PICDA - Photonic Integrated Circuits: Design and Applications
- Type: Lecture (L) + Tutorial (T)
- Semester: Summer Term
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Place:
Hybrid:
Lecture is online (see ILIAS for details) (L),
Building 30.10, IPQ seminar room (R 3.42) (T), (NOTE: this is not the room stated on the KIT course catalogue)
and via Zoom (see ILIAS for details)
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Time:
Mo 11:30-13:00 (L)
Thu 11:30-13:00 (T)
- Start: 20.04.2026 (L)
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Lecturer:
KIT:
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Koos
- Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Freude
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Randel
- Prof. Dr. Tobias Huber-LoyolaGuest Lecturers:
- Prof. Dr. Lars Zimmermann, TU Berlin, Institute of High-Frequency and Semiconductor System Technologies
- Dr. Wesley Sacher, Max Plack Institute of Microstructure Physics (MPI), Halle - SWS: 2
- Lv-No.: 2309478(L), 2309479 (T)
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Information:
- From basics to your own design project: Combined lecture and “hands-on” design course using state-of-the art numerical tools.
- Novel format: Inter-university course, offered by leading institutions in the field of integrated photonics.
Language: English
Contents and General Information
Course Overview
Photonic integration has evolved into a key technology with transformative impact on a wide variety of applications, ranging from high-speed data transmission and ultra-broadband photonic-electronic signal processing to optical metrology, 3D-sensing and biophotonics and to further quantum optics and optical computing. However, successful exploitation of photonic integrated circuits (PIC) in these fields crucially relies on both a solid understanding of the underlying principles and technologies and on skillful and effective use of professional simulation and design tools. The idea behind our newly created course “Photonic Integrated Circuits: Design and Applications (PICDA)” is to bridge the gap between theoretical basics and high-impact applications by combining a lecture with a hands-on design laboratory. We will start from a short insight into the fundamentals of integrated optics and end with open design projects that will be solved in smaller teams using a professional design suite (Ansys Lumerical). The course (4 hours, 6 ECTS) has been organized as an inter-university collaboration with contributions from leading institutions in the field of integrated optics (KIT, TU Berlin, Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics). Further details can be found in our information sheet and in the ILIAS portal. Please do not hesitate to contact us (picda∂ipq.kit.edu) in case of any questions.
Useful Links
Materials and online teaching platforms of the respective institutions - from which slides, lecture notes, problem sets, and other materials will be made available:
KIT: ILIAS, https://ilias.studium.kit.edu/
TUB: ISIS, https://isis.tu-berlin.de
Contents:
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Silicon photonics – technology overview
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Integrated optical waveguides and mode calculation
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Signal propagation and mode expansion
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Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique and scattering matrices
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Selected passive devices
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Modulators
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Photodetectors
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Optical amplifiers and lasers
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Test and packaging
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Optical communications
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Optical sensing and metrology
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Biophotonics
