Imec reveals 25Gb/s silicon photonics device on a single platform
The institute's achievements extend imec's silicon photonics technology offering to high performance photonics circuit design
Imec is releasing a fully integrated silicon photonics platform (iSiPP25G) for high-performance optical transceivers (25Gb/s and beyond).
Imec's portfolio includes low loss (2.5dB/cm) strip waveguides, highly efficient grating couplers (2.5dB insertion loss), high-speed (50GHz) Germanium waveguide photodiodes, 25Gb/s Mach-Zhender and Micro-ring modulators.
"Imec's Silicon Photonics platform provides 25Gb/s performance for integrated photonics circuits for telecom and datacom industries. Companies can benefit from our silicon photonics capability through established standard cells, or explore the functionality of their own designs in Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) runs," says Philippe Absil, program director at imec. "Through our MPW offer, fabless R&D teams can access a cost-efficient silicon photonics solution, with state-of-the-art performance, design flexibility and superior CD and thickness control".
Imec and its associated laboratory at Ghent University offer the platform for passive silicon photonic components via ePIXfab and Europractice IC service. Now, imec extends its silicon photonics offering, using a standard130nm CMOS toolset, with active components such as high-speed optical modulators and integrated germanium photo-detectors.
Imec's silicon photonics 25Gb/s (iSiPP25G) platform supports
"¢ Tight within-wafer silicon thickness variation 3 σ < 2.5nm
"¢ 3-level patterning of 220nm top silicon layer (193nm optical lithography)
"¢ Low loss (2.5dB/cm) strip waveguides
"¢ High efficiency grating couplers (2.5dB insertion loss)
"¢ 50GHz germanium photodiode (responsivity ~ 0.5A/W, dark current < 50nA)
"¢ 25Gb/s MZI (VÏ€LÏ€=0.95Vcm, α=30dB/cm) and MRR modulators
"¢ Thermo-optic tuner
The first run is now open for registration, with tape-in on 8th of November 2013 and first wafers out in June 2014.
Support, registration and design kit access will be organised by imec's services via its Europractice IC service, in collaboration with world-wide MPW partners.
ePIXfab (European Silicon Photonics Platform) is co-funded by the EU. and is a consortium of partners coordinated by imec-UGent partnership. Other members of the consortium are CEA-LETI (France), IHP (Germany) TNO (Netherlands), Tyndall (Ireland), VTT (Finland) and CMC Microsystems (Canada); providing together diverse expertise from design to packaging thus supporting the emergence of a fabless ecosystem in Silicon Photonics.
