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Silicon photonics
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The switching time of a single transistor in high integration CMOS devices is negligible with respect to the RC delay caused by the transmission lines that are constituted of metallic stripes embedded in an insulating layer. Multilevel metallization in new generation CMOS results in a total line length of over 10 km. The RC delay problem becomes more severe in the last generation integrated circuits. In fact, as the device dimensions shrink there is a reduction of the switching time but a constant RC of the circuit, so that the interconnect contribution to the overall delay time constitute the limiting factor to the device performances. This is the so called "interconnect bottleneck". An alternative route to electrical are the optical interconnections in which photons instead of electrons are responsible for the signal propagation. Optical interconnections offer the advantage of a large bandwidth, low power consumption, low noise, and minimum cross talk. They would allow the advantage of the optical transmissions in the chip still maintaining the electronic elaboration capability. The use of optical interconnection in CMOS devices would be possible only if any component of the optical transmission circuit (source, detector, waveguide, modulator) is integrated with the electrical components of the chip. It is therefore necessary to develop a class of Si-compatible microphotonic devices of a suitable size and elevated performances. Due to its indirect bandgap, silicon is a poor light emitter indeed and it has been considered unsuitable for photonic applications. One of the main problems in Si photonics is hence the development of Si-based efficient light sources. In addition the development of photonic crystals enabled the possibility of realizing photonic circuits with enhanced performances. |
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RECENT HIGHLIGHTS by MATIS: |
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| A silicon-based two dimensional photonic crystal has been integrated with a silicon nanocluster light emitting device greatly enhancing its extraction efficiency. Presti C.D., Irrera A., Franzò G., Crupi I., Priolo F., Iacona F., Di Stefano G., Piana A., Sanfilippo D., Fallica P.G. Photonic-Crystal Silicon-Nanocluster Light-Emitting Device Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 033501 (2006) - DOI: 10.1063/1.2165272 |
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| Light confinement has been observed in silicon on insulator slot waveguides containing erbium and silicon nanoclusters. The integration of this structure with a photonic crystal having a photonic mode in resonance with the 1.54 micron erbium emission produced an emission enhancement by more than two orders of magnitude. |  |
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Galli M., Politi A., Belotti M., Gerace D., Liscidini M., Patrini M., Andreani L. C., Miritello M. , Irrera A., Priolo F., Chen Y. Strong enhancement of Er3+ emission at room temperature Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 251114 (2006) - DOI: 10.1063/1.2214180 Galli M., Gerace D., Politi A., Liscidini M., Patrini M., Andreani L.C., Canino A., Miritello M., Lo Savio R., Irrera A., Priolo F. Direct evidence of light confinement and emission enhancement in active silicon-on-insulator slot waveguides Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 241114 (2006) - DOI: 10.1063/1.2404936 |
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| Erbium silicate thin films having efficient emission have been synthesized by UHV magnetron sputtering. Miritello M., Lo Savio R., Iacona F., Franzò G., Irrera A., Piro A. M., Bongiorno C., Priolo F. Efficient Luminescence and Energy Transfer in Erbium Silicate Thin Films Advanced Materials 19, 1582 (2007) - DOI: 10.1002/adma.200601692 |
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PARTICIPANTS |
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| CARDILE Paolo | 095 3785239 | |
| FRANZò Giorgia | 095 3785346 | |
| IACONA Fabio | 095 3785288 | |
| IRRERA Alessia | 095 3785239 | |
| LO SAVIO Roberto | 095 3785239 | |
| MIRITELLO Maria | 095 3785239 | |
| PECORA Emanuele Francesco | 095 3785239 | |
| PRIOLO Francesco | 095 3785401 | |