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A tiny chip that can help us see deeper into space

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  Published in Science and Technology on Wednesday, October 22nd 2025 at 14:23 GMT by Phys.org
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Tiny chip takes us deeper into space

A team of researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and a consortium of aerospace industry partners, has unveiled a micro‑electronic chip that could dramatically change how future spacecraft communicate with Earth. The device, dubbed the “NanoLink” optical transceiver, is only 1.8 cm × 1.8 cm in size and weighs 2.9 g, yet it can generate and modulate laser light capable of transmitting gigabit‑per‑second data streams across interplanetary distances. According to the team, the NanoLink’s compact footprint and ultra‑low power consumption—under 12 mW—make it ideally suited for small satellites, CubeSats, and even future interstellar probes.

The underlying technology is a hybrid photonic‑electronic platform that integrates a semiconductor laser, silicon waveguides, and electro‑optic modulators onto a single silicon‑on‑insulator (SOI) chip. “By combining silicon photonics with a gallium arsenide laser source, we achieved a level of integration and performance that was previously only possible on much larger, bulk optics systems,” explained Dr. Mei-Ling Chen, the project’s lead engineer. “The modulators can reach rise times of less than 200 ps, enabling data rates of 1 Gbps at 1550 nm, the standard wavelength for deep‑space optical links.”

To ensure the chip’s survivability in the harsh radiation environment of deep space, the team subjected the NanoLink to a series of total ionizing dose (TID) and displacement damage (DD) tests. The device demonstrated resilience to doses exceeding 500 krad(Si) and neutron fluences of 10¹⁵ n/cm², with no measurable degradation in optical output power or modulation fidelity. “Radiation hardening was a top priority,” said Chen. “Our design eliminates many of the common failure modes seen in older photonic chips, such as leakage currents and thermally induced drift.”

The NanoLink’s design is a major advance over previous spaceborne laser communication systems, such as NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) mission, both of which relied on large, ground‑based laser arrays and spacecraft with power budgets of several kilowatts. “The LCRD used a 500‑W laser and a 5‑m telescope to transmit data from Earth to the LCRD‑2 CubeSat,” noted Dr. Samuel Torres of JPL, who co‑authored the paper. “Our chip, by contrast, fits inside a standard 12U CubeSat and operates at a fraction of the power.”

The research team has already conducted a series of laboratory tests that simulate the optical link between a CubeSat and a 2 m ground telescope. In a 2025 test, the NanoLink successfully transmitted a 2 Gbps stream of 1550‑nm light over a 100‑km free‑space channel in a darkened lab, achieving a bit‑error rate below 10⁻¹⁰. In a follow‑up test, the chip was mounted on a UAV and used to send data to a ground station 250 km away, demonstrating the feasibility of autonomous, high‑throughput downlinks from low‑Earth orbit (LEO) missions.

Beyond small satellites, the NanoLink could play a pivotal role in NASA’s upcoming Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. In the MSR architecture, a small spacecraft will collect samples from the Martian surface and relay them to an orbiter, which will in turn transmit the data to Earth. “Adding an optical link on the sample‑return vehicle would reduce the latency and increase the data bandwidth by an order of magnitude compared with conventional radio,” said Torres. “This would allow real‑time monitoring of the return capsule and potentially enable new science opportunities.”

The chip’s potential reaches even farther. The research team is actively exploring the use of the NanoLink in the context of the Breakthrough Starshot initiative, which aims to launch gram‑scale light‑sail probes to Alpha Centauri using Earth‑based lasers. “Even a modest optical communication system on a light‑sail probe could enable high‑bandwidth data return from the nearest stars,” Chen said. “The NanoLink’s low power consumption and mass make it compatible with the stringent payload constraints of such missions.”

The NanoLink development is also supported by a partnership with a commercial semiconductor foundry that has begun to mass‑produce the chips at a cost of under $1,000 each. “The scalability of the manufacturing process is a critical enabler for widespread adoption,” noted CEO Maria Ruiz of PhotonicsCo, a spin‑off company that has licensed the NanoLink design. “We are now able to ship pilot‑grade chips to a handful of CubeSat developers for integration into their upcoming missions.”

The team plans to conduct an in‑space demonstration of the NanoLink during the upcoming “CubeSat Deep Space Test” scheduled for launch in 2026. The test will deploy a 12U CubeSat from a commercial launch vehicle, equip it with the NanoLink chip, and establish a downlink to the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN). The DSN, a global array of large radio antennas, also hosts optical telescopes capable of receiving laser communications. “This demonstration will be the first time a commercially manufactured, micro‑photonic chip is used to perform deep‑space laser communications in orbit,” Torres said.

The NASA DSN’s optical communications capability is currently limited to a handful of testbed missions. The DSN website explains that the network’s optical infrastructure includes the 3 m telescope at Goldstone and the 2 m telescope at Haleakala, both of which have been upgraded for laser reception. By adding a reliable, low‑mass transmitter in orbit, the NanoLink could enable a new generation of high‑throughput, low‑latency data links across the solar system.

In summary, the NanoLink chip represents a breakthrough in deep‑space communications, combining the advantages of integrated silicon photonics with radiation‑tolerant design and ultra‑low power consumption. Its compact size and low cost make it a practical solution for CubeSats, interplanetary probes, and potentially even interstellar missions. As the team moves toward the 2026 in‑space demonstration, the broader aerospace community will be watching closely to see whether this tiny chip can indeed take us deeper into space.