Imec unveils 28Gb/s silicon photonics platform

Imec has revealed that is now taking orders for its 28Gb/s silicon photonics platform for optical interconnects and other optical applications. A cooperative effort of ePIXab (Ghent University), Europractice IC and Mosis, the next wafer run will include the latest upgrades to Imec's developing photonics platform, including support and a registration design kit.

The next wafer run is due out in January 2015 (deadline September 15, 2014), followed by another run in June 2015 (deadline November 10, 2014).

Imec's on-going silicon photonics platform (iSiPP25G) includes the key subsystems for building high-density low-power wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) that it has recently improved to 28Gb/s with thermal tuning whose efficiency rates exceed 260pm/mW. The ring-based topology includes improved thermo-optic turning efficiency of 1nm/mW per channel. A high-speed germanium photodetector responds at 0.85A/W. And an opto-electrical bandwidth of 50GHz has reduced dark currents to below 50nA at -1V.

The wafer-scale silicon photonics complements Imec's silicon photonics portfolio, which includes low-loss (less than 2.5dB/cm) strip waveguides, efficient grating couplers with just 2.5dB insertion loss, and 25Gb/s Mach-Zehnder modulators.

The silicon photonics platform is designed for fabless research and development teams, providing a cost-effective integrated solution for telecom and data com applications, including Imec's high-performance optical transceivers.

- R. Colin Johnson
??EE Times