This document discusses photonic computing and silicon photonics. It describes three categories of photonic computing: photonic transistors, optical/quantum computing, and silicon photonics. Silicon photonics aims to integrate all optical transmission and reception components directly onto silicon chips using standard CMOS fabrication techniques. This allows the production of low-cost optical devices. The document then examines key silicon photonics components in detail, including lasers, modulators, and photodetectors. It explains how integrating these components can create an optical link capable of transmitting data at 50 Gbps. Major companies developing silicon photonics are also mentioned.

1. Researching Emerging Technologies Photonic Computing: Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire, SKE cohort, Keele University, Staffordshire, England

2. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Photonic computing can be split Into three distinct categories…

3. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire 1…Development of a photonic transistor Invented by John N. Hait 1989 U.S. patent 5093802 Operating speed of 833,333.3 GHz Photonic computing can be split into three distinct categories…

4. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire 2…Optical computing and quantum computing Quantum computer comprising of purely photonic components Driven by single-photon lasers and photodetectors Photonic computing can be split into three distinct categories…

5. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire 3…Silicon Photonics “build in silicon all the functions necessary for optical Transmission and reception of data” Paniccia, et al. 2004 Photonic computing can be split into three distinct categories…

6. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Of the three technologies, only Silicon Photonics currently offers tangible devices that we can analyse and discuss… …let us look at this in more detail Silicon Photonics

7. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Silicon Photonics Why Photonics? Copper wiring and traces around motherboard reaching Physical limits Bandwidth of 10 Gbps becoming very difficult Unable to maintain speed over distance Answer: Transmit data over fiber optic cable Data transmit speed not compromised by distance Multiplexed capabilities over single fiber Fibers are thin, light and flexible However, current optical signaling equipment expensive Silicon Photonics

8. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Silicon Photonics will deliver on a silicon platform all the components necessary to facilitate the transmission and reception of data. Why? Because, standard CMOS silicon-based fabrication techniques can produce high-volume, low-cost silicon components CMOS fabrication can integrate components at the manufacturing stage, removing need for manual or automated, expensive assembly of devices Silicon Photonics

9. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire What’s required to achieve silicon photonic communication? 1…Transmit 2…Encode 3…Receive / Decode Hybrid Silicon Laser (September 2006) Silicon Modulator (40Gbps July 2007) Photodetector (40Gbps August 2007) …lets look more closely at each component Silicon Photonics

10. Indium Phosphide Holes (+ve) Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Silicon Waveguide conduit Stuart Wiltshire Electrons (-ve) Hybrid Silicon Raman Laser 1…Layer of Indium-phosphide generates photon stream when an electrical charge is applied. 2…Photon passes down into the silicon waveguide below, where It is contained and directed Silicon Oxide Laser light Indium phosphide is fused to silicon wafer with a layer of oxygen gas (oxide) 25 atoms in thickness Silicon Photonics – Hybrid Silicon-Indium Phosphide Raman Laser

11. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire High-speed silicon modulator ...based on a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer, capable of determining the relative phase shift between two collimated laser beams, emanating from a coherent source… …two integrated phase-shifters are utilised to generate constructive and destructive interference, realised by altering the wavelength of light as it passes through the device… Silicon Photonics – High-speed Silicon Modulator

12. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Phase Shifter Off Stuart Wiltshire High-speed silicon modulator LASER Phase Shifter Off Light is split Into two paths Constructive Interference Binary “1” …to create a binary state of “1”, light passing through the modulator is unaffected by the phase shifters, generating ‘constructive’ interference Silicon Photonics – High-speed Silicon Modulator

13. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Phase Shifter On Stuart Wiltshire High-speed silicon modulator LASER Phase Shifter On Light is split Into two paths Destructive Interference Binary “0” …to create binary state “0”, the phase shifters are engaged and alter the frequency of light (colour), resulting in ‘destructive’ interference Silicon Photonics – High-speed Silicon Modulator

14. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Avalanche Photodetector 2…Hole (+ve) travels to top of device and is collected, whilst electron moves down into silicon 1…Germanium layer absorbs photon, Creating an electron-hole pair Optical Fiber 1010101010101010101010 Silicon modulator Germanium Voltage Silicon Multiplication Region 3…Avalanche effect occurs within silicon, eventually leading to generation of electrical signal…Light signal has been decoded into electrical signal Oxide Silicon Oxide Silicon Layer of Germanium is fused to silicon wafer with oxide, similar to technique used in hybrid laser Silicon Photonics – Avalanche Photodetector

15. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire With the addition of a multiplexor / demultiplexor, fiber coupling and a silicon platform, these components can be manufactured as a single high-speed silicon photonic data communication device… …capable of transmitting and receiving data at 50 Gbps (50,000,000,000 bits-per-second) …that’s a single DVD film every second or approximately 1,000 MP3 music tracks Silicon Photonics – The Complete Silicon Photonics Link

16. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire The complete silicon photonics link Photo Detector Hybrid Laser Modulator Photo Detector Hybrid Laser Modulator Fiber Optic Multiplexer Demultiplexer Photo Detector Hybrid Laser 10101010101010101010101010 10101010101010101010101010 Modulator Photo Detector Hybrid Laser Modulator Incoming electrical data stream Reproduced electrical data stream Four channels, encoding and decoding photonic data at 12.5 Gbps each = 50Gbps Laser light, modulation and photonic detection all occurring on a silicon platform Silicon Photonics – The Complete Silicon Photonics Link

17. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire What purpose does it serve? …speed up network and Internet communications massively …increase communication between discrete devices within computer (CPU, graphics, sound, etc.) …through cloud computing, access to super-computer processing will become available globally …meet the demands of future technologies, such as ultra HDTV Silicon Photonics – The Complete Silicon Photonics Link

18. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Tera-scaling Data …by increasing the number of channels on the device and developing the capacity of the individual components, silicon photonic devices will be capable of achieving massive data communication capacity over time. One terabit is equal to 1,000,000,000,000 bits-per-second communication… Silicon Photonics – The Complete Silicon Photonics Link

19. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Who are the players? …Intel Corporation have developed this device …other major companies involved in development include… NEC Electronics Corporation Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd Freescale Semiconductor Inc. Hewlett-Packard International Business Machines

20. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Check out these videos… INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Craig Barrett Shows Modulator at IDF (Video).http://blip.tv/file/969015/edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Explosion in Silicon Photonics (Video). http://blip.tv/file/962734edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Inside Intel’s Silicon Photonics Lab (Video). http://blip.tv/file/962721/edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Modulator Breakthrough (Video). http://blip.tv/file/959769edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. The Raman Effect and Overcoming Two Photon Absorption (Video). http://blip.tv/file/959759edn. USA: Intel Corporation.

21. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Please read my accompanying dissertation Photonic Computing: Light Speed Data Available at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12872311/Researching%20Emerging%20Technologies%20-%20Photonic%20Computing.pdf

22. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Journal Articles and White Papers BARRETT, S.D. and KOK, P., 2005. Efficient high-fidelity quantum computation using matter qubits and linear optics. Physical Review A, 71(6), pp. 060310. BOYRAZ, O. and JALALI, B., 2004. Demonstration of a silicon Raman laser. Optics Express, 12(21), pp. 5269-5273. CHEN, H.W., SYSAK, M.N., JONES, R. and BOWERS, J.E., 2008. Photonic Integration on the Hybrid Silicon Evanescent Device Platform. GINGRICH, R.M., KOK, P., LEE, H., VATAN, F. and DOWLING, J.P., 2003. All linear optical quantum memory based on quantum error correction. Physical Review Letters, 91(21), pp. 217901. JALALI, B. and FATHPOUR, S., 2006. Silicon photonics. Lightwave Technology, Journal of, 24(12), pp. 4600-4615. KNILL, E., LAFLAMME, R., BARNUM, H., DALVIT, D., DZIARMAGA, J., GUBERNATIS, J., GURVITS, L., ORTIZ, G., VIOLA, L. and ZUREK, W., 2002. Introduction to quantum information processing. Arxiv preprint quant-ph/0207171, . KOK, P., MUNRO, W.J., NEMOTO, K., RALPH, T.C., DOWLING, J.P. and MILBURN, G.J., 2007. Linear optical quantum computing with photonic qubits. Reviews of modern physics, 79(1), pp. 135. KOK, P., WILLIAMS, C.P. and DOWLING, J.P., 2002. Practical quantum repeaters with linear optics and double-photon guns. Arxiv preprint quant-ph/0203134, .

23. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Journal Articles and White Papers LEE, H., KOK, P., WILLIAMS, C.P. and DOWLING, J.P., 2004. From linear optical quantum computing to Heisenberg-limited interferometry. Journal of Optics B: Quantum and Semiclassical Optics, 6, pp. S796. NICHOLS, J. and BUCHOLTZ, F., 2011. Beating Nyquist with light: a compressively sampled photonic link. Optics Express, 19(8), pp. 7339-7348. PANICCIA, M., KRUTUL, V., JONES, R., COHEN, O., BOWERS, J., FANG, A. and PARK, H., 2006. A Hybrid Silicon Laser. White Paper, Intel Corporation, . PANICCIA, M., KRUTUL, V. and KOEHL, S., 2004. Introducing Intel’s Advances in Silicon Photonics. White Paper, . RONG, H., JONES, R., LIU, A., COHEN, O., HAK, D., FANG, A. and PANICCIA, M., 2005. Continuous Silicon Laser. Nature, 433(7027), pp. 725-728. RONG, H., JONES, R., LIU, A., COHEN, O., HAK, D., FANG, A. and PANICCIA, M., 2005. A continuous-wave Raman silicon laser. Nature, 433(7027), pp. 725-728.

24. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Web Sites GANAPATI, P., 04/02/2010, 2010-last update, Geranium Laser Breakthrough Brings Optical Computing Closer [Homepage of Wired], [Online]. Available: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/germanium-laser [05/01, 2011]. GREENE, K., 22/01/2007, 2007-last update, Intel Speeds Up Silicon Photonics [Homepage of MIT], [Online]. Available: http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18087/?a=f [05/01, 2011]. HACHMAN, M., 28/03/2005, 2005-last update, Photonics Startup Pegs Q2'06 Production Date [Homepage of ExtremeTech], [Online]. Available: http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1779951,00.asp [05/01, 2011]. HAIT, J., 2009, 2009-last update, Animated Photonic Computing Basics [Homepage of Hait, J.], [Online]. Available: http://www.hait.org/photonics/animat01.htm [05/01, 2011]. HAIT, J., 2009, 2009-last update, Programmable Lightware [Homepage of Hait, J.], [Online]. Available: http://www.hait.org/photonics/ink2.htm [05/01, 2011]. HAIT, J., 1992. Optical computing method using interference fringe component regions. Missoula, MT, USA: . HUDSON, J., 10/04/2005, 2005-last update, This Laser Trick's a Quantum leap [Homepage of Wired], [Online]. Available: http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2005/10/69033 [05/01, 2011]. INTEL CORPORATION, 2011-last update, Hybrid Silicon Laser [Homepage of Intel Corporation], [Online]. Available: http://techresearch.intel.com/projectdetails.aspx?id=149 [05/01, 2011]. JOHNSON, C.R., 30/11/2010, 2010-last update, IBM debuts CMOS silicon nanophotonics [Homepage of EE Times], [Online]. Available: http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4211151/IBM-debuts-CMOS-silicon-nanophotonics [05/01, 2011].

25. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Web Sites KOEHL, S., 17/09/2007, 2007-last update, 40G photodetector: The other end of the link [Homepage of Intel Corporation], [Online]. Available: http://blogs.intel.com/research/2007/09/40g_photodetector.php [05/01, 2011]. KOK, P., 2011-last update, Optical Quantum Computing [Homepage of Kok, P.], [Online]. Available: http://www.pieter-kok.staff.shef.ac.uk/index.php?nav=research&sub=loqc [05/01, 2011]. LIU, A., 18/12/2008, 2008-last update, 200 Gbps silicon photonic integrated chip [Homepage of Intel Corporation], [Online]. Available: http://blogs.intel.com/research/2008/12/200_gbps_silicon_photonic_inte.php?wapkw=%28photonic%29 [05/01, 2011]. LIU, A., 24/07/2007, 2007-last update, Announcing the world's first 40G silicon laser modulator! [Homepage of Intel Corporation], [Online]. Available: http://blogs.intel.com/research/2007/07/40g_modulator.php [05/01, 2011]. MAILONLINE, 19/09/2010, 2010-last update, Scientists develop new 'photonic' chip that could make quantum computers a reality [Homepage of MailOnline], [Online]. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1312936/Scientists-develop-new-photonic-chip-pave-way-quantum-computers-future.html [05/01, 2011]. MORSE, M., 07/12/2008, 2008-last update, Causing an Avalanche: The latest advance in Silicon Photonics [Homepage of Intel Corporation], [Online]. Available: http://blogs.intel.com/research/2008/12/causing_an_avalanche_the_lates.php?wapkw=%28photonics%29 [05/01, 2011]. MYBROADBAND, 2010, 2010-last update, Optical computer a step closer; 50Gbps experimental chip. [Homepage of MyBroadband], [Online]. Available: http://mybroadband.co.za/news/hardware/14074-Optical-computer-step-closer-Gbps-experimental-chip.html [05/01, 2011].

26. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Web Sites NASA, 2001-last update, Fire Photon Torpedoes! [Homepage of NASA], [Online]. Available: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast27feb_1/ [05/01, 2011]. NASA, 1999-last update, Pushing the limits of Computer Technology [Homepage of NASA], [Online]. Available: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1999/msad18may99_1 [05/01, 2011]. NEXTBIGFUTURE, 19/01/2011, 2011-last update, Singapore research on stem cells, MEMS, photonics, computer aided molecular design and more [Homepage of NextBigFuture], [Online]. Available: http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/01/singapore-research-on-stem-cells-mems.html [05/01, 2011]. OSC, 14/01/2010, 2010-last update, Optical SuperComputing [Homepage of BiCi], [Online]. Available: http://www.cs.bgu.ac.il/~dolev/OSC10/ [05/01, 2011]. PANICCIA, M., 23/07/2010, 2010-last update, The 50Gbps Silicon Photonics Link [Homepage of Intel Corporation], [Online]. Available: http://blogs.intel.com/research/2010/07/50g-link.php [05/01, 2011]. PHYSORG, 27/07/2010, 2010-last update, Intel Milestone Confirms Light Beams Can Replace Electronic Signals for Future Computers [Homepage of Physorg], [Online]. Available: http://www.physorg.com/news199470370.html [05/01, 2011]. PHYSORG, 03/09/2009, 2009-last update, First-ever calculation performed on optical quantum computer chip [Homepage of Physorg], [Online]. Available: http://www.physorg.com/news171213314.html [05/01, 2011]. ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH CENTER, 2011, 2011-last update, The Dawning of the Light Transistor [Homepage of Rocky Mountain Research Center], [Online]. Available: http://rmrc.org/?page_id=60 [05/01, 2011].

27. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Web Sites ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH CENTER, 2011, 2011-last update, Photonic Computing [Homepage of Rocky Mountain Research Center], [Online]. Available: http://rmrc.org/?page_id=21 [05/01, 2011]. SASWATO, D., 18/07/2007, 2007-last update, Speed-of-light computing comes a step closer [Homepage of New Scientist], [Online]. Available: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19526136.400-speedoflight-computing-comes-a-step-closer.html [05/01, 2011].

28. Photonic Computing:Light Speed Data Stuart Wiltshire Video INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Craig Barrett Shows Modulator at IDF (Video). http://blip.tv/file/969015/ edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Explosion in Silicon Photonics (Video). http://blip.tv/file/962734 edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Inside Intel’s Silicon Photonics Lab (Video). http://blip.tv/file/962721/ edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. Modulator Breakthrough (Video). http://blip.tv/file/959769 edn. USA: Intel Corporation. INTEL CORPORATION, 2010. The Raman Effect and Overcoming Two Photon Absorption (Video). http://blip.tv/file/959759 edn. USA: Intel Corporation. O'TOOLE, M. and KUTULAKOS, K.N., 2010. Optical Computing for Fast Light Transport Analysis (Video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVBICVBEGVU edn. YOUTUBE. SBARTSTV, 2009. IBM Silicon Photonics Breakthrough In Future of Computing (Video). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JtzQsGrg80 edn. YOUTUBE.