Silicon Photonics:

The Revival of Integrated Optics and Optoelectronics

Bijoy Krishna Das
Department of Electrical
Bijoy Engineering,
Krishna Das IIT Madras
Chennai – 600 036, India

Talk Outline
Introduction
 Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics
 Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

Marriage of Electronics and Optics

 Silicon Photonics
 Optical Interconnect Devices

Microns, Submicron, and Nanotechnology

 Silicon Photonics Research @ IIT Madras

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Introduction
Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics
1925
The first patent (CA272437 A), ”Method and apparatus for controlling electric currents”, was filed in
Canada by Austrian-Hungarian physicist Julius Edgar Lilienfeld, but Lilienfeld published no research
articles about his devices, and his work was ignored by industry.

1947-48
Discovery of transistor by William Shockley, Walter Brattain and John Bardeen in Bell Labs. The first
transistor was fabricated in Ge sample and the size was ~ 1 cm.

John Bardeen Walter Brattain

William Shockley

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics

1958-60
Invention of Integrated Circuit (IC) independently by Jack kilby in Texas Instruments (TI) and
Rober Noyce in Fairchild Semiconductors. Minimum feature size of the transistor reduced to 100 µm.

1965
Observation and prediction by Gordon E. Moore (Co-founder of Intel and Fairchild Semiconductors)
that number of transistor per square inch on an IC roughly doubled every 24 Months, which has
been reevaluated later to 18 months.

1980
Minimum feature size of a transistor reduced to ~1 µm.

2001
Length of a typical transistor reduced to ~100 nm.

2011
The typical length of transistor channel (gate) has
been reduced to 20 nm and the gate oxide thickness
is 1-2 nm.

2021
The predicted transistor length is 1 - 5 nm.

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics

http://isscc.org/trends/

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics

Electrical Interconnect Delay: challenging issue

http://www.design-reuse.com/articles/4598/meeting-the-challenges-of-90nm-soc-design.html

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics

Electrical Interconnect Delay: challenging issue

Havemann & Hutchby, Proceedings of the IEEE, vo. 89, pp. 586 – 601, 2001

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics

Electrical Interconnect Delay: challenging issue

c
vp ~
6

… and the transmission

line is BW limited!
Havemann & Hutchby, Proceedings of the IEEE, vo. 89, pp. 586 – 601, 2001

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Transistor to Integrated CMOS Electronics Optical I/O Devices : E-O-E Conversion

(Vertical Inter Layer Inter Connect)

Optical Waveguide
vp ~ c
f c ~ 200 THz

… and BW is not an issue!

Havemann & Hutchby, Proceedings of the IEEE, vo. 89, pp. 586 – 601, 2001

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

Laser Invention (1916 – 1960)

 An interesting historical footnote is

the red ruby laser, demonstrated
independently by Schawlow at Bell and
by Irwin Wieder at Varian Associates,
whose papers both arrived at Physical
Review Letters on December 19, 1960,
and were published in the same issue.

 Both Schawlow and Wieder

demonstrated flashlamp-pumped lasing
on the red ruby laser, but the red ruby
laser never proved practical.

 Maiman’s laser used “pink” ruby, in

which the chromium concentration was
low enough that chromium atoms did
not interact with each other and could at
room temperatures!

“Short history of laser development” By Jeff Hecht, 2010

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....
First Ruby Laser
Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics
May 16, 1960
Theodore Maiman

Irnee D’Haenes, personal assistant of Dr. Theodre Maiman once joked:

“Laser is a solution – looking for problems”

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

1962: Light Emitting Diode

Nick Holonyak Jr. is widely considered

"the father of the light-emitting diode." He
developed the first practical LEDs in 1962
while working for the General Electric
Company in New York.

http://EzineArticles.com/6735761

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

1969: Proposal for Integrated Optics

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

1970: Heterostructure for Electronics & Optoelectronics
A technological breakthrough occurred around 1970 when hetero-structure lasers
became able to work continuously at room temperatures. This made fiber-optic
communications practically possible.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2000 was awarded "for basic work on information and communication
technology" with one half jointly to Zhores I. Alferov and Herbert Kroemer "for developing
semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics" and the other half to Jack
S. Kilby "for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit".

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

1972: Review Paper on Integrated Optics

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

1969-2000: A Little Progress in Integrated Optics

A. Yariv
Father of Optoelectronics

….. Modulator was the only success story for integrated optics until 2000

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Introduction Contd.....

Solid State Laser to Integrated Optics

Revival of Integrated Optics / Optoelectronics

I.P. Kaminow
Inventor of Integrated Optical LiNbO3 Modulator

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Marriage of Electronics and Optics
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect

Haurylan et al, IEEE J. Sel. Topics in Quantum Electron., vol. 6, p. 1699, (2006)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect

On-Chip Laser Diode Integration

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect
On-Chip 40 Gbps Optical Modulator

M. Ziebel et al, Optics Express, vol. 20, pp. 10591-10596, May 2012

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect

On-Chip Integration of Photodetector

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect

Proposed 1Tb/s Optical Transmitter (Intel)

White Paper, Intel Labs, July 2010

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect

Futuristic Application of MIMO Platform : Multicore Microprocessors

M. Asghari et al, “Energy-efficient communication,” Urino et al, Optics Express, vol. 20, pp. B256-
Nature Photonics, vol. 5, pp 268-270, May 2011. B263, 2012

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect
Si Nanophotonics Chip with 90 nm CMOS Node (IBM)
(B/W :20 GHz)

( 25 Gbps; FOM: 1.2 V-cm)

4 Channel WDM Filter

( 850 GHz spacing)

IEDM - Dec. 2012

IBM’s silicon photonics chips uses four distinct colors of light travelling within an optical fiber,
rather than traditional copper wiring, to transmit data in and around a computing system. In just
one second, this new transceiver is estimated to be capable of digitally sharing 63 million
tweets or six million images, or downloading an entire high-definition digital movie in just two
seconds.
Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016
Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect
Single-Chip Microprocessor - communicates directly with light !

Chen Sun, et al., Nature Letter, 24 Dec 2015.

 70 Million Transistors
 850 Photonic Devices
 Dual Core RISC-V Processor
 1 MB memory bank
 2x11 Electro-optic Transceiver for Processor and Memory

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect
Silicon Photonics : Building Blocks

Light Source, Modulator and Photodetector

E-O-E conversions

Optical Signal Processing Devices

Waveguide – the fundamental building block

Integrated Optical Components Reconfigurable Components

MMI Power Splitter /Directional Coupler Optical Pump: TPA & Four Wave Mixing
Mach-Zehnder Interferometer Microheaters: Thermo-optic phase-shifter
Ring Resonator PN/PIN Diodes: Plasma-optic phase-shifter
AWG/DBR PIN Diode: Variable optical attenuator

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect
Wafer-Scale Integration

Tom Baehr Jones et al, Nature Photonics, vol. 6, pp. 206-208, April 2012

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

Marriage Contd.....
Silicon Photonics - Optical Interconnect

Kotura’s 3-μm Technology Platform

M. Asghari et al, “Energy-efficient communication,” Nature Photonics, vol. 5, pp 268-270, 2011.

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Microns, Submicron and Nanotechnology
Microns to Submicron Waveguides
Spot-Size Converters

LCRW (5 -10 μm Technology) RCRW (2 - 3 μm Technology) PhWW (0.2 – 0.5 μm Technology)

Fiber pigtailing Nearly dispersion free devices Wavelength selective devices

Dispersion free devices (DC, MMI, AWG, MZI) (MMI, Ring resonator, Delay lines, DBR)
Low loss chip to chip interconnect

x
y

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
5-μm Waveguide Devices : MZI Switch Matrix

P. Saktivel (MS Thesis) and S. Kurudi (MS in Progress)

P. Sakthivel, N. Dasgupta, and B.K. Das, "Simulation and experimental studies of diffusion doped p-i-n structures for
silicon photonics", SPIE Photonics West 2013, San Francisco, CA, USA, 2-7 February 2013 (Paper 8629-33)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 IIT Madras Contd.....

2-μm Technology : Thermo-Optic Switch

S. Kaushal & B. K. Das, “Modelling and Experimental

Investigation of an Integrated Optical Microheater in
SOI”, Applied Optics, April 2016

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 IIT Madras Contd.....

220-nm Technology : Distributed Bragg Reflector

-5

Trans. [dB] -10

-15

-20

-25

1535 1540 1545 1550 1555

Wavelength [nm]
P. Sah (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 IIT Madras Contd.....

220-nm Technology : Ring Resonator

1.00
Normalized o/p Power [a.u.]

0.75

0.50

0.25

0.00
1547.0 1547.5 1548.0 1548.5 1549.0 1549.5
Wavelength [nm]

S. Chandran (PhD in Progress) S. Kaushal & B. K. Das., 12th International Conference on Fibre Optics
and Photonics, Kharagpur, India , 13-16 December 2014 (Paper- T4B.3)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
Definition of SOI Device Layer : 1st Lithography

MIMOW Platform for Silicon Photonics

Ramesh K. (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
Definition of SOI Device Layer : 1st RIE

MIMOW Platform for Silicon Photonics

Ramesh K. (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
Definition of SOI Device Layer : I/O Shadow Masking

MIMOW Platform for Silicon Photonics

Ramesh K. (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....

Definition of SOI Device Layer : 2nd RIE with Shadow Mask

MIMOW Platform for Silicon Photonics

Ramesh K. (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....

Definition of SOI Device Layer : 2nd Lithography

Coating PMMA  Pattern Devices on PMMA  Developing

(Selectively Exposed)

MIMOW Platform for Silicon Photonics

Ramesh K. (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....

Definition of SOI Device Layer : 3rd RIE

ICPRIE - Etching of Silicon  Remove PMMA

MIMOW Platform for Silicon Photonics

Ramesh K. (PhD in Progress)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
Monolthic Integration of Microns to Submicron Waveguides

 Waveguide height reduction from 5 µm to 2 µm

 Both type of waveguides are single-mode at λ ~ 1550 nm

 Both type of waveguides are nearly polarization independent

 Propagation loss : LCRW – 0.5 dB/cm (TE/TM), RCRW ~ 0.5 dB / 0.6 dB/cm (TE/TM)

Spot-size converters are non-adiabatic ( Loss : 2- 5 dB)

S. Chandran and B.K. Das, “Surface trimming of silicon photonics devices using controlled reactive ion etching
chemistry”, Photonics and Nanostructures: Fundamentals and Applications, vol. 15, pp. 32 -40, 2015

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
Monolthic Integration of Microns to Submicron Waveguides
2-µm Waveguides

 Waveguide height reduction from 2 µm to 0.8 µm

 Both type of waveguides are single-mode at λ ~ 1550 nm

 Both type of waveguides are nearly polarization independent

 Propagation loss : ~ 1 dB/cm

Spot-size converters are adiabatic ( Loss : 0.5 dB)

S. Chandran, M. Sundaram, S. Kurudi, and and B.K. Das, “Design and fabrication of surface trimmed SOI waveguide
with adiabatic spot-size converters”, manuscript under review, Journal of Lightwave Technology (IEEE/OSA).

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

IIT Madras Contd.....
Demonstrated Prototype Devices at IIT Madras 1.0

2X2 Directional Coupler

0.8

P 3 /(P 3 +P 4 )
0.6

0.4

0.2

TE
TM
Cross Port 0.0
1520 1530 1540 1550 1560 1570

MMI Based 1X8 Power Splitter Wavelength [nm]

2X2 DWDM Channel Interleaver

G. R. Bhatt, R. Sharma, U. Karthik and B. K. Das, "Dispersion-Free SOI

Interleaver for DWDM Applications," in Journal of Lightwave Technology,
vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 140-146, Jan.1, 2012.

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Conclusions

Futuristic Application of MIMOW Platform : Microwave Photonic Filters

Capmany et al, IEEE J. Lightwave Technol., vol. 24, p. 201, (2006)

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Conclusions

Futuristic Application of MIMO Platform : Lab-on-Chip Biosensor

 L λreso m  neff 
1
m  neff 
1

λreso   neff Q  Δn min   

 Δλmin ΔM min  ρS   Δλmin
ΔλFWHM L  nbulk 
m  L  t 

Vos et al, Opt. Express, vol. 15, pp. 7610, June 2007

Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016

 Integrated Optoelectronics Research Group
Dept. of EE, IIT Madras, Chennai – 600 036

http://www.ee.iitm.ac.in/mems/iolab/

Silicon photonics research financially supported by:

1. IRDE/DRDO – Nanophotonics Program
2. DeitY – Centre for NEMS & Nanophotonics

Thank You
Silicon Photonics WOPPD -2016 @ SRM University, 1st August 2016