Abstract
In this paper, we present a brief history of silicon photonics from the early research papers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to the potentially revolutionary technology that exists today. Given that other papers in this special issue give detailed reviews of key aspects of the technology, this paper will concentrate on the key technological milestones that were crucial in demonstrating the capability of silicon photonics as both a successful technical platform, as well as indicating the potential for commercial success. The paper encompasses discussion of the key technology areas of passive devices, modulators, detectors, light sources, and system integration. In so doing, the paper will also serve as an introduction to the other papers within this special issue.
Highlights
There are emerging activities in longer reach applications, notably the applications pioneered by Acacia [12], such as the recently released AC200-CFP2-LH module targeted for long-haul dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) networks which can reach a distance of 2500 km
The paper encompasses a brief discussion of the key technology areas of passive devices, modulators, detectors, light sources, and system integration, with a focus on the key technological milestones that were crucial in demonstrating the capability of silicon photonics
The results showed that a buried oxide thickness (BOX) layer thickness of greater than 0.4 μm was necessary to prevent substrate leakage losses for a silicon layer of several microns
Summary
Originally expected to be a combination of the revolutionary optical communication networks and the enormous complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) industry, is becoming a major platform for much. This is mainly because of its potential for high density of integration, low cost at large production volume, extremely large bandwidth and high speed data transmission offered by optical communications, its compatibility with CMOS processes, wide transmission window, and good nonlinear properties. The huge investment in CMOS fabrication technology and the high quality of SOI wafers have meant that it offers higher yield than is possible with alternative material platforms Another advantage is the high refractive index contrast between the silicon core and silicon dioxide cladding based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, which enables submicrometer confinement of light and tight bending of optical waveguides, multimicrometer platforms are available, as pioneered by Bookham Technology, Kotura, and more recently, Rockley Photonics. The paper encompasses a brief discussion of the key technology areas of passive devices, modulators, detectors, light sources, and system integration, with a focus on the key technological milestones that were crucial in demonstrating the capability of silicon photonics
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