Silicon Photonics: An Introduction

Graham T. Reed · Andrew P. Knights

Oct 2004 · Sold by John Wiley & Sons

About this ebook

The growing demand for instant and reliable communication means that photonic circuits are increasingly finding applications in optical communications systems. One of the prime candidates to provide satisfactory performance at low cost in the photonic circuit is silicon. Whilst silicon photonics is less well developed as compared to some other material technologies, it is poised to make a serious impact on the telecommunications industry, as well as in many other applications, as other technologies fail to meet the yield/performance/cost trade-offs. Following a sympathetic tutorial approach, this first book on silicon photonics provides a comprehensive overview of the technology. Silicon Photonics explains the concepts of the technology, taking the reader through the introductory principles, on to more complex building blocks of the optical circuit. Starting with the basics of waveguides and the properties peculiar to silicon, the book also features:

• Key design issues in optical circuits.
• Experimental methods.
• Evaluation techniques.
• Operation of waveguide based devices.
• Fabrication of silicon waveguide circuits.
• Evaluation of silicon photonic systems.
• Numerous worked examples, models and case studies.

Silicon Photonics is an essential tool for photonics engineers and young professionals working in the optical network, optical communications and semiconductor industries. This book is also an invaluable reference and a potential main text to senior undergraduates and postgraduate students studying fibre optics, integrated optics, or optical network technology.

About the author

Graham Reed is Professor of Optoelectronics at the University of Surrey in the UK. He graduated in 1983 with a First Class Honours degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering. Subsequently he obtained a PhD in Integrated Optics in 1987. After a brief period as leader of the Electro-Optics Systems Group at ERA Technology Ltd, he joined the University of Surrey in 1989, where he established the Silicon Photonics Group. As such this was one of the pioneering groups in silicon photonics, and has made a significant impact on the state of the art. The group is currently the leading group in the UK In this field, and Professor Reed is acknowledged as the individual who initiated research on silicon photonic circuits and devices in the UK. The aim of the silicon work has been to develop a technology that would have a variety of applications, although telecommunications remains the dominant application area. The work has been carried out with collaborators from all around the world, both from academic and industrial institutions. Professor Reed has published extensively in the international scientific literature, has contributed p resentations to numerous international conferences both as a submitting and an invited speaker, and has served on a variety of international committees.

Andrew P. Knights received his Ph.D. in 1994 in the area of surface material characterisation with beams of low energy positrons and electrons. His subsequent research took him first to the University of Western Ontario where he performed ground-breaking work on the generation and evolution of implant induced defects in silicon, and then to the University of Surrey as part of the EPSRC Icon Beam Centre, reaching novel fabrication processes for micro and opto-electronic materials. In 2000 he joined Bookham Technology and worked on a range of silicon-based, highly integrated photonic devices. He played a critical role in the development of the solid-state electronic optical variable attenuator (VOA); the multiplexer + VOA and the monolithically integrated optical detector. In 2003 he moved to McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, where he holds a faculty position in the Department of Engineering Physics. He currently leads a research group working on the interaction of optical and electrical functionality in silicon-based structures. Dr. Knights has published extensively on semiconductor device design, fabrication and characterization and his work has been presented at international conferences on numerous occasions.