JFET integration using a foundry SOI photonics platform

We explore the monolithic integration of conventional electronics with SOI photonics using the commercial silicon photonics foundry technology offered by A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics (IME). This process offers optical waveguide modulators and photodetectors, but was not intended to support transistors. We present the implementation of junction field effect transistors (JFETs) integrated with optical waveguides and photodetectors. A simple SPICE model is developed for the JFETs based on the available ion implant parameters, and the geometry feature size allowed by the technology's layout rules. We have demonstrated the monolithic integration of photonics and electronics circuits. This work could be useful for application in waveguide sensors and optical telecommunications

Ultracompact CMOS-compatible optical logic using carrier depletion in microdisk resonators

We present a CMOS-compatible optoelectronic directed logic architecture that achieves high computational throughput (number of operations per second per unit area) by its ultracompact form factor. High speed-to-power performance is also achieved, by the low capacitance and high junction-to-mode overlap of low-radii SOI vertical pn junction microdisk switches. By using wavelength-division multiplexing and two electrical control signals per disk, each switch performs (N)OR, (N)AND, and X(N)OR operations simultaneously. Connecting multiple switches together, we demonstrate higher-order scalability in five fundamental N-bit logic circuits: AND/OR gates, adders, comparators, encoders, and decoders. To the best of our knowledge, these circuits achieve the lowest footprint of silicon-based multigigabit-per-second optical logic devices in literature

Fabrication tolerant and broadband polarization splitter and rotator based on a taper-etched directional coupler.

We propose a fabrication tolerant polarization splitter and rotator (PSR) on the silicon-on-insulator platform based on the mode-coupling mechanism. The PSR consists of a silicon wire waveguide coupled to a taper-etched waveguide. Compared to previously reported PSRs based on directional couplers which are sensitive to fabrication variations, the partially etched taper structure can compensate for fabrication inaccuracies. In addition, the taper-etched geometry breaks both the horizontal and vertical symmetries of the waveguide, introducing an additional degree of design freedom to accommodate different upper cladding layers. The proposed PSR can be readily integrated in a planar waveguide circuit using e.g. SiO(2) cladding, making it compatible with typical metal back-end-of-line processes. Our simulation results show that the PSR has a low TM-to-TE polarization conversion loss of -0.09 dB in the C-band (or a conversion efficiency of 98%). A low TE-to-TE through insertion loss (-0.07 dB) and a very low polarization crosstalk (-30 dB) over a wide wavelength range exceeding 160 nm with a large fabrication tolerance (50 nm) are numerically demonstrated

Design of arbitrary optical filters in silicon-on-insulator using evanescently-coupled Bragg gratings

Spectral filters are experiencing an increasing demand in several applications of the silicon- on-insulator (SOI) platform. Many works have demonstrated that arbitrary frequency responses can be synthesized by apodizing the coupling coefficient profile of an integrated Bragg grating. However, the high index contrast of the SOI platform hinders their practical implementation, due to the difficulty of achieving the precise control required in the Bragg strength. In this paper, we propose the implementation of spectral filters using an architecture based on placing loading segments within the evanescent field region of a photonic wire waveguide. The Bragg coupling coefficient can be accurately controlled by simply moving the segments away from, or closer to, the waveguide core. The layerpeeling algorithm, in conjunction with a Floquet-Bloch modal analysis, allows to determine the spatial distribution of the segments that synthesizes the desired spectrum. The proposed topology is verified by designing a filter with five arbitrary passbands.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Circular Optical Phased Array with Large Steering Range and High Resolution

Light detection and ranging systems based on optical phased arrays and integrated silicon photonics have sparked a surge of applications over the recent years. This includes applications in sensing, free-space communications, or autonomous vehicles, to name a few. Herein, we report a design of two-dimensional optical phased arrays, which are arranged in a grid of concentric rings. We numerically investigate two designs composed of 110 and 820 elements, respectively. Both single-wavelength (1550 nm) and broadband multi-wavelength (1535 nm to 1565 nm) operations are studied. The proposed phased arrays enable free-space beam steering, offering improved performance with narrow beam divergences of only 0.5° and 0.22° for the 110-element and 820-element arrays, respectively, with a main-to-sidelobe suppression ratio higher than 10 dB. The circular array topology also allows large element spacing far beyond the sub-wavelength-scaled limits that are present in one-dimensional linear or two-dimensional rectangular arrays. Under a single-wavelength operation, a solid-angle steering between 0.21π sr and 0.51π sr is obtained for 110- and 820-element arrays, respectively, while the beam steering spans the range of 0.24π sr and 0.57π sr for a multi-wavelength operation. This work opens new opportunities for future optical phased arrays in on-chip photonic applications, in which fast, high-resolution, and broadband beam steering is necessary.This work was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s Collaborative R&D Grant Program by collaborating with Optiwave Systems, Inc., Slovak Grant Agency VEGA 1/0113/22, and Slovak Research and Development Agency under the project APVV-21-0217. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málag

Stress induced effects for advanced polarization control in silicon photonics components

We review the use of the oxide cladding stress-induced photoelastic effect to modify the polarization dependent properties in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide components, and highlight characteristics particular to this high index contrast (HIC) systems. The birefringence in SOI waveguides has its origin in the electromagnetic boundary conditions at the waveguide boundaries, and can be further modified by the presence of stress in the waveguiding materials. With typical stress levels in SiO2 films, which are often used as the upper cladding, the waveguide effective index can be altered anisotropically up to the order of 10−3 for ridges with heights ranging from 1 μm to 5 μm. This effect can be used effectively to counter the waveguide geometrical birefringence, allowing the waveguide cross-section profiles to be optimized for design criteria other than null geometrical birefringence. Design strategies are developed for using stress engineering to achieve a variety of functions. Polarization insensitive arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), polarization insensitive ring resonators, and polarization splitters and filters are demonstrated using these design principles

AMBIVALENT IMPLICATIONS OF HEALTH CARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS: A STUDY IN THE BRAZILIAN PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

This article evaluates social implications of the ""SIGA"" Health Care Information System (HIS) in a public health care organization in the city of Sao Paulo. The evaluation was performed by means of an in-depth case study with patients and staff of a public health care organization, using qualitative and quantitative data. On the one hand, the system had consequences perceived as positive such as improved convenience and democratization of specialized treatment for patients and improvements in work organization. On the other hand, negative outcomes were reported, like difficulties faced by employees due to little familiarity with IT and an increase in the time needed to schedule appointments. Results show the ambiguity of the implications of HIS in developing countries, emphasizing the need for a more nuanced view of the evaluation of failures and successes and the importance of social contextual factors

Ultrafast electro-optical disk modulators for logic, communications, optical repeaters, and wavelength converters

We propose a U-shaped pn junction in a silicon-on-insulator microdisk resonator to effectively double the junction–mode overlap in the state-of-the-art, vertical pn junction microdisk electro-optical (EO) modulators. The U-shaped pn junction promotes the maximum overlap between the junction depletion zone and the whispering gallery optical mode in the microdisk. By fully depleting the p region of the npn-sequenced U-junction, the capacitance is reduced below 3 fF, which significantly improves the speed and power performance. In this work, we implement the high-efficiency, depleted U-junction design to maximize the operating bandwidth of EO modulators, EO logic elements, EO 2 × 2 switches for wavelength-division cross-connects, 2 × 2 reconfigurable optical add–drop multiplexers, optical-to-electrical-to-optical (OEO) repeaters-with-gain, OEO wavelength converters, and 2 × 2 optical–optical logic gates. These devices all operate in the 7.6-to-50 GHz bandwidth range with ultralow energy consumption between 0.4 and 9.8 fJ/bit. By using CMOS-compatible materials and fabrication-feasible design dimensions, our proposed high-performance devices offer a promising potential in next-generation, high-volume electro-optical communications and computing circuits

Integrated metamaterial surface-emitting antenna for beam steering applications

Integrated optical antennas are relevant devices for the development of next-generation LIDAR systems. Here we experimentally demonstrate a new topology to implement long antennas in silicon-on-insulator platform. The designed 2-millimeter-long antenna presents a measured far-field beam divergence of 0.1° and a wavelength sensitivity of 0.13°/nm.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. HTSN Challenge Program at the NRC of Canada; Junta de Andalucía (P18-RT-1453, P18-RT-793, UMA18-FEDERJA-219); Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (FPU16/03401, PID2019-106747RBI00)

Customized spectral filters using cladding-modulated Bragg gratings in silicon waveguides.

Funding: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PID2019-106747RB-I00); Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte (FPU16/03401, FPU16/06762, FPU17/00638); Junta de Andalucía (P18-RT-1453, P18-RT-793, UMA18-FEDERJA-219); Universidad de Málaga; National Research Council Canada (CSTIP grant #HTSN210); Grantová Agentura České Republiky (19-00062S).Waveguide Bragg gratings are expected to play an important role in diverse applications of photonic integrated circuits. Here, we present our latest progress in implementing Bragg filters with a customized spectral response in the silicon-on-insulator platform. Our filter comprises a silicon waveguide with an array of Bragg segments placed aside. The waveguide core is designed to have a reduced mode confinement, which enables an accurate control of the grating strength via modulation of the Bragg segment separation distance and allows for minimum feature sizes compatible with deep-UV lithography (>100 nm). Our design strategy is experimentally validated by demonstrating a filter with 20 non-uniformly spaced notches in the transmittance spectrum. Palabras clave: Silicon photonics, Bragg gratings, spectral filters.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech