We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally how highly multimodal high index contrast waveguides with micron-scale cores can be bent, on an ultra-broad band of operation, with bending radii below 10 µm and losses for the fundamental mode below 0.02 dB/90°. The bends have been designed based on the Euler spiral and fabricated on 4 µm thick SOI. The proposed approach enabled also the realization of 180° bends with 1.27 µm effective radii and 0.09 dB loss, which are the smallest low-loss bends ever reported for an optical waveguide. These results pave the way for unprecedented integration density in most semiconductor platforms.

Offering open-access silicon photonics-based technologies has played a pivotal role in unleashing this technology from research laboratories to industry. Fabless enterprises rely on the open-access of these technologies for their product development. In the last decade, a diverse set of open-access technologies with medium and high technology readiness levels have emerged. This paper provides a review of the open-access silicon and silicon nitride photonic IC technologies offered by the pilot lines of European research institutes and companies. The

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Instantaneous frequency measurement (IFM) of microwave signals is a fundamental functionality for applications ranging from electronic warfare to biomedical technology. Photonic techniques, and nonlinear optical interactions in particular, have the potential to broaden the frequency measurement range beyond the limits of electronic IFM systems. The key lies in efficiently harnessing optical mixing in an integrated nonlinear platform, with low losses. In this work, we exploit the low loss of a 35 cm long, thick silicon waveguide, to efficiently harness Kerr nonlinearity, and demonstrate the first on-chip four-wave mixing (FWM) based IFM system. We achieve a large 40 GHz measurement bandwidth and record-low measurement error. Finally, we discuss the future prospect of integrating the whole IFM system on a silicon chip to enable the first reconfigurable, broadband IFM receiver with low-latency.

This paper gives an overview of the 3-µm silicon-oninsulator (SOI) platform that is openly available from VTT and suitable for the realization of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for near and mid-infrared applications. Specific benefits of this thick-SOI PIC platform include low optical losses (∼0.1 dB/cm), ultradense integration (µm-scale bends), small polarization dependency (down-to-zero birefringence), and ability to tolerate relatively high optical powers (>1 W). Fabrication technology is based on an i-line stepper and 150-mm wafer size. Open access to the waveguide platform is supported by design kits, wafer-level testing, multi-project wafer runs, dedicated R&D runs, and small-to-medium volume manufacturing.