Rugged Silicon Photonic Transceiver

Rugged transceivers, which can sustain harsh environments, are in high demand in the applications such as telecommunications, avionics, and space. Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)-based transceivers have been a cost-effective approach to address the demand. However, the exponential growth in the data volume, push the technology toward higher speeds at longer reaches. Reflex Photonics has been developing rugged VCSEL-based transceivers for the short-reach interconnects. However, with the existing technology, the maximum allowable speed over a 100 m reach is 12.5 Gb/s. Silicon photonics (SiP) is an emerging technology that provides a unique opportunity for integration of photonic components by harnessing well-developed micro-electronic fabrication technology. Furthermore, SiP provides an excellent platform for developing high-speed optical interconnects. Moreover, advanced packaging techniques allow hybrid compact electronic-photonic system design for rugged applications. However, a few challenges are involved in developing new transceivers. Among them, coupling light from the laser into the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and from the PIC waveguide into the single-mode (SM) fiber, and compatibility with the existing packaging technology are more of concern. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Odile Liboiron-Ladouceur

Student:

Partner:

Reflex Photonics

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

McGill University

Program: