Co‑packaged optics(CPO):status,challenges,and solutions

Due to the rise of 5G,IoT,AI,and high-performance computing applications,datacenter trafc has grown at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 30%.Furthermore,nearly three-fourths of the datacenter trafc resides within datacenters.The conventional pluggable optics increases at a much slower rate than that of datacenter trafc.The gap between application requirements and the capability of conventional pluggable optics keeps increasing,a trend that is unsustainable.Copackaged optics(CPO)is a disruptive approach to increasing the interconnecting bandwidth density and energy efciency by dramatically shortening the electrical link length through advanced packaging and co-optimization of electronics and photonics.CPO is widely regarded as a promising solution for future datacenter interconnections,and silicon platform is the most promising platform for large-scale integration.Leading international companies(e.g.,Intel,Broadcom and IBM)have heavily investigated in CPO technology,an inter-disciplinary research feld that involves photonic devices,integrated circuits design,packaging,photonic device modeling,electronic-photonic co-simulation,applications,and standardization.This review aims to provide the readers a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art progress of CPO in silicon platform,identify the key challenges,and point out the potential solutions,hoping to encourage collaboration between diferent research felds to accelerate the development of CPO technology.

Compact, submilliwatt, 2 × 2 silicon thermo-optic switch based on photonic crystal nanobeam cavities

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a 2×2 thermo-optic(TO) crossbar switch implemented by dual photonic crystal nanobeam(PCN)cavities within a silicon-on-insulator(SOI)platform.By thermally tuning the refractive index of silicon,the resonance wavelength of the PCN cavities can be red-shifted.With the help of the ultrasmall mode volumes of the PCN cavities,only～0.16 mW power is needed to change the switching state.With a spectral passband of 0.09 nm at the 1583.75 nm operation wavelength,the insertion loss(IL)and crosstalk(CT)performances were measured as IL(bar)=-0.2 dB,CT(bar)=-15 dB,IL(cross)=-1.5 dB,and CT(cross)=-15 dB.Furthermore,the thermal tuning efficiency of the fabricated device is as high as1.23 nm/mW.

On-chip silicon photonic 2 × 2 mode-and polarization-selective switch with low inter-modal crosstalk

Mode-and polarization-division multiplexing offer new dimensions to increase the transmission capacity of optical communications. Selective switches are key components in reconfigurable optical network nodes. An on-chip silicon 2 × 2 mode-and polarization-selective switch that can route four data channels on two modes and two polarizations simultaneously is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The overall insertion losses are lower than 8.6 d B. To reduce the inter-modal crosstalk, polarization beam splitters are added to filter the undesired polarizations or modes. The measured inter-modal andintra-modal crosstalk values are below-23.2 and-22.8 d B for all the channels, respectively.

Thermo-optic all-optical devices based on two-dimensional materials

In this paper, we review our recent work on thermo-optic all-optical devices based on two-dimensional(2 D)materials. The unique properties of 2 D materials enable fast and highly efficient thermo-optic control of light.A few all-optical devices are demonstrated based on various thermo-optic mechanisms. Both fiber and integrated devices will be shown.

Recent advances in integrated optical directed logic operations for high performance optical computing: a review

Optical directed logic(DL)is a novel logic operation scheme that employs electrical signals as operands to control the working states of optical switches to perform the logic functions.This review first provides an overview of the concept and working principle of DL.The developing trends of DL computing are then discussed in detail,including the fundamental optical DL gates,combinational optical DL operations,reconfigurable logic computing,low power optical logic computing,and programmable photonic network.The concluding remarks provide an outlook on the DL future development and its impacts in optical computing.

High-efficiency and broadband four-wave mixing in a silicon-graphene strip waveguide with a windowed silica top layer

We experimentally demonstrate high-efficiency and broadband four-wave mixing in a silicon-graphene strip waveguide. A four-wave mixing conversion efficiency of -38.7 d B and a 3-dB conversion bandwidth of 35 nm are achieved in the silicon-graphene strip waveguide with an optimized light-graphene interaction length of 60 μm. The interaction length is controlled by a windowed area of silica layer on the silicon waveguide.Numerical simulations and experimental studies are carried out and show a nonlinear parameter γGOSas large as 10~4 W^(-1)· m^(-1).

On-chip silicon polarization and mode handling devices

Mode-and polarization-division multiplexing are new promising options to increase the transmission capacity of optical communications.On-chip silicon polarization and mode handling devices are key components in integrated mode-and polarization-division multi-plexed photonic circuits.In this paper,we review our recent progresses on silicon-based polarization beam splitters,polarization splitters and rotators,mode（de）multiplexers,and mode and polarization selective switches.Silicon polarization beam splitters and rotators are demonstrated with high extinction ratio,compact footprint and high fabrication tolerance.For on-chip mode multiplexing,we introduce a low loss and fabrication tolerant three-mode（de）multiplexer employing sub-wavelength grating structure.In analogy to a conventional wavelength selective switch in wavelength-division multi-plexing,we demonstrate a selective switch that can route mode-and polarization-multiplexed signals.

Compact on-chip 1×2 wavelength selective switch based on silicon microring resonator with nested pairs of subrings

We propose and experimentally demonstrate compact on-chip 1×2 wavelength selective switches(WSSs) based on silicon microring resonators(MRRs) with nested pairs of subrings(NPSs). Owing to the resonance splitting induced by the inner NPSs, the proposed devices are capable of performing selective channel routing at certain resonance wavelengths of the outer MRRs. System demonstration of dynamic channel routing using fabricated devices with one and two NPSs is carried out for 10 Gb∕s non-return-to-zero signal. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of the fabricated devices as compact on-chip WSSs.

Recent progress in graphene-based optical modulators on silicon photonics platform

Graphene is a 2D material which has attracted tremendous interest from academia and industry,due to its attractive electrical and optical properties.By integrating graphene onto silicon photonics platform,various high-performance electrooptic and thermo-optic modulators have been demonstrated.In this paper,such graphene-based optical modulators are reviewed.The concept and principle of optical modulations are firstly analyzed and then an overview of the developing trends of optical modulators is presented.Meanwhile,the performances of graphene-based optical modulators,including power consumptions and speeds of electro-optic modulators as well as tuning efficiencies of thermo-optic modulators,are then evaluated and discussed in detail.All these optical modulators would play important roles in a wide range of applications including telecom,interconnects,computing,quantum information processing,and beam steering.