Silicon photonics- Devices for fiber optical network

Since the early 1980s, several technologies have emerged for the production of integrated optical circuits, with the common aim of increasing the integration density of optical functions on a single chip, similar to the evolution of integrated microelectronics. From the 2000s onwards, silicon photonics technology underwent a real boom, with the ultimate aim of meeting the Internet's growing need for ultra-high-speed fiber optic transmission and reception components, with more than 2.3.10 ²¹ bytes exchanged worldwide per year by 2020, or almost 1 gigabyte per person per day.

A major advantage of silicon photonics is the use of microelectronics manufacturing resources on silicon wafers. As a result, this technology benefits from the high-precision manufacturing equipment required for the performance and densification of optical circuits. In addition, the production of several million parts per year is made possible in order to meet the volumes expected for communications networks using optical fibers, from data centers and Internet service providers, right through to the subscriber's terminal. Finally, hybrid photonics-electronics co-integration is also accessible, firstly to achieve a higher degree of integration, and ultimately for greater penetration of photonics at the heart of microelectronics.

Silicon photonics uses the same computer-aided design tools and methods as microelectronics. Chip founders offer designers a library of elementary components. Combined with a behavioral model for simulating complex circuits, these components can be used in a wide range of applications: information and communication technologies, microwave frequency generation, optical radar, optical sensors, biophotonics, imaging, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.

The aim of this article is to position silicon photonics among the technologies representing integrated optics for circuits designed for high-speed communications over optical fibers. A detailed description of the manufacturing blocks presents the elementary components available, with typical current performances for photonic circuit design. In addition, the design and simulation environments for complex circuits are presented. Finally, the application of these resources to the realization of optical communication modules is detailed, from the circuit chip to optoelectronic packaging.

A list of acronyms is provided at the end of the article.