III-V-on-silicon photonic devices for optical communication and sensing

In the paper, we review our work on heterogeneous III-V-on-silicon photonic components and circuits for applications in optical communication and sensing. We elaborate on the integration strategy and describe a broad range of devices realized on this platform covering a wavelength range from 850 nm to 3.85 μm

Open-access silicon photonics: current status and emerging initiatives

Silicon photonics is widely acknowledged as a game-changing technology driven by the needs of datacom and telecom. Silicon photonics builds on highly capital-intensive manufacturing infrastructure, and mature open-access silicon photonics platforms are translating the technology from research fabs to industrial manufacturing levels. To meet the current market demands for silicon photonics manufacturing, a variety of open-access platforms is offered by CMOS pilot lines, R&D institutes, and commercial foundries. This paper presents an overview of existing and upcoming commercial and noncommercial open-access silicon photonics technology platforms. We also discuss the diversity in these open-access platforms and their key differentiators

Suspended Waveguide Platforms for Mid-Infrared Group IV Photonics

Fecha de lectura de Tesis Doctoral: 4 de noviembre 2019En las últimas décadas, la banda del infrarrojo medio (2-20 µm) ha despertado un gran interés en la comunidad científica dedicada a la fotónica del Grupo IV. Este auge se debe a las múltiples aplicaciones que pueden desarrollarse en este rango del espectro electromagnético, entre las que sobresalen las comunicaciones ópticas por espacio libre y, sobre todo, la espectroscopia infrarroja, que permite identificar inequívocamente las sustancias disueltas en una muestra y cuantificar su concentración. La plataforma de guiado más usada en la banda de comunicaciones, la de silicio sobre aislante, no puede utilizarse fácilmente a longitudes de onda mayores de 4 µm a causa de las elevadas pérdidas que presenta el dióxido de silicio (aislante). Por ello, es necesario encontrar nuevas estructuras que puedan operar por encima de los límites de transparencia impuestos por los materiales de las estructuras tradicionales. Así, en esta tesis se expone el desarrollo de nuevas plataformas fotónicas integradas para la banda del infrarrojo medio. En concreto, se han propuesto las plataformas de guiado de silicio suspendido y de germanio suspendido con rejillas laterales en régimen sublongitud de onda, en las que el dióxido de silicio se elimina con una solución ácida. Entre otros dispositivos, se han diseñado, fabricado y demostrado experimentalmente guías de onda a diferentes longitudes de onda, entre las que destaca la de 7.67 μm, consiguiéndose pérdidas de propagación bajas en torno a 3 dB/cm (silicio suspendido) y 5 dB/cm (germanio suspendido). Asimismo, el problema del acoplo chip-fibra, cuya resolución es imprescindible para la utilización práctica de cualquier plataforma integrada competitiva, se ha abordado mediante el diseño de acopladores chip-fibra superficiales de alta eficiencia y banda ancha, a saber: una microantena de germanio suspendido y un acoplador de rejilla de orden cero

Chalcogenide Glass-on-Graphene Photonics

Two-dimensional (2-D) materials are of tremendous interest to integrated photonics given their singular optical characteristics spanning light emission, modulation, saturable absorption, and nonlinear optics. To harness their optical properties, these atomically thin materials are usually attached onto prefabricated devices via a transfer process. In this paper, we present a new route for 2-D material integration with planar photonics. Central to this approach is the use of chalcogenide glass, a multifunctional material which can be directly deposited and patterned on a wide variety of 2-D materials and can simultaneously function as the light guiding medium, a gate dielectric, and a passivation layer for 2-D materials. Besides claiming improved fabrication yield and throughput compared to the traditional transfer process, our technique also enables unconventional multilayer device geometries optimally designed for enhancing light-matter interactions in the 2-D layers. Capitalizing on this facile integration method, we demonstrate a series of high-performance glass-on-graphene devices including ultra-broadband on-chip polarizers, energy-efficient thermo-optic switches, as well as graphene-based mid-infrared (mid-IR) waveguide-integrated photodetectors and modulators

Transfer print integration of waveguide-coupled germanium photodiodes onto passive silicon photonicICs

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Germanium-based integrated photonics from near- to mid-infrared applications

Germanium (Ge) has played a key role in silicon photonics as an enabling material for datacom applications. Indeed, the unique properties of Ge have been leveraged to develop high performance integrated photodectors, which are now mature devices. Ge is also very useful for the achievement of compact modulators and monolithically integrated laser sources on silicon. Interestingly, research efforts in these domains also put forward the current revolution of mid-IR photonics. Ge and Ge-based alloys also present strong advantages for mid-infrared photonic platform such as the extension of the transparency window for these materials, which can operate at wavelengths beyond 8 μm. Different platforms have been proposed to take benefit from the broad transparency of Ge up to 15 μm, and the main passive building blocks are now being developed. In this review, we will present the most relevant Ge-based platforms reported so far that have led to the demonstration of several passive and active building blocks for mid-IR photonics. Seminal works on mid-IR optical sensing using integrated platforms will also be reviewed