Self-consistent opto-thermal-electronic simulation of micro-rings for photonic macrochip integration

Over the last 30 years there has been a very impressive growth in the complexity and capability of integrated electronics. This dramatic improvement in functionality is due to many factors, however, a considerable impetus was the development of a highly sophisticated Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment. In particular, at the circuit level, the use of SPICE-like tools has been crucial. SPICE allows for the relatively quick simulation of networks of devices using physically based non-linear compact models, allowing for accurate time and frequency domain analysis. Recently there has been a significant trend towards the close integration of optical and electronic devices. The ability to integrate electrical and optical signal processing circuitry to achieve lower costs and higher functionality is very attractive for a wide variety of applications and the presence of high-frequency effects has motivated the possible use of optical interconnects within chips and printed circuit boards. A variety of optical platforms have been proposed to implement these systems, including macrochip integration methods.