The Emergence of Silicon Photonics as a Flexible Technology Platform

Abstract

| In this paper, we present a brief history of silicon photonics from the early research papers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to the potentially revolutionary technology that exists today. Given that other papers in this special issue give detailed reviews of key aspects of the technology, this paper will concentrate on the key technological milestones that were crucial in demonstrating the capability of silicon photonics as both a successful technical platform, as well as indicating the potential for commercial success. The paper encompasses discussion of the key technology areas of passive devices, modulators, detectors, light sources, and system integration.In so doing, the paper will also serve as an introduction to the other papers within this special issue.

Microwave Filtering Using Forward Brillouin Scattering in Photonic-Phononic Emit-Receive Devices

“…As we seek to utilize an ever-increasing portion of the electromagnetic spectrum for next generation communications and radar systems, microwave-photonic signal processing platforms show great promise for their ability to manipulate signals at high frequencies and over extremely wide bandwidths [1][2][3]. Rapid progress in the field of silicon photonics has also enabled the integration of high-speed modulators [4,5], amplifiers [6][7][8] and detectors [9] with electronic and photonic circuitry [10][11][12][13], opening the door to miniaturization of radio-frequency (RF) photonic circuits having signal processing performance that is competitive with established microwave technologies [14,15]. However, it remains challenging to implement narrow-band filtering using all-optical techniques, as ultra-low loss waveguides are needed to store signals for long periods of time [16][17][18].…”

Verified equivalent-circuit model for slot-waveguide modulators

“…The response of such a device is given by RF RC ( ) H  , Eq. (11). Figure 6 shows the 6 dB EOE bandwidth 6dB,EOE f for a device that is only limited by the RC-low-pass as a function of slab conductance S G and slot capacitance S C .…”

Open-Access Silicon Photonics Platforms in Europe

“…The public and private investment in R&D has led to a rapid development of silicon photonics technologies in the last two decades. CMOS pilot lines and advanced research institutes [10]- [17] have played a pivotal role by: (a) continuously evolving and maturing the technology platforms to reach a high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1 ; and (b) making these platforms accessible with minimal restriction and at lowcost to third parties for validating their design innovations. This open-access model enables an economically viable and low-barrier access to fabless companies where such companies bank on the off-the-shelf Intellectual Property (IP) and technology processes of pure-play foundries for PIC prototyping and manufacturing.…”