Silicon photonics research can be dated back to the 1980s. However, the previous decade has witnessed an explosive growth in the field. Silicon photonics is a disruptive technology that is poised to revolutionize a number of application areas, for example, data centers, high-performance computing and sensing. The key driving force behind silicon photonics is the ability to use CMOS-like fabrication resulting in high-volume production at low cost. This is a key enabling factor for bringing photonics to a range of technology areas where the costs of implementation using traditional photonic elements such as those used for the telecommunications industry would be prohibitive. Silicon does however have a number of shortcomings as a photonic material. In its basic form it is not an ideal material in which to produce light sources, optical modulators or photodetectors for example. A wealth of research effort from both academia and industry in recent years has fueled the demonstration of multiple solutions to these and other problems, and as time progresses new approaches are increasingly being conceived. It is clear that silicon photonics has a bright future. However, with a growing number of approaches available, what will the silicon photonic integrated circuit of the future look like? This roadmap on silicon photonics delves into the different technology and application areas of the field giving an insight into the state-of-the-art as well as current and future challenges faced by researchers worldwide. Contributions authored by experts from both industry and academia provide an overview and outlook for the silicon waveguide platform, optical sources, optical modulators, photodetectors, integration approaches, packaging, applications of silicon photonics and approaches required to satisfy applications at mid-infrared wavelengths. Advances in science and technology required to meet challenges faced by the field in each of these areas are also addressed together with predictions of where the field is destined to reach.

We report on lateral pin germanium photodetectors selectively grown at the end of silicon waveguides. A very high optical bandwidth, estimated up to 120GHz, was evidenced in 10 µm long Ge photodetectors using three kinds of experimental set-ups. In addition, a responsivity of 0.8 A/W at 1550 nm was measured. An open eye diagrams at 40Gb/s were demonstrated under zero-bias at a wavelength of 1.55 µm.

We present the design, fabrication, and characterisation of an array of optical slot-waveguide ring resonator sensors, integrated with microfluidic sample handling in a compact cartridge, for multiplexed real-time label-free biosensing. Multiplexing not only enables high throughput, but also provides reference channels for drift compensation and control experiments. Our use of alignment tolerant surface gratings to couple light into the optical chip enables quick replacement of cartridges in the read-out instrument. Furthermore, our novel use of a dual surface-energy adhesive film to bond a hard plastic shell directly to the PDMS microfluidic network allows for fast and leak-tight assembly of compact cartridges with tightly spaced fluidic interconnects. The high sensitivity of the slot-waveguide resonators, combined with on-chip referencing and physical modelling, yields a volume refractive index detection limit of 5 x 10(-6) refractive index units (RIUs) and a surface mass density detection limit of 0.9 pg mm(-2), to our knowledge the best reported values for integrated planar ring resonators.

QC 20100715

A compact pin Ge photodetector is integrated in submicron SOI rib waveguide. The detector length is reduced down to 15 microm using butt coupling configuration which is sufficient to totally absorb light at the wavelength of 1.55 microm. A -3 dB bandwidth of 42 GHz has been measured at a 4V reverse bias with a responsivity as high as 1 A/W at the wavelength of 1.55 microm and a low dark current density of 60 mA/cm(2). At a wavelength of 1.52 microm, a responsivity of 1 A/W is obtained under -0.5 V bias. The process is fully compatible with CMOS technology.

Ge-based photodetectors operating in the low loss windows (1.3–1.6 μm) of silica fibers are highly desirable for the development of optical interconnections on silicon-on-insulator substrates. We have therefore investigated the structural and optical properties of Ge thick films grown directly onto Si(001) substrates using a production-compatible reduced pressure chemical vapor deposition system. We have first of all evidenced a Ge growth regime which is akin to a supply-limited one in the 400–750 °C temperature range (Ea=6.9 kcal mol−1). The thick Ge layers grown using a low-temperature/high-temperature approach are in a definite tensile-strain configuration, with a threading dislocation density for as-grown layers of the order of 9×108 cm−2 (annealed: <2×108 cm−2). The surface of those Ge thick layers is rather smooth, especially when considering the large lattice mismatch between Ge and Si. The root-mean-square roughness is indeed of the order of 0.6 nm (2 nm) only for as-grown (annealed) layers. A chemical mechanical polishing step followed by some Ge re-epitaxy can help in bringing the surface roughness of annealed layers down, however (0.5 nm). The Ge layers produced are of high optical quality. An absorption coefficient alpha equal to 4300 cm−1 (3400 cm−1) has indeed been found at room temperature and for a 1.55-μm wavelength for as-grown (annealed) layers. A 20-meV band-gap shrinkage with respect to bulk Ge (0.78 eV⇔0.80 eV) is observed as well in those tensile-strained Ge epilayers.

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We report the experimental demonstration of a germanium metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector integrated in a SOI rib waveguide. Femtosecond pulse and frequency experiments have been used to characterize those MSM Ge photodetectors. The measured bandwidth under 6V bias is about 25 GHz at 1.55 microm wavelength with a responsivity as high as 1 A/W. The used technological processes are compatible with complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology.