Towards fabless silicon photonics

Hochberg, Michael; Baehr‐Jones, Tom

doi:10.1038/nphoton.2010.172

Cited by 354 publications

(184 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…It does not address the complexities and challenges of integrating optical and electronic devices with substantially different size scales; nor does it address the challenges of adapting CMOS production lines to optical device fabrication, both of which have been discussed at length [21,22]. A central problem in terms of integrating waveguides and nanowires with electronic components are the relatively large thicknesses of both the core and cladding films.…”

Section: Hydex Waveguidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These first-generation silicon photonic chips typically employ photonics for realizing passive splitters, filters, and multiplexers, and offer the substantial benefits of exploiting the broadly established global CMOS infrastructure, although not without challenges [21,22]. What is clear, however, is that any progress made in this direction for these first generation SOI chips will have a direct benefit on future generation all-optical chips, whether in SOI directly or in other CMOS-compatible platforms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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New CMOS-compatible platforms based on silicon nitride and Hydex for nonlinear optics

et al. 2013

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Section: Hydex Waveguidesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New CMOS-compatible platforms based on silicon nitride and Hydex for nonlinear optics

et al. 2013

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“…Built upon these advances, this technology now offers a low-cost platform for building large-scale optical systems [14][15][16][17] . Waveguide arrays are among the cornerstones of such systems.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

High-density waveguide superlattices with low crosstalk

et al. 2015

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Silicon photonics holds great promise for low-cost large-scale photonic integration. In its future development, integration density will play an ever-increasing role in a way similar to that witnessed in integrated circuits. Waveguides are perhaps the most ubiquitous component in silicon photonics. As such, the density of waveguide elements is expected to have a crucial influence on the integration density of a silicon photonic chip. A solution to highdensity waveguide integration with minimal impact on other performance metrics such as crosstalk remains a vital issue in many applications. Here, we propose a waveguide superlattice and demonstrate advanced superlattice design concepts such as interlacing-recombination that enable high-density waveguide integration at a half-wavelength pitch with low crosstalk. Such waveguide superlattices can potentially lead to significant reduction in on-chip estate for waveguide elements and salient enhancement of performance for important applications, opening up possibilities for half-wavelength-pitch optical-phased arrays and ultra-dense space-division multiplexing.

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“…Th e high cost of fabrication facilities has started a trend towards 'fabless' silicon photonics [80], comparable to similar developments in CMOS technology. In this approach, a research group can design photonic circuits occupying a footprint of a few square millimeters and rely on a foundry for a multiproject run at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars US for fabrication, a fraction of the total cost of the fabrication process for full SOI wafers.…”

Section: Future Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Device engineering for silicon photonics

Chen

Tsang

2011

NPG Asia Mater

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A fter an impressive initial spurt of progress in device engineering during the early 2000s when the optical communications industry saw unprecedented levels of investment, silicon photonics continues to develop at an amazing pace. Many novel applications and devices are emerging. Silicon photonics has the potential to become a major platform for optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) and to be used in high-speed optical interconnects for chip-level data communications because of the extremely large bandwidth and high speed off ered by optical communications. Many challenges have been addressed through the introduction of innovative ideas, paving the way for the practical deployment of silicon-based optoelectronic devices and integrated photonic circuits in computing and telecommunication systems [1]. Th e commercialization of silicon photonics, originally driven by applications in telecommunications, is now also driven by the needs of the computing industry for highspeed, energy-effi cient optical cable technology, such as the Light Peak Technology under development by Intel (USA). Th e California-based company Luxtera (USA) has also commercialized a series of siliconphotonic transceiver systems.Silicon off ers many advantages over alternative material systems (e.g. InP, GaAs, LiNbO 3 ) for OEIC applications. One major reason for the wide interest that silicon photonics is attracting is the cost advantage that silicon photonics can potentially off er through its compatibility with the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication processes used in the microelectronics industry. Th e huge investments that have been made in CMOS microelectronics fabrication technologies has resulted in processes that off er much higher yield than is possible using alternative materials for photonics, thus making feasible large-scale integration and the production of silicon-photonic devices that are monolithically integrated with not only optical components but also electronic circuits in the same platform at ultrahigh density. Another reason for the attractiveness of silicon photonics is the high refractive index contrast between the silicon core (refractive index, 3.48) and silicon dioxide cladding (refractive index, 1.45) in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices, which ensures the submicrometer confi nement of light and allows tight bending in optical waveguides. Th e high-density integration of photonic circuits on SOI platforms is thus feasible. Th e low cost of high-quality SOI wafers is another advantage of silicon photonics. All kinds of low-cost devices enabled by silicon photonics are therefore predicted, and these may also enjoy the other benefi ts of monolithic integration: smaller size, increased power effi ciency and improved reliability. Figure 1 shows an example of a high-density integrated photonics devices fabricated on a 6-inch SOI wafer using CMOS-compatible technology.In this article, we review some of the exciting progress that has been made in silicon photonics with the aim of providing a broa...

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Towards fabless silicon photonics

Cited by 354 publications

References 8 publications

New CMOS-compatible platforms based on silicon nitride and Hydex for nonlinear optics

New CMOS-compatible platforms based on silicon nitride and Hydex for nonlinear optics

High-density waveguide superlattices with low crosstalk

Device engineering for silicon photonics

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