Silicon photonic integrated devices for optical interconnects (original) (raw)

Hybrid Silicon Photonics for Optical Interconnects

IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2011

In this paper, we review the hybrid silicon photonic integration platform and its use for optical links. In this platform, a III/V layer is bonded to a fully processed silicon-on-insulator wafer. By changing the bandgap of the III/V quantum wells (QW), lowthreshold-current lasers, high-speed modulators, and photodetectors can be fabricated operating at wavelengths of 1.55 µm. With a QW intermixing technology, these components can be integrated with each other and a complete high-speed optical interconnect can be realized on-chip. The hybrid silicon bonding and process technology are fully compatible with CMOS-processed wafers because high-temperature steps and contamination are avoided. Full wafer bonding is possible, allowing for low-cost and large-volume device fabrication.

Hybrid Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuit Technology

IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2000

In this paper, we review the current status of the hybrid silicon photonic integration platform with emphasis on its prospects for increased integration complexity integration. The hybrid silicon platform is maturing fast as increasingly complex circuits are reported with tens of integrated components including on-chip lasers. It is shown that this platform is wellpositioned and holds great potential to address future needs for medium-scale photonic integrated circuits.

Si microphotonics for optical interconnection

Thin Solid Films, 2006

Silicon microphotonics is to integrate photonic functionalities on Si chips to extend Si chip performances and eventually realize electronic and photonic integrated circuits (EPICs). The current trend for photonic integration on silicon is making all photonic devices compatible to complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The first part of this Chapter describes a fractal optical clocking architecture as a new breakthrough to enhance clocking speed far beyond the Semiconductor Technology Roadmap. The possibility of faster clocking by orders of magnitude is demonstrated. The second part deals with CMOS compatibilities of photodetectors for on-chip monolithic integration. Defect-and strain-engineered Ge photodetectors on Si are broadband and have C-and L-bands detection capability. Finally a potential market for optical interconnection on ∼1 m distance scales is discussed.

Advances in silicon photonics WDM devices

Proceedings of SPIE, 2014

System performance scaling imposes an increase of package-to-package aggregate bandwidths to interface chips in high performance computing. This scaling is expected to encounter several I/O bottlenecks (pin count, speed, power consumption) when implemented in the electrical domain. Several optical interface technologies are being proposed among which silicon photonics, considered as a promising candidate. In this paper we will review the recent progress made in this technology that may enable multi-channel WDM links for package-to-package interconnects: 1.0V drivers with microring modulators and compact manufacturable microring filters with efficient thermal tuning.

Silicon integrated photonics begins to revolutionize

Microelectronics Reliability, 2007

The advances in Si technology and the rapid growth of broadband communication via optical fiber allow silicon integrated photonics to begin revolutionizing the electronic devices, circuits, and systems. The pace of technological development has been recently speeded up. Using microfabrication technology we are now able to make waveguide structures and optical components from Si-based materials, such as silicon oxynitride or doped silica. Visible light can be obtained from Si-based materials such as Si quantum wire/dots and Si nanoclusters embedded in insulators. The remaining issues are to develop processes and device structures to make Si photonics economically viable with system and device performance comparable to their existing counterparts. Recent efforts have demonstrated that the light-emitting efficiency can be enhanced greatly and that the lasing effect is also possible with the nanostructures. The impact of these moves will be revolutionary. The successful development of Si integrated photonics will enable on-chip optical interconnects for future microprocessor and giga-scale circuits, chip-to-chip fiber interconnection and will greatly decrease the cost for fiber-to-home connection. This will be one of the major moves for the next technology revolution. The present article discusses some recent developments on these aspects.

Silicon photonics for compact, energy-efficient interconnects [Invited]

Journal of Optical Networking, 2007

The goal of the research program that we describe is to break the emerging performance wall in microprocessor development arising from limited bandwidth and density of on-chip interconnects and chip-to-chip (processor-tomemory) electrical interfaces. Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor compatible photonic devices provide an infrastructure for deployment of a range of integrated photonic networks, which will replace state-of-the-art electrical interconnects, providing significant gains at the system level. Scaling of wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) architectures using high-indexcontrast (HIC) waveguides offers one path to realizing the energy efficiency and density requirements of high data rate links. HIC microring-resonator filters are well suited to support add-drop nodes in dense WDM photonic networks with high aggregate data rates because they support high Q's and, due to their traveling-wave character, naturally support physically separated input and drop ports. A novel reconfigurable, "hitless" switch is presented that does not perturb the express channels either before, during, or after reconfiguration. In addition, multigigahertz operation of low-power, Mach-Zehnder silicon modulators as well as germanium-on-silicon photodiodes are presented.

Photonic Integrated Circuits for Optical Communication

Optik & Photonik, 2012

Silicon technology enables high complex devices Integrated optics especially on silicon wafer allows fabrication of highly complex Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) for optical communications. PICs are a promising approach to handle the quickly growing data traffic in the near future where pure copper based electronic will fail to satisfy the requirements of bandwidth and distance. For the realization of industrial applications an optical components library containing the individual passive and active devices, e.g. waveguides, filters, eo-modulators, etc., for the PICs is needed.

Integrated GHz silicon photonic interconnect with micrometer-scale modulators and detectors

Optics Express, 2009

We report an optical link on silicon using micrometer-scale ring-resonator enhanced silicon modulators and waveguide-integrated germanium photodetectors. We show 3 Gbps operation of the link with 0.5 V modulator voltage swing and 1.0 V detector bias. The total energy consumption for such a link is estimated to be ~120 fJ/bit. Such compact and low power monolithic link is an essential step towards large-scale on-chip optical interconnects for future microprocessors.

Devices and architectures for large-scale integrated silicon photonics circuits

Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits XIII, 2011

We present DWDM nanophotonics architectures based on microring resonator modulators and detectors. We focus on two implementations: an on chip interconnect for multicore processor (Corona) and a high radix network switch (HyperX). Based on the requirements of these applications we discuss the key constraints on the photonic circuits' devices and fabrication techniques as well as strategies to improve their performance.