2d Materials Integrated Silicon Photonics

Optical communication has superseded copper wires in data transmission systems, significantly improving their speed, bandwidth and signal quality, and becoming the key technology for today's broadband networks. Devices based on silicon photonics technologies provide key advantages in optical communication system. This platform allows for the integration of optical waveguides, modulators, and photo-detectors within a single device, thus providing a smaller form factor, which promises to further boost internet speeds and enable the development of extremely powerful computers. The next step for enhancing device integration, operation speed and reducing cost and power consumption requires innovative approaches; the use of novel materials is one of the most promising. Two dimensional materials in particular (such as graphene) have been intensively studied in the recent years showing exceptional electrical and optical properties, that might hold the key to overcome the obstacles preventing the widespread commercialization of silicon photonics devices. The aim of this project is twofold: first to increase our fundamental understanding of the unique optoelectronics properties of two-dimensional materials and second, to experimentally demonstrate their applicability to silicon photonics technology and evaluate their performance with respect to industrial standards.

Research areas: Optical Communications; Optical Devices and subsystems; Graphene and Carbon Nanotechnology
Portfolio Themes: ICT, Manufacturing the future, Physical sciences