology and catalyze adoption in existing programs.

At the end of Year 3, we plan on having designed, fabricated, packaged, and demonstrated multiple PIC technologies in existing instruments (lantern receiver with NDL, 2x SNR improvement; and DPSK receiver with LCRD) as well as establishing a low-cost packaging scheme to leverage going forward ($5k per module). During previous years we developed actively balanced coherent receivers with demonstrated 10+ dB noise rejection in NDL (Year 1), and novel modulation techniques for wavelength agnostic operation as well as a TRL 5 package design (Year 2, ongoing). After IRAD completion we expect to leverage the integrated transceiver design for additional STMD or HEOMD funding for a next generation NDL, PICASSO/ACT funding for coherent wind lidar sensing with the lantern receiver, and SCaN funding for optical communications applications. The main risk of not investing in continued funding of this project is the loss of the Center’s current role as an EDL center of excellence by allowing Psionic or other Centers to develop this technology in our absence, as well as loss of a developing multi-center PIC collaboration group. Continued Agency investment in PICs and cross-mission-directorate interest in PIC technology effectively ensures accelerating adoption of PIC components in NASA instruments – the developments in this IRAD program foster cross-cutting capabilities in EDL, communications, Earth science, and planetary science that position NASA at the forefront of this technology.

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