Silicon Based Photonics

The growing demand for instant and reliable communication means that photonic circuits are increasingly finding applications in optical communications systems. One of the prime candidates to provide satisfactory performance at low cost in the photonic circuit is silicon. Whilst silicon photonics is less well developed as compared to some other material technologies, it is poised to make a serious impact on the telecommunications industry, as well as in many other applications, as other technologies fail to meet the yield/performance/cost trade-offs. Following a sympathetic tutorial approach, this first book on silicon photonics provides a comprehensive overview of the technology. Silicon Photonics explains the concepts of the technology, taking the reader through the introductory principles, on to more complex building blocks of the optical circuit. Starting with the basics of waveguides and the properties peculiar to silicon, the book also features: Key design issues in optical circuits. Experimental methods. Evaluation techniques. Operation of waveguide based devices. Fabrication of silicon waveguide circuits. Evaluation of silicon photonic systems. Numerous worked examples, models and case studies. Silicon Photonics is an essential tool for photonics engineers and young professionals working in the optical network, optical communications and semiconductor industries. This book is also an invaluable reference and a potential main text to senior undergraduates and postgraduate students studying fibre optics, integrated optics, or optical network technology.

This hands-on introduction to silicon photonics engineering equips students with everything they need to begin creating foundry-ready designs.

Silicon photonics has evolved rapidly as a research topic with enormous application potential. The high refractive index contrast of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) shows great promise for submicron waveguide structures suited for integration on the chip scale in the near-infrared region. Ge- and GeSn-Si heterostructures with different elastic strain levels already provide expansion of the spectral range, high-speed operation, efficient modulation and switching of optical signals, and enhanced light emission and lasing. This book focuses on the integration of heterostructure devices with silicon photonics. The authors have attempted to merge a concise treatment of classical silicon photonics with a description of principles, prospects, challenges, and technical solution paths of adding silicon-based heterostructures. The book discusses the basics of heterostructure-based silicon photonics, system layouts, and key device components, keeping in mind the application background. Special focus is placed on SOI-based waveguide configurations and Ge- and GeSn-Si heterostructure devices for light detection, modulation, and light emission and lasing. The book also provides an overview of the technological and materials science challenges connected with integration on silicon. The first half of the book is mainly for readers who are interested in the topic because of its increasing importance in different fields, while the latter half covers different device structures for light emission, detection, modulation, extension of the wavelength beyond 1.6 μm, and lasing, as well as future challenges.

The development of integrated silicon photonic circuits has recently been driven by the Internet and the push for high bandwidth as well as the need to reduce power dissipation induced by high data-rate signal transmission. To reach these goals, efficient passive and active silicon photonic devices, including waveguide, modulators, photodetectors,

This book is a collection of five original research articles on silicon photonics. The discussed issues are organized into two parts. Part 1 describes the science behind the silicon photonics emphasizing the role of photonic circuits on silicon, and Part 2 describes applications in waveguide and optical transmissions. This book should be of interest to academic researchers and engineers. The chapters included are fundamental science and applications of silicon photonics, optical properties of thin nanocrystalline silicon films, microporous silicon in gas sensing, Mach-Zehnder interferometer cell-based silicon waveguide, experimental study of porous silicon films, and integrated optical switches and their applications.

Silicon photonics is currently a very active and progressive area of research, as silicon optical circuits have emerged as the replacement technology for copper-based circuits in communication and broadband networks. The demand for ever improving communications and computing performance continues, and this in turn means that photonic circuits are finding ever increasing application areas. This text provides an important and timely overview of the ‘hot topics’ in the field, covering the various aspects of the technology that form the research area of silicon photonics. With contributions from some of the world’s leading researchers in silicon photonics, this book collates the latest advances in the technology. Silicon Photonics: the State of the Art opens with a highly informative foreword, and continues to feature: the integrated photonic circuit; silicon photonic waveguides; photonic bandgap waveguides; mechanisms for optical modulation in silicon; silicon based light sources; optical detection technologies for silicon photonics; passive silicon photonic devices; photonic and electronic integration approaches; applications in communications and sensors. Silicon Photonics: the State of the Art covers the essential elements of the entire field that is silicon photonics and is therefore an invaluable text for photonics engineers and professionals working in the fields of optical networks, optical communications, and semiconductor electronics. It is also an informative reference for graduate students studying for PhD in fibre optics, integrated optics, optical networking, microelectronics, or telecommunications.

Silicon photonics is beginning to play an important role in driving innovations in communication and computation for an increasing number of applications, from health care and biomedical sensors to autonomous driving, datacenter networking, and security. In recent years, there has been a significant amount of effort in industry and academia to innovate, design, develop, analyze, optimize, and fabricate systems employing silicon photonics, shaping the future of not only Datacom and telecom technology but also high-performance computing and emerging computing paradigms, such as optical computing and artificial intelligence. Different from existing books in this area, Silicon Photonics for High-Performance Computing and Beyond presents a comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art technology and research achievements in applying silicon photonics for communication and computation. It focuses on various design, development, and integration challenges, reviews the latest advances spanning materials, devices, circuits, systems, and applications. Technical topics discussed in the book include: • Requirements and the latest advances in high-performance computing systems • Device- and system-level challenges and latest improvements to deploy silicon photonics in computing systems • Novel design solutions and design automation techniques for silicon photonic integrated circuits • Novel materials, devices, and photonic integrated circuits on silicon • Emerging computing technologies and applications based on silicon photonics Silicon Photonics for High-Performance Computing and Beyond presents a compilation of 19 outstanding contributions from academic and industry pioneers in the field. The selected contributions present insightful discussions and innovative approaches to understand current and future bottlenecks in high-performance computing systems and traditional computing platforms, and the promise of silicon photonics to address those challenges. It is ideal for researchers and engineers working in the photonics, electrical, and computer engineering industries as well as academic researchers and graduate students (M.S. and Ph.D.) in computer science and engineering, electronic and electrical engineering, applied physics, photonics, and optics.

This fourth book in the series Silicon Photonics gathers together reviews of recent advances in the field of silicon photonics that go beyond already established and applied concepts in this technology. The field of research and development in silicon photonics has moved beyond improvements of integrated circuits fabricated with complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) technology to applications in engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, and medicine. The chapters provided in this book by experts in their fields thus cover not only new research into the highly desired goal of light production in Group IV materials, but also new measurement regimes and novel technologies, particularly in information processing and telecommunication. The book is suited for graduate students, established scientists, and research engineers who want to update their knowledge in these new topics.