Day 1: Monday, 11th June 2018

09:00-10:00  Introduction to the school + Evolution of silicon photonics by Prof. Roel Baets (Ghent University-imec), Belgium

In this introduction I will touch upon the evolution of the field of silicon photonics in the past 20 years and the basic reasons why the technology is rapidly moving from research to volume manufacturing. I will also introduce the supply chain of the field and the main applications and markets. Finally I will talk about some of the future challenges and prospects.
10:00-11:30 Silicon Photonics Passive Building Blocks by Prof. Dries Van Thourhout (Ghent University-imec), Belgium

In this presentation I will introduce the passive building blocks forming the basis for all larger scale Silicon Photonics Integrated Circuits.  I will first present the basic waveguide properties (waveguide modes, losses, polarization dependence, bends). Then I will discussing basic building blocks  (splitters, couplers and crossings) and optical filters (ring resonators, AWG, PCG…).  Finally, we will also cover fiber chip coupling (grating couplers, edge couplers) and sensitivity of waveguide properties to temperature, fabrication tolerances and other environmental factors.

12:00-13:00 Silicon Photonics Building Blocks (actives: Modulators) by Dr. Laurent Vivien C2N, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Univ. Paris Saclay (France)

Silicon photonics has been the subject of intense research activities as a compelling technology paving the way for next generation of energy-efficient high-speed computing, information processing and communications systems. The vision is to provide a mature integration platform supported by the CMOS manufacturing infrastructure to cost-effectively produce integrated optoelectronic circuits for a wide range of applications, including telecommunications, optical interconnects, spectroscopy, Quantum photonics, biological and chemical sensing…

This lecture will be focus on two main optoelectronic building blocks: optical modulator and photodetector. Basic optical properties, state of the art, device integration, … will be introduced during the lecture as follows:

  • Light modulation in silicon platform (1 hour)
    • Physical effects
    • Figures of merit
    • Experimental results
  • Conclusion and trends
14:00-15:00 Silicon Photonics Building Blocks (actives: Detectors) by Dr. Laurent Vivien C2N, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Univ. Paris Saclay (France)

  • Light detection
    • Material choice
    • Properties
    • Experimental results
  • Conclusion and trends
15:30-16:30 Silicon Photonics Design Methodology (device simulation)Lecture: Silicon Photonics Design Methodology (device simulation) by Prof. Lukas Chrostowski (University of British Columbia, Canada)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

I will discuss how to model silicon photonic components and create compact models to enable circuit simulations. These should consider fabrication variability via Monte Carlo simulations.

16:30-17:30 Silicon Photonics Design Methodology (device simulation)Lecture: Silicon Photonics Design Methodology (circuit simulation) by Prof. Wim Bogaerts (Ghent University-imec)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

Silicon photonics design is rapidly moving from component-level design to circuit-level design. This requires a very different approach, similar to that of electronic circuit design. We will discuss the emerging silicon photonics design flow, and the difficulties at each of the steps. At the end, we will also show how the participants can access interactive on-line material, where they can interactively design a small photonic circuit that will be fabricated and measured by the SiEPIC programme.

18:30-21:00 Social Activities

Dinner and a boat trip to Ghent city

11:30-12:00: Coffee Break

13:00-14:00: Lunch Break

15:00-15:30: Coffee Break

Day 2: Tuesday, 12th June 2018

09:00-10:00  Challenges in building and maintaining silicon photonics process flow by Dr. Philippe Absil (imec, Belgium)

Not available

10:00-11:30 Multilayer Silicon Photonics by Prof. Joyce Poon (University of Toronto, Canada)

I will review multilayer silicon nitride-on-silicon (SiN-on-Si) photonic platforms that incorporate several SiN waveguide layers on top of an active Si waveguide layer. I will present work on passive and active elements, including ultra-low-loss waveguide crossings, multi-layer grating couplers, polarization management components, and ultra-efficient Si depletion modulators.  These advancements make possible the implementation of very large-scale photonic circuits for applications such as optical switching, phased arrays, and dense sensor systems.

12:00-13:00 CMOS process flow and key technology steps for silicon photonics by Prof. Shankar Selvaraja (Indian Institute of Science, India)

Over the years, Silicon photonics has emerged as a high-volume industry viable technology. The maturity and standardisation are primarily due to the existing standardisation procedures in Silicon CMOS. Standardisation is essential for technology to scale-up and succeed commercially. Though it is crucial to translate exploratory research into a tangible product, the migration usually takes hard bargain between the designer and the fabrication foundry. In this talk, I will present an overview of advanced CMOS fabrication unit processes used in realising a Si photonic device and circuit. The talk will be a combination of fabrication process fundamentals such as lithography, dry etch, and deposition, and their importance in realising desired device and circuit. Furthermore, why complying to a design rule is essential? will be discussed in details.

14:00-15:00 MEMS-based optical switching by Prof. Niels Quack (EPFL, Switzerland)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

In this tutorial, we will discuss Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based technologies for fiber-optical switches, including traditional methods based on tilting micro-mirrors as well as emerging Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) technologies. A special emphasis will be laid on the recent demonstrations of large scale integration of MEMS movable structures in Silicon Photonics, and their application in PIC switch matrices. We will discuss their potential in terms of scalability to large port counts, with respect to performance as well as to electrical and optical interfacing. We will conclude with an outlook on the potential of Silicon Photonic MEMS technology beyond optical switching.

15:30-16:30 Silicon Photonics for emerging applications: LiDAR by Dr. Jerome Bourderionnet (Thales Research, France)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

In this presentation, the final demonstrator results obtained in the EU project PLAT4M will be presented. First the experimental demonstration of an integrated Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave LiDAR on a silicon platform will be discussed. The functionalities implemented on the chip are first a delay line Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which is essential for the laser chirp waveform calibration, then a switching system to choose between 8 emission and reception channels, and finally 8 balanced detector pairs for the coherent reception. Simultaneous measurement of distance and speed of a moving hard target at up to 60 m is shown, with less than 5 mW of emitted power. Latest results on a IQ modulator for optical frequency shift will also be presented. With a maximum frequency shift of 8GHz (mostly equipment limited), such a structure could be used for instance to produce the chirp waveform used in FMCW LiDARs. Finally, results on optical phased arrays (OPA) are also reported, either for beam combining or beam steering purpose, with a 8×8 OPA with high optical power handling.

16:30-17:30 Silicon Photonics for mid-IR by Prof. Gunther Roelkens (Ghent University-imec, Belgium)

The application range of silicon photonic integrated circuits is expanding, including applications in the mid-infrared (2-10um) wavelength range, mostly geared towards spectroscopic sensing applications. In this lecture I will review the different options of realising a silicon photonic waveguide platform for the mid-infrared, including the integration of active devices such as light sources, modulators and photodetectors.

18:30-21:00 Evening at your own

The participants can explore Ghent city at their own. The local participants can recommend them the must-see places in Ghent.

11:30-12:00: Coffee Break

13:00-14:00: Lunch Break

15:00-15:30: Coffee Break

Day 3: Wednesday, 13th June 2018

09:00-10:00  Photonic Packaging – Managing the Optical, Electrical, and Thermal Challenges by Dr. Lee Carroll (Tyndall National Institute, Ireland)

Photonic packaging is perhaps the most significant bottleneck in transforming photonic integrated circuits (PICs) into commercially-relevant integrated photonic devices. Photonic packaging is both technically and economically more challenging  than electronic packaging, because it calls for robust micron-level alignment of optical components, very high-speed RF-connectivity, and relatively tight thermal management. This talk will cover how the the key optical, electrical, and thermal requirements for Si-PIC packaging can be met, and what further progress is needed to realise a credible route for scale-up to address mass markets.

10:00-11:30 Hybrid Silicon III-V Laser by Prof. Gunther Roelkens (Ghent University-imec, Belgium)

The integration of laser sources on silicon photonic integrated circuits is of key importance to realise advanced and compact photonic systems-on-a-chip. In this lecture I will review the different technologies that can be used to integrate III-V epitaxial material and lasers on the silicon photonics platform. This includes the integration of micro-packaged lasers, flip-chip integration, wafer bonding approaches, transfer printing and hetero-epitaxial growth. A selection of device demonstrations will be discussed.

12:00-13:00 Power considerations for optical interconnects by Prof. David Miller (Stanford University, USA)

Not Available

14:00-15:00 Silicon Nitride Photonics by Michael Geiselmann, (Ligentec, Switzerland)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

Low loss waveguide technology based on stoichiometric silicon nitride together with low bending losses enabled through thick film nitride is opening the door to a variety of PIC applications. Such a platform can support the fabrication of complex designs at the smallest footprint, and is ideal for application areas from the visible to the mid-infrared, including high optical power scenarios. Markets include telecoms, quantum optics, bio-sensing and phase-array opportunities. Topics covered in the talk include examples of silicon nitride core technology, ranging from nonlinear integrated optics to linear low loss PIC operations.

15:30-16:30 Microwave Photonics by Prof. Jose Capmany (University Polytechnic Valencia, Spain)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

This lecture reviews the principles and recent advances in the field of integrated Microwave Photonics. Special attention is payed to implementations based on Silicon Photonics technologies although heterogeneous/hybrid integration approaches are also covered. The lecture will consider both the Application Specific photonic Circuit approach as well as that based on programmable photonic waveguide meshes.

16:30-17:30 Silicon photonics for bio-sensing by Dr. Bart Geers (Antilope)

Not Available

18:30-21:00 Gala Dinner

The participants will be invited for a dinner at Het Pand, which is the culture and convention center of Ghent University.

11:30-12:00: Coffee Break

13:00-14:00: Lunch Break

15:00-15:30: Coffee Break

Day 4: Thursday, 14th June 2018

09:00-10:00 Spectroscopy on chip by Prof. Roel Baets (Ghent University-imec, Belgium)

A molecule’s absorption, emission or scattering spectrum is a fingerprint for its identity. Therefore optical spectroscopy is a powerful tool to sense the presence and concentration of particular molecules in a medium, without the need for selective chemical reactions. Many spectroscopic systems are bulky and expensive, which often limits their use to specialist lab environments. Here we discuss how silicon photonics can be used to build spectroscopy systems on a chip, thereby opening new markets. I will discuss amongst others absorption spectroscopy in the near and mid infrared as well as Raman spectroscopy. Some of the key challenges will be highlighted.

10:00-11:30 Silicon Photonics for transceivers by Prof. Jeremy Witzens (RWTH Aachen University, Germany)

I will give a review of recent progress in direct detection and coherent silicon photonics transceivers, as well as discuss methodological aspects in integrated transceiver design. These include analysis of the optical link power budget and the electrical power budget, as well as thermal management and management of on-chip and chip-to-chip device variability. Electronic-photonic co-operability and trade-offs associated to electronic-photonic co-design will be further discussed.

12:00-13:00 Phased array beam steering devices by Prof. Michael Watts (Analog Photonics, USA)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing (permission pending)

We review the development of optical phased arrays, their future application to displays, and the potential impact of silicon photonics on the emerging solid-state LiDAR market.  Starting from the LiDAR equation, we review the noise performance of phased array LiDAR with direct versus coherent detection in light of automotive requirements.  In view of these considerations, we discuss the current challenges, opportunities, and advantages of chip-scale optical phased array based LiDAR.  Finally, recent results on coherent silicon optical phased array based LiDAR chips will be presented.

14:00-15:00 Programmable silicon PICs by Prof. David Miller (Stanford University, USA)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing (permission pending)

Not Available

15:30-16:30 Optomechanics by Prof. Tobias Kippenberg (EPFL, Switzerland)

Not Available

16:30-17:30 2D Materials and Silicon Photonics by Prof. Marco Romagnoli (CNIT, Italy)

Graphene is a 2D materialis ideally suited for photonic integration. It has several advantages and complementarities over silicon photonics, such as electro-absorption modulation, electro refraction with electro-optical index change exceeding 10-3, switching based on electro-absorption, thermo-electric based ultrafast optical detection with direct voltage generation. Here, we present the vision for graphene-based integrated photonics. We review state-of-the-art graphene-based transceivers and provide a benchmark with existing technologies. Strategies for improving performance and in particula wafer-scale integration are addressed.

17:45-19:00 Lab visits of Photonics Research Group

The participants will visit the laboratories and clean room of Photonics Research Group.

19:00-onwards Poster Session + Networking + Food + Drinks

The participants will present their posters. The poster session is combined with food and drinks.

11:30-12:00: Coffee Break

13:00-14:00: Lunch Break

15:00-15:30: Coffee Break

Day 5: Friday, 15th June 2018

09:00-10:00 Stimulated Brillouin Scattering and its applications by David Marpaung, Twente University (Nederland)

Stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS), whereby light interacts coherently with acoustic phonons is a powerful and flexible mechanism for the control of light. Until recently, this effect was limited to a long length of optical fiber. Recent advances in nanofabrication have opened new possibilities for harnessing  Brillouin interaction in nanoscale optical circuits. In this talk, I will review the principles of Brillouin scattering and discuss the ways to harness SBS in a photonic chip. I will then present  recent results that reveal Brillouin scattering in chip scale devices and highlight emerging applications of this exciting new technology, including demonstrations of tunable microwave filters,  as well as novel on-chip Brillouin lasers and frequency combs.

10:00-11:30 European Silicon Photonics Ecosystems & AIM Photonics by Dr. Abdul Rahim (ePIXfab-Ghent University) & Prof. Michael Watts (Analog Photonics, USA)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

European Silicon Photonics Ecosystem: This talk gives an overview of the status of the European open-access silicon photonics technologies and their access model. The diversity of open-access silicon photonics technologies and its impact on economy-of-scale is discussed. The lecture also discusses the recent initiatives towards high-volume manufacturing.

AIM Photonics: We review the development of silicon photonics at SUNY Poly and the creation of AIM Photonics.  The organizational structure, purpose and direction of AIM Photonics will be discussed.  Finally, the AIM Photonics silicon photonics platform, PDK Library, and MPW offerings will be presented.

12:00-13:00 Integrated Photonics for Quantum Information Science and Technology by Prof. Dirk Englund (MIT, USA)

Live streamed lecture for public viewing

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have become increasingly important in classical communications applications over the past decades, including as transmitters and receivers in long-haul, metro and datacenter interconnects. Many of the same attributes that make PICs attractive for these applications —  compactness, high bandwidth, and the ability to control large numbers of optical modes with high phase stability — also make them appealing for quantum information processing. The first part of this talk will review recent progress in adapting one of the leading PIC architectures—silicon photonics—for various quantum secure communications protocols. The second part of the talk will consider how photonic integrated circuits technology can extend the reach of quantum communications through all-optical and memory-based quantum repeater protocols.  Beyond quantum communications, PICs are also finding application in quantum computing and in classical signal processing applications, including artificial neural networks

14:00-15:00 Non-linear silicon photonics by Prof. Bart Kuyken (Ghent University-imec, Belgium)

Not Available

15:00-15:15 Wrap-up and concluding remarks

The organizers will give the concluding remarks at the end of the school.