CORNERSTONE 2.5
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Southampton
Department Name: Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC)
Abstract
Silicon photonics is the manipulation of light (photons) in silicon-based substrates, analogous to electronics, which is the manipulation of electrons. The development cycle of a silicon photonics device consists of three stages: design, fabrication, and characterisation. Whilst design and characterisation can readily be done by research groups around the country, the fabrication of silicon photonics devices, circuits and systems requires large scale investments and capital equipment such as cleanrooms, lithography, etching equipment etc. Based at the Universities of Southampton and Glasgow, CORNERSTONE 2.5 will provide world-leading fabrication capability to silicon photonics researchers and the wider science community.
Whilst silicon photonics is the focus of CORNERSTONE 2.5, it will also support other technologies that utilise similar fabrication processes, such as MEMS or microfluidics, and the integration of light sources with silicon photonics integrated circuits, as well as supporting any research area that requires high-resolution lithography.
The new specialised capabilities available to researchers to support emerging applications in silicon photonics are: 1) quantum photonics based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers; 2) programmable photonics; 3) all-silicon photodetection; 4) high efficiency grating couplers for low energy, power sensitive systems; 5) enhanced sensing platforms; and 6) light source integration to the silicon nitride platform. Access will be facilitated via a multi-project-wafer (MPW) mechanism whereby multiple users' designs will be fabricated in parallel on the same wafer. This is enabled by the 8" wafer-scale processing capability centred around a deep-UV projection lithography scanner installed at the University of Southampton.
The value of CORNERSTONE 2.5 to researchers who wish to use it is enhanced by a network of supporting companies, each providing significant expertise and added value to users. Supporting companies include process-design-kit (PDK) software specialists (Luceda Photonics), reticle suppliers (Compugraphics, Photronics), packaging facilities (Tyndall National Institute, Bay Photonics, Alter Technologies), a mass production silicon photonics foundry (CompoundTek), an epitaxy partner for germanium-on-silicon growth (IQE), fabrication processing support (Oxford Instruments), an MPW broker (EUROPRACTICE), a III-V die supplier (Sivers Semiconductors) and promotion and outreach partners (Photonics Leadership Group, EPIC, CSA Catapult, CPI, Anchored In).
Access to the new capabilities will be free-of-charge to UK academics in months 13-18 of the project, and 75% subsidised by the grant in months 19-24. During the 2-year project, we will also canvas UK demand for the capability to continue to operate as an EPSRC National Research Facility, and if so, to establish a Statement of Need.
Whilst silicon photonics is the focus of CORNERSTONE 2.5, it will also support other technologies that utilise similar fabrication processes, such as MEMS or microfluidics, and the integration of light sources with silicon photonics integrated circuits, as well as supporting any research area that requires high-resolution lithography.
The new specialised capabilities available to researchers to support emerging applications in silicon photonics are: 1) quantum photonics based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers; 2) programmable photonics; 3) all-silicon photodetection; 4) high efficiency grating couplers for low energy, power sensitive systems; 5) enhanced sensing platforms; and 6) light source integration to the silicon nitride platform. Access will be facilitated via a multi-project-wafer (MPW) mechanism whereby multiple users' designs will be fabricated in parallel on the same wafer. This is enabled by the 8" wafer-scale processing capability centred around a deep-UV projection lithography scanner installed at the University of Southampton.
The value of CORNERSTONE 2.5 to researchers who wish to use it is enhanced by a network of supporting companies, each providing significant expertise and added value to users. Supporting companies include process-design-kit (PDK) software specialists (Luceda Photonics), reticle suppliers (Compugraphics, Photronics), packaging facilities (Tyndall National Institute, Bay Photonics, Alter Technologies), a mass production silicon photonics foundry (CompoundTek), an epitaxy partner for germanium-on-silicon growth (IQE), fabrication processing support (Oxford Instruments), an MPW broker (EUROPRACTICE), a III-V die supplier (Sivers Semiconductors) and promotion and outreach partners (Photonics Leadership Group, EPIC, CSA Catapult, CPI, Anchored In).
Access to the new capabilities will be free-of-charge to UK academics in months 13-18 of the project, and 75% subsidised by the grant in months 19-24. During the 2-year project, we will also canvas UK demand for the capability to continue to operate as an EPSRC National Research Facility, and if so, to establish a Statement of Need.
Organisations
- University of Southampton (Lead Research Organisation)
- EPIC (Electronics & Photonics Innov Ctr) (Project Partner)
- Beamlet LLC (Project Partner)
- Luceda Photonics (Project Partner)
- Quantum Dice (Project Partner)
- Polytechnic University of Bari (Project Partner)
- Duality Quantum Photonics Ltd (Project Partner)
- Wave Photonics (Project Partner)
- Photonics Leadership Group (Project Partner)
- University of Bath (Project Partner)
- University College Cork (Project Partner)
- Centre for Process Innovation (Project Partner)
- University of Malaga (Project Partner)
- Bangor University (Project Partner)
- Fudan University (Project Partner)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (Project Partner)
- University College London (Project Partner)
- Newcastle University (Project Partner)
- Compugraphics (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Sivers Photonics Ltd (Project Partner)
- University of Birmingham (Project Partner)
- Airbus (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- University of Bristol (Project Partner)
- Rockley Photonics Limited (UK) (Project Partner)
- Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Telecomunicazioni (Project Partner)
- Photronics (U K) Ltd (Project Partner)
- City, University of London (Project Partner)
- OnPoint Digital Solutions (Project Partner)
- University of Huddersfield (Project Partner)
- Huawei Technologies (Germany) (Project Partner)
- Oxford Instruments (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Pointcloud (Project Partner)
- EUROPRACTICE (International) (Project Partner)
- CARDIFF UNIVERSITY (Project Partner)
- Camgraphic Ltd (Project Partner)
- University of Sydney (Project Partner)
- Compound Semiconductor App. Catapult (Project Partner)
- University of Sussex (Project Partner)
- Imperial College London (Project Partner)
- Czech Technical University in Prague (Project Partner)
- Zero Point Motion Ltd (Project Partner)
- Loughborough University (Project Partner)
- University of South Wales (Project Partner)
- University of Oxford (Project Partner)
- CompoundTek Pte Ltd (Project Partner)
- University of St Andrews (Project Partner)
- IQE (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- University of Strathclyde (Project Partner)
- Lancaster University (Project Partner)
- Alter Technology TUV Nord (Project Partner)
- University of York (Project Partner)
- University of Manchester (Project Partner)
- University of Sheffield (Project Partner)
- Royal Holloway University of London (Project Partner)
- Nanyang Technological University (Project Partner)
- Queen's University Belfast (Project Partner)
- Hokkaido University (Project Partner)
- Heriot-Watt University (Project Partner)
- University of Cambridge (Project Partner)
- Anchored In Ltd (Project Partner)
- Durham University (Project Partner)
- Resolute Photonics (UK) Ltd (Project Partner)
- Bay Photonics Ltd (Project Partner)
Publications
Burridge B
(2023)
Integrate and scale: a source of spectrally separable photon pairs
in Optica
Hashemi Talkhooncheh A
(2023)
A 100-Gb/s PAM4 Optical Transmitter in a 3-D-Integrated SiPh-CMOS Platform Using Segmented MOSCAP Modulators
in IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits
Hou Y
(2023)
Surface/interface engineering of InAs quantum dot edge-emitting diodes toward III-V/SiN photonic integration
in Journal of Luminescence
Li K
(2023)
An integrated CMOS-silicon photonics transmitter with a 112 gigabaud transmission and picojoule per bit energy efficiency
in Nature Electronics
Li K
(2023)
An integrated CMOS-silicon photonics transmitter with a 112 gigabaud transmission and picojoule per bit energy efficiency
in Nature Electronics
Mashanovich G
(2023)
Education and training of silicon photonics engineers and technicians
Muthuganesan H
(2023)
Micro-transfer printed InGaAs photodetector on SOI platform