Silicon Photonics Manufacturing Ramps Up


Circuit scaling is starting to hit a wall as the laws of physics clash with exponential increases in the volume of data, forcing chipmakers to take a much closer look at silicon photonics as a way of moving data from where it is collected to where it is processed and stored. The laws of physics are immutable. Put simply, there are limits to how fast an electron can travel through copper. The... » read more

Optimization Of The Interface Between The PD And The AFE In High-Speed, High-Density Optical Receivers


A technical paper titled “Optimizing the Photodetector/Analog Front-End Interface in Optical Communication Receivers” was published by researchers at University of Toronto. Abstract: "This article addresses the optimization of the interface between the photodetector (PD) and the analog front-end in high-speed, high-density optical communication receivers. Specifically, the article focuses... » read more

Research Bits: Jan. 3


Printing electronics on curved surfaces Researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a new technique for directly printing electronic circuits onto curved and corrugated surfaces. They have used the technique to create prototype “smart” contact lenses, pressure-sensitive latex gloves, and transparent electrodes. “There are many existing techniques for creating pr... » read more

Direct Chemisorption-Assisted Nanotransfer Printing with Wafer-Scale Uniformity and Controllability


New academic paper from Nanyang Technological University, Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials, and Southwest Jiaotong University. Abstract "Nanotransfer printing techniques have attracted significant attention due to their outstanding simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and high throughput. However, conventional methods via a chemical medium hamper the efficient fabrication with large-area... » read more

MXene-GaN van der Waals metal-semiconductor junctions for high performance multiple quantum well photodetectors


Abstract: "A MXene-GaN-MXene based multiple quantum well photodetector was prepared on patterned sapphire substrate by facile drop casting. The use of MXene electrodes improves the responsivity and reduces dark current, compared with traditional Metal-Semiconductor-Metal (MSM) photodetectors using Cr/Au electrodes. Dark current of the device using MXene-GaN van der Waals junctions is reduced b... » read more

Power/Performance Bits: April 11


High-efficiency silicon photodetector Electrical engineers at the University of California, Davis, and W&WSens Devices, Inc. built a new type of high-efficiency photodetector that could be monolithically integrated with silicon electronics. The new detector uses tapered holes in a silicon wafer to divert photons sideways, preserving the speed of thin-layer silicon and the efficiency o... » read more