A single-chip device with microwave and photonics capabilities has been demonstrated by two imec research groups at Belgium's Ghent University, the Photonics Research Group and IDlab, and the imec research hub, which is devoted to developing nanoelectronics and digital technologies.
Equipped with modulators as well as lasers, optical filters, and photodetectors, the IC promises efficient and miniaturized implementation of many high-frequency, high-speed applications, including 5G wireless systems, radars, and satellite communications (satcom) equipment. Its microwave photonics capabilities were published in Nature Communications.
The two technologies are often employed discretely in electronic systems requiring high data rates communicated at microwave frequencies. Separately, the technologies typically require larger discrete, power-hungry components with complex interconnections and high signal losses, especially as signals climb to higher frequencies.
By integrating the technologies into a single IC, microwave photonics promise a scalable, power-efficient solution for managing high data rates over wide bandwidths. Earlier demonstrations have featured some levels of integration, but they also required external components and circuits to achieve full microwave photonic performance, relying on bulky, fiber-based architecture that limited scalability.
The new silicon photonic engine handles microwave and photonic signals on one chip (see image above). It features a reconfigurable modulator and programmable optical filter for modulating and filtering microwave signals with low loss.
The device is fabricated on imec’s standard iSiPP50G silicon photonics process, which offers photonics components as well as low-loss passive and waveguide components. It incorporates a laser light source with an indium-phosphide (InP) amplifier produced by the microtransfer printing technology developed by the Photonics Research Group at imec/Ghent University.
Wim Bogaerts, professor in the Photonics Research Group at Ghent University and imec, explained, “The ability to integrate all essential microwave photonics components on a single chip marks a major step toward scalable and energy-efficient high-frequency signal processing,”
Bogaerts added, “By eliminating bulky external components, this technology paves the way for more compact, cost-effective solutions in next-generation wireless networks and advanced sensing systems.”
