Photonic integrated circuits come of age
Many devices like amplifiers, multiplexers, de-multiplexers, lasers, attenuators and detectors can be integrated onto an integrated circuit (IC). In its electronic forms, the IC is now incredibly mature, but the same cannot be said for its photonic counterpart. That's partly because more than 95 % of electronic ICs are made with silicon, while different materials are employed for the fabrication of PICs. This diversity in materials is diminishing the advantages that come with scaling. The prospect of large-scale integration with tens to hundreds of components integrated on a single chip motivated the 'Photonic integrated circuits and systems' (PICS) project. Researchers leveraged the existing manufacturing base to develop new types of ICs. At the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy, the necessary infrastructure to conduct leading-edge research into photonic devices and PICs was built. This included simulation software for designing photonics components, materials required for the fabrication of PICs and more importantly, a clean room outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment. Through the PICS project, good working relationships were also established with experts from the industry and academia. A common theme of the research conducted within the PICS project was development and characterisation of photonics devices for applications in telecommunications networks. Among the results was a monolithic PIC enabling all-optical wavelength conversion and a multilevel transmitter covering various modulation formats. Tunable chip-scale optical transmitters and receivers were also developed to enhance network flexibility. The PICS project was terminated early. However, a new centre for photonics technologies was introduced to fundamentally change the way applications based on PICs are developed. Engaged in partnership with related industries, the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna will be actively involved in developing cost-effective PICs for various applications, providing Europe with a competitive advantage.
Keywords
Photonics, telecommunications, networks, photonic integrated circuits, infrastructure, simulation, clean room, chip, transmitter, receiver
