Silicon Photonics: Solving Process Variation And Manufacturing Challenges


As silicon photonics manufacturing gains momentum with additional foundry and 300mm offerings, process variation issues are coming to light. Variability in silicon processing affects the waveguide shape and can result in deviation in effective indices, propagation loss, and coupling efficiency from the intended design. In this article, we will highlight process variation issues that can occur i... » read more

What’s Next In Scaling, Stacking


An Steegen, executive vice president of semiconductor technology and systems at [getentity id="22217" e_name="Imec"], sat down with Semiconductor Engineering to discuss IC scaling, chip stacking, packaging and other topics. Imec is an R&D organization in Belgium. What follows are excerpts of that conversation. SE: Chipmakers are shipping 16nm/14nm processes with 10nm and 7nm technologies... » read more

Achieving The Vision Of Silicon Photonics Processing


With the increasing need for faster data transfer rates, the transition from electrical to optical signaling in data processing is inevitable. Copper cabling cannot keep up with the upcoming data center bandwidth requirements for applications such as multimedia streaming and high performance computing. One technology that could enable true optical communication is silicon photonics. Silicon is ... » read more

Focus Shifting To Photonics


Silicon photonics finally appears ready for prime time, after years of unfulfilled expectations and a vision that stretches back at least a couple decades. The biggest challenge has been the ability to build a light source directly into the silicon process, rather than trying to add one onto a chip after manufacturing. [getentity id="22846" e_name="Intel"] today said it has achieved that mi... » read more

Advanced Packaging Is Real. Now What?


For the past five years, it's been clear that 2.5D, fan-outs and other forms of system-in-package were on the horizon. Exactly when they would arrive no one knew. The most common prediction was that the timing would depend on when one of the big chipmakers decided to go down that route. The theory was that the remainder of the industry would follow, ecosystem issues would be sorted out—partic... » read more

Raise A Fence, Dig A Tunnel, Build A Bridge


There are three main options for chipmakers over the course of the next decade. Which option they choose depends upon their individual needs, talents, and how much and what kind of differentiation they believe will matter to them. The options roughly fall into three categories—fence, bridge or tunnel. The fence option Rather than changing anything, the entire ecosystem can stick to wha... » read more

Moving Electrons Is Getting Harder


Numerous executives across the ecosystem—from EDA and equipment companies to foundries—recently have stated that Moore's Law has at least 10 more years of life. This is interesting math, considering the semiconductor industry is now working on 10nm, with chips expected to roll out next year. So given that Moore's Law is on a two-year cadence of doubling the number of transistors every 24... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: July 7


Silicon photonics prototyping A group of European and other research organizations have put the finishing touches on a project to help propel the development of silicon photonics into the commercial market. The project, dubbed ESSenTIAL, enables small- to mid-sized enterprises to develop prototypes and products based on silicon photonics. Funded by the European Commission, the project inclu... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: May 26


Table-top EUV Swinburne University of Technology has developed a table-top extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser power source. The source could be used to develop a system for use in metrology and other applications. The table-top setup is a new way to generate bright beams of coherent EUV radiation. It may offer a cost-effective alternative to large-scale facilities, such as synchrotrons or free... » read more

System Bits: Feb. 17


Can you hear light? Silicon photonics has gained increasing attention as a key driver of lab-on-a-chip biosensors and of faster-than-electronics communication between computer chips. The technology builds on tiny structures known as silicon photonic wires. The wires work because light moves slower in the silicon core than in surrounding air and glass. Thus, the light is trapped inside the wire... » read more

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