27 – Silicon Photonics

Publisher Summary Silicon photonics is the emerging technology that produces optical devices and circuits using silicon as the core material with standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing equipment and processes. Integrated photonics is a main candidate as photonic technology, providing the various demands of numerous fields such as communication, computing, imaging, and sensing. It refers to miniaturized optoelectronic systems, which combine very small optical and electronic elements on a common substrate by means of optical wave-guides and metal lines. Silicon photonic waveguide components propose even more far-reaching bandwidth than many other materials. The main issues that need further development to fulfill silicon photonics' high potential include the optimization of the elements' performance, and development of integrated optoelectronic circuit solutions and this emerging technology in all facets—design, testing, processing standards, packaging, reliability, and market.