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Integrated optical antennas
University microcredential
Language: English
From September 22, 2025 to October 3, 2025
3 ECTS - 30 hours
Mode: Online and hybrid
This course will focus on the challenges of designing integrated optical antennas in silicon photonics. It will start with a brief review of basic antenna concepts from radiofrequency, such as near-field and far-field definitions, radiation patterns, and their relationship with aperture size. Then, it will cover diffraction gratings for input/output of optical chips (Surface Grating Couplers - SGC), with a focus on chip-to-fiber couplers, the most successful optical antenna example in integrated photonics. Concepts like the grating equation, directivity, radiation angle, and coupling efficiency will also be explored.
The practical part will focus on two tasks: complete design of an SGC using electromagnetic design software, taking into account the manufacturing constraints of a realistic SOI or SiN fabrication platform; and systemically predesign an OPA-1D, including the phase distribution network and thermo-optical control elements.
Lecturers
Alejandro Ortega Moñux
Full Professor
Laureano Moreno Pozas
Assistant Professor
Invited speakers
Daniel Benedikovic
Associate Professor
Pablo Ginel Moreno
Strategy and BD Manager
Timeline
The course will start on September 22, 2025 and will end on October 3, 2025. The first week will be online lessons about concept and fundamentals, while the second week will focus mostly on laboratory exercises and simulations that can be made either on-site or online (hybrid mode).
The courses will be funded for up to 10 students who meet the established academic requirements thanks to the Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia 
and the NextGeneration EU 
. Deadlines will be opened to apply for these scholarships. A brief interview or exam may be conducted to gain a better understanding
of the applicant's background and motivations. The registration fee for the rest of the students will be 450 €.
Students who enroll in any microcredential must hold a bachelor’s degree in one of the following areas:
- Engineering (in any of its specialties).
- Physics.
- Chemistry.
- Mathematics.
In exceptional cases, students who are currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in one of the aforementioned fields and still need to complete 30 ECTS (excluding the final degree project and external internships) may be admitted.
Students who complete all the microcredentials (not necessarily in the same courses edition) will receive the Specialization Diploma in Integrated Photonics from the University of Málaga.
Theory sessions
- Introduction.
- Review of basic antenna concepts (far-field, radiation pattern).
- Surface grating couplers (fundamentals, figures of merit, design considerations).
- Optical antenna arrays: OPA-1D, OPA-2D (typical architectures and design rules).
- Distribution and control network (including thermo-optical phase shifters).
- Advanced techniques (reduction of the number of control elements, sidelobes).
Practical sessions
- Design of a surface grating coupler.
- Preliminary design of an OPA-1D.
The professional software ANSYS ACADEMIC LUMERICAL MULTIPHYSICS will be available for students to perform the laboratory exercises proposed in the different microcredentials from their own computers. This software is widely used by companies in the sector and research centers for modeling, simulation, and design of integrated optical devices.