Silicon photonics holds significant promise in revolutionizing optical interconnects in data centers and high performance computers to enable scaling into the Pb/s package escape bandwidth regime while consuming orders of magnitude less energy per bit than current solutions. In this work, we review recent progress in silicon photonic interconnects leveraging chipscale Kerr frequency comb sources and provide a comprehensive overview of massively scalable silicon photonic systems capable of capitalizing on the large number of wavelengths provided by such combs. We first consider the high-level architectural constraints and then proceed to detail the corresponding fundamental device designs supported by both simulated and experimental results. Furthermore, the majority of experimentally measured devices were fabricated in a commercial 300 mm foundry, showing a clear path to volume manufacturing. Finally, we present various system-level experiments which illustrate successful proof-ofprinciple operation, including flip-chip integration with a codesigned CMOS application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to realize a complete Kerr comb-driven electronic-photonic engine. These results provide a viable and appealing path towards future co-packaged silicon photonic interconnects with aggregate perfiber bandwidth above 1 Tb/s, energy consumption below 1 pJ/bit, and areal bandwidth density greater than 5 Tb/s/mm 2 .
AIM Photonics has had an active multi-project wafer (MPW) program since 2015 and in our latest work we will present our new integration aimed at the reduction of waveguide propagation losses. Often low losses are prioritized for passive MPWs runs but for key application spaces such as Telecommunications and Quantum Technology, it is imperative to incorporate both low-loss waveguides and active devices on a single die. Within this work we have demonstrated a loss of 1.0 dB/cm in Si strip waveguides and 0.48 dB/cm in SiN waveguides, a reduction of 0.4-3.5 dB/cm and 1-1.5 dB/cm, respectively, when compared to other MPW foundries.
Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are a maturing technology with foundries enabling wafer-scale PIC fabrication. At the same time, optomechanics, in which micro-/nano-optical and -mechanical structures are coupled, is well-established with many basic research and practical applications. However, optomechanical devices have so far required highly-customized fabrication that limits their inclusion in foundry-processed PICs. To address this need, we design optomechanical PICs using standard low-loss process design kit (PDK) components. Our approach ensures access to the foundry’s low-loss PDK components and enables process compatibility. As a demonstration, we design a foundry-processed optomechanical Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). Measurements demonstrate that a π-phase shift can be accumulated over an optomechanical interaction length of only 60 µm and tunable phase shifting can be achieved using gradient electric force actuation. We further demonstrate all-optical excitation and readout of mechanical resonances for sensing applications. Our PDK-focused optomechanics design approach enables the co-integration of optomechanics, photonics, and electronics in a single PIC.
We present foundry-fabricated thermo-optic phase shifters using visible wavelength silicon nitride (SiN) waveguides. A 500µm long phase shifter demonstrated a π phase shift at a Pπ≈120m W.
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