Monolithically integrated 112 Gbps PAM4 optical transmitter and receiver in a 45†nm CMOS-silicon photonics process.

We demonstrate a transmitter and receiver in a silicon photonics platform for O-band optical communication that monolithically incorporates a modulator driver, traveling-wave Mach-Zehnder modulator, control circuitry, photodetector, and transimpedance amplifier (TIA) in the GlobalFoundries Fotonix (45SPCLO) platform. The transmitter and receiver show an open 112 Gbps PAM4 eye at a 4.3 pJ/bit energy efficiency, not including the laser. Extensive use of gain-peaking enables our modulator driver and TIA to achieve the high bandwidths needed in the 45 nm CMOS-silicon photonics process. Our results suggest an alternative to the frequent approach of bump-bonding BiCMOS drivers and TIAs to silicon photonics.

Delocalized photonic deep learning on the internet's edge.

Advanced machine learning models are currently impossible to run on edge devices such as smart sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles owing to constraints on power, processing, and memory. We introduce an approach to machine learning inference based on delocalized analog processing across networks. In this approach, named Netcast, cloud-based "smart transceivers" stream weight data to edge devices, enabling ultraefficient photonic inference. We demonstrate image recognition at ultralow optical energy of 40 attojoules per multiply (<1 photon per multiply) at 98.8% (93%) classification accuracy. We reproduce this performance in a Boston-area field trial over 86 kilometers of deployed optical fiber, wavelength multiplexed over 3 terahertz of optical bandwidth. Netcast allows milliwatt-class edge devices with minimal memory and processing to compute at teraFLOPS rates reserved for high-power (>100 watts) cloud computers.

CMOS-compatible highly efficient polarization splitter and rotator based on a double-etched directional coupler.

We present a highly efficient polarization splitter and rotator (PSR), fabricated using 248 nm deep ultraviolet lithography on a silicon-on-insulator substrate. The PSR is based on a double-etched directional coupler with a length of 27 µm. The fabricated PSR yields a TM-to-TE conversion loss better than 0.5 dB and TE insertion loss better than 0.3 dB, with an ultra-low crosstalk (-20 dB) in the wavelength regime 1540-1570 nm.

Highly linear silicon traveling wave Mach-Zehnder carrier depletion modulator based on differential drive.

We present measurements of the nonlinear distortions of a traveling-wave silicon Mach-Zehnder modulator based on the carrier depletion effect. Spurious free dynamic range for second harmonic distortion of 82 dB·Hz(1/2) is seen, and 97 dB·Hz(2/3) is measured for intermodulation distortion. This measurement represents an improvement of 20 dB over the previous best result in silicon. We also show that the linearity of a silicon traveling wave Mach-Zehnder modulator can be improved by differentially driving it. These results suggest silicon may be a suitable platform for analog optical applications.

Germanium photodetector with 60 GHz bandwidth using inductive gain peaking.

Germanium-on-silicon photodetectors have been heavily investigated in recent years as a key component of CMOS-compatible integrated photonics platforms. It has previously been shown that detector bandwidths could theoretically be greatly increased with the incorporation of a carefully chosen inductor and capacitor in the photodetector circuit. Here, we show the experimental results of such a circuit that doubles the detector 3dB bandwidth to 60 GHz. These results suggest that gain peaking is a generally applicable tool for increasing detector bandwidth in practical photonics systems without requiring the difficult process of lowering detector capacitance.

Low power 50 Gb/s silicon traveling wave Mach-Zehnder modulator near 1300 nm.

The wavelength band near 1300 nm is attractive for many telecommunications applications, yet there are few results in silicon that demonstrate high-speed modulation in this band. We present the first silicon modulator to operate at 50 Gbps near 1300 nm. We demonstrate an open eye at this speed using a differential 1.5 V(pp) signal at 0 V reverse bias, achieving an energy efficiency of 450 fJ/bit.

A compact bi-wavelength polarization splitting grating coupler fabricated in a 220 nm SOI platform.

We experimentally demonstrate a polarization splitting grating coupler that is operational near 1310 nm and 1550 nm in a silicon-on-insulator platform, using the same fiber angle for both wavelength bands. At 1550 nm, the device has an insertion loss of 7.1 dB and a 1.5-dB transmission window of 35 nm. At 1310 nm, the insertion loss and 1.5-dB transmission window are 8.2 dB and 18 nm, respectively. Polarization isolation at 1550 nm is 24 dB. This is the first experimental demonstration of a bi-wavelength polarization-splitting grating coupler.