CMOS Photonics Technology Overview

At Luxtera, we have developed a complete suite of optical capability by using a standard 130nm SOI CMOS process at Freescale Semiconductor. This library of optical functions allows the design and fabrication of complex optical and electrical systems on a small silicon chip. While photodetectors, modulators, and optical filters have been implemented in or on silicon (Soref and Bennett, 1987), the technology discussed herein refers solely to implementations of technology within the constraints of a working CMOS process - thus leading to the term "CMOS photonics." The key test for an element of CMOS photonics technology is that the yield and performance of the transistors on the same substrate is not modified by the presence of the optics. An overview of the technology is shown. This paper will start with a brief discussion of the electronics, and then will follow the path of the light as it\´s used to transmit data between chips, eventually terminating at the germanium photodetector