Photonic integrated circuits are developing as key enabling components for high-performance computing and advanced network-on-chip, as well as other emerging technologies such as lab-on-chip sensors, with relevant applications in areas from medicine and biotechnology to aerospace. These demanding applications will require novel features, such as dynamically reconfigurable light pathways, obtained by properly harnessing on-chip optical radiation. In this paper, we introduce a broadband, high directivity (>150), low loss and reconfigurable silicon photonics nanoantenna that fully enables on-chip radiation control. We propose the use of these nanoantennas as versatile building blocks to develop wireless (unguided) silicon photonic devices, which considerably enhance the range of achievable integrated photonic functionalities. As examples of applications, we demonstrate 160 Gbit s−1 data transmission over mm-scale wireless interconnects, a compact low-crosstalk 12-port crossing and electrically reconfigurable pathways via optical beam steering. Moreover, the realization of a flow micro-cytometer for particle characterization demonstrates the smart system integration potential of our approach as lab-on-chip devices.

We investigate the chromatic dispersion properties of silicon channel slot waveguides in a broad spectral region centered at ~1.5 μm. The variation of the dispersion profile as a function of the slot fill factor, i.e., the ratio between the slot and waveguide widths, is analyzed. Symmetric as well as asymmetric geometries are considered. In general, two different dispersion regimes are identified. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the zero and/or the peak dispersion wavelengths can be tailored by a careful control of the geometrical waveguide parameters including the cross-sectional area, the slot fill factor, and the slot asymmetry degree.

An accurate technique to characterize chromatic dispersion and its slope versus wavelength is reported. The method is based on a heterodyne Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which is immune to thermal phase noise by using a counterpropagating reference beam. Chromatic dispersion profiles are obtained over a broad wavelength region even in short waveguides with considerable loss. Conventional strip silicon waveguides as well as slotted geometries are considered. Theoretical simulations are also presented for comparison, which show good agreement with the experimental results.

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