interview photonics
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Photonic Integration:
What is the Holy Grail?
It is popularly observed that the photonic industry actually survives on differentiation in
device design and process in order to show superior performance. With hundreds of
semiconductor laser designs that emit at 1550 nm or even 1310 nm, when will the
industry agree on a common platform? By Michael Lebby, President and CEO, OIDA.
I
f photonic integration had come first, the A review and synopsis of photonic Digitization is the agreement on common
metrics would be different…but it didn’t. integration over the last 30 years is shown platforms. Digitization is the Holy Grail for
Electronics integration at the semiconductor in Figure 1. Photonic integration must utilize photonic integration. Digitization must occur
level came first, and the silicon electronics foundry-based technology in order to move for photonic integration to become an
industry set in stone the expectations of past the analog regime into a digital regime. accepted technology platform for broad
integration through vehicles such as This will require common fabrication product applications. When will the
Moore’s Law. Tracking the number of processes, devices, and technology, photonics industry see analog functions
transistors that comprise a microprocessor something that is almost heresy in the architecturally in a digitized format?
over the last three decades is a metric that photonics world.
the electronics industry takes seriously… 2.0 Photonic Integration:
and it has achieved a level of success It is popularly observed that the photonic Introduction and definition
beyond what anyone would have imagined industry actually survives on differentiation in Photonic integration typically means the
even twenty years ago. So why would it device design and process in order to show integration many different types of optical
have been different if photonic integration superior performance. With hundreds of components such as lasers, modulators,
had come first? Simply, integrating semiconductor laser designs that emit at detectors, multiplexers, optical amplifiers,
photonics functions is different. Photonic 1550 nm or even 1310 nm, when will the etc. It can be monolithic or hybrid, and there
integration is typically specific to each industry agree on a common platform? are many varieties and options. The majority
application. When will the industry agree on a DFB laser of solutions have resorted to hybrid
that, for example, accomplishes 80% of the approaches, rather than the traditional
This implies that different photonic devices specifications needed on most telecom monolithic approach. Monolithic approaches
need to be integrated. On a general level, systems equipment? in photonics are challenging, especially if
photonics is still at the analog stage while
electronics, which utilizes analog transistor
devices, actually uses them in a digital
format. The digital format allows high levels
of integration. Photonics has yet to achieve
this digitized level of integration, and is
currently in the analog domain. The
Holy Grail for photonic integration is
digitization.
The challenge is to predict when this will
occur. We will need a strong application in
the marketplace, but to ensure success, we
might well need standardization and
process equilibrium: the consolidation of
different device structures to a few (rather
like p-MOS, n-MOS to CMOS— Figure 1: Roadmap shows component count versus year and rise of digitization over
complementary metal-oxide semiconductor— analog photonic integration solutions (Meint Smit, TU/e, OIDA Photonic Integration
in the electronic semiconductor industry). Forum, Oct 2008)
October 2009 www.compoundsemiconductor.net 25
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