Integrating electronic and photonic functions onto a single silicon-based chip using techniques compatible with mass-production
CMOS electronics will enable new design paradigms for existing system architectures and open new
opportunities for electro-optic applications with the potential to dramatically change the management, cost, footprint,
weight, and power consumption of today's communication systems. While broadband analog system applications
represent a smaller volume market than that for digital data transmission, there are significant deployments of analog
electro-optic systems for commercial and military applications. Broadband linear modulation is a critical building block
in optical analog signal processing and also could have significant applications in digital communication systems.
Recently, broadband electro-optic modulators on a silicon platform have been demonstrated based on the plasma
dispersion effect. The use of the plasma dispersion effect within a CMOS compatible waveguide creates new challenges
and opportunities for analog signal processing since the index and
propagation loss change within the waveguide during
modulation. We will review the current status of silicon-based electrooptic modulators and also linearization techniques
for optical modulation.
Multilevel thin film processing, global planarization and advanced photolithography enables the ability to integrate
complimentary materials and process sequences required for high index contrast photonic components all within a single
CMOS process flow. Developing high performance photonic components that can be integrated with electronic circuits
at a high level of functionality in silicon CMOS is one of the basic objectives of the EPIC program sponsored by the
Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of DARPA. Our research team consisting of members from: BAE Systems,
Alcatel-Lucent, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University and Applied Wave Research reports on the
latest developments of the technology to fabricate an application specific, electronic-photonic integrated circuit
(AS_EPIC).
Now in its second phase of the EPIC program, the team has designed, developed and integrated fourth order optical
tunable filters, both silicon ring resonator and germanium electro-absorption modulators and germanium pin diode
photodetectors using silicon waveguides within a full 150nm CMOS process flow for a broadband RF channelizer
application. This presentation will review the latest advances of the passive and active photonic devices developed and
the processes used for monolithic integration with CMOS processing. Examples include multilevel waveguides for
optical interconnect and germanium epitaxy for active photonic devices such as p-i-n photodiodes and modulators.
The complete integration of photonic devices into a CMOS process flow will enable low cost photonic functionality
within electronic circuits. BAE Systems, Lucent Technologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell
University, and Applied Wave Research are participating in a high payoff research and development program for the
Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of DARPA. The goal of the program is the development of technologies and
design tools necessary to fabricate an application specific, electronic-photonic integrated circuit (AS-EPIC). The first
phase of the program was dedicated to photonics device designs, CMOS process flow integration, and basic electronic
functionality. We will present the latest results on the performance of waveguide integrated detectors, and tunable
optical filters.
The optical components industry stands at the threshold of a major expansion that will restructure its business processes and sustain its profitability for the next three decades. This growth will establish a cost effective platform for the partitioning of electronic and photonic functionality to extend the processing power of integrated circuits. BAE Systems, Lucent Technologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Applied Wave Research are participating in a high payoff research and development program for the Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of DARPA. The goal of the program is the development of technologies and design tools necessary to fabricate an application-specific, electronicphotonic integrated circuit (AS-EPIC). As part of the development of this demonstration platform we are exploring selected functions normally associated with the front end of mixed signal receivers such as modulation, detection, and filtering. The chip will be fabricated in the BAE Systems CMOS foundry and at MIT's Microphotonics Center. We will present the latest results on the performance of multi-layer deposited High Index Contrast Waveguides, CMOS compatible modulators and detectors, and optical filter slices. These advances will be discussed in the context of the Communications Technology Roadmap that was recently released by the MIT Microphotonics Center Industry Consortium.
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