Directly Writing and Rewriting Photonic Chips on Low-Loss Phase-Change Thin Films


A technical paper titled “Freeform direct-write and rewritable photonic integrated circuits in phase-change thin films” was published by researchers at University of Washington, University of Maryland, and Tianjin University. Abstract: "Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with rapid prototyping and reprogramming capabilities promise revolutionary impacts on a plethora of photonic technolo... » read more

Photonics: Harnessing The Power of Light


All around us, light is at work. The cameras on our phones, the parking sensors in our cars, the monitors on our desks — all are using the power of light to improve our daily lives thanks to a field of study called “photonics.” What is photonics? Photonics is a multidisciplinary domain that involves the generation, control, manipulation, and detection of light. Light, a form of elect... » read more

Research Bits: Feb. 6


Laser printer for photonic circuits Researchers from the University of Washington and University of Maryland propose a faster, cheaper way to fabricate and reconfigure photonic integrated circuits. The method uses a laser writer to write, erase, and modify circuits into a thin film of phase-change material similar to what is used for recordable CDs and DVDs. The researcher say the method co... » read more

A Solver Combination Strategy For Photonic Integrated Components


With the increasing demand for optical bandwidth, photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology is undergoing a growth rate very similar to the one seen by electronic integrated circuits over the last half-century. To keep up with the increasing number of components and circuit complexity, efficient and reliable automated design tools are necessary to carry out virtual prototyping, improve yield... » read more

Research Bits: Jan. 2


Synaptic transistor Researchers from Northwestern University, Boston College, and MIT developed a synaptic transistor that simultaneously processes and stores information similar to the human brain. The team said the transistor goes beyond simple machine learning tasks to categorize data and is capable of performing associative learning. The new device is stable at room temperatures. It als... » read more

Shedding More Light On Photonics For Multi-Die Systems


By Kenneth Larsen and Twan Korthorst Photonics harness the speed of light for fast, low-power, high-capacity data transfer. A tremendous amount of data needs to be moved swiftly across different components in a multi-die system. Considering this, exploiting the advantages of light is one way to mitigate heat dissipation and energy consumption concerns while delivering fast data transmission.... » read more

Research Bits: October 24


Photonic-electronic hardware processes 3D data Researchers from the University of Oxford, University of Muenster, University of Heidelberg, and University of Exeter are developing integrated photonic-electronic hardware capable of processing three-dimensional data, which the team claims boosts data processing parallelism for AI tasks. The researchers added an extra parallel dimension to the... » read more

Fabless Approach To Embed Active Nanophotonics in Bulk CMOS By Co-Designing The BEOL Layers For Optical Functionality (MIT)


A technical paper titled “Metal-Optic Nanophotonic Modulators in Standard CMOS Technology” was published by researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Abstract: "Integrating nanophotonics with electronics promises revolutionary applications ranging from light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to holographic displays. Although semiconductor manufacturing of nanophotonics in Silicon ... » read more

Research Bits: September 26


2D waveguides Researchers from the University of Chicago found that a sheet of glass crystal just a few atoms thick could trap and carry light efficiently up to a centimeter. In tests, the researchers found they could use extremely tiny prisms, lenses, and switches to guide the path of the light along a chip. “We were utterly surprised by how powerful this super-thin crystal is; not on... » read more

Research Bits: August 22


Photonic memory Researchers from Zhejiang University, Westlake University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a 5-bit photonic memory capable of fast volatile modulation and proposed a solution for a nonvolatile photonic network supporting rapid training. This was made possible by integrating the low-loss phase-change material (PCM) antimonite (Sb2S3) into a silicon photonic plat... » read more

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