Project Overview

"UK Silicon Photonics" is a 5-year (2008-2013) project funded by EPSRC. The proposed work is a collaboration between 5 UK Universities (Surrey, St. Andrews, Leeds, Warwick and Southampton) with input from the industrial sector (Qinetiq). We will target primarily the interconnect applications, as they are receiving the most attention worldwide and have the largest potential for wealth creation, based on the scalability of silicon-based processes. However, we will ensure that our approach is more broadly applicable to other applications.This can be achieved by targeting device functions that are generic, and introducing specificity only when a particular application is targeted. The generic functions that we will target are as follows: interfacing of optical signals within sub micron waveguides, coupling from fibre to sub-micron silicon waveguides, optical modulation, optical filtering, optical detection, optical amplification, and finally optical/electronic integration.

The technology expertise of the partners that brings together the photonic crystal fabrication at St. Andrews and ion implantation at Surrey will be complemented by different CMOS fabrication centres (e.g. IMEC and LETI). QinetiQ will support the work with device fabrication. Warwick and Leeds are providing the ‘materials’ expertise in the project. Southampton is providing the CMOS compatibility expertise, and Surrey, St. Andrews, and Leeds are providing the photonics expertise. In addition specific modelling expertise is provided by the TAC group at Surrey.