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| Fusion of optical and electronic devices to promote increased functionality of communications equipment
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| Technology
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| We construct optical circuits from ultra-small waveguides using silicon (Si), which is widely used as a semiconductor, and integrate various different optical and electronic devices. This technology combines the high-speed, large-volume transmission functions of optical devices and the intelligent functions of electronic circuits to implement modules for compact, highly sophisticated optical communications. We fabricate ultra-small waveguides having dimensions on the order of nanometers (1/100,000 the thickness of human hair), and are developing advanced designs and fabrication techniques that implement lower losses in those waveguides. We are implementing the lowest losses in the world in ultra-small optical waveguides that take advantage of the high refractive indices that are characteristic of silicon.
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- Ultra-small, low-loss optical waveguides
- Fusion of optics and electronics (light propagating in a semiconductor silicon waveguide is controlled electrically)
Germanium crystal, which is a material in the same Group IV as silicon, is grown on silicon, enabling the integration of the photodetector which is necessary for converting light into an electrical signal.
- A variety of devices integrated on one chip
- Environmentally friendly (silicon is a material that exists in abundance and is chemically stable )
- Suitable for mass production (established silicon semiconductor mass-production technology can be utilized)
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| Application
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| In the future, our goal is to integrate optical communications modules that are configured of lasers, photodetectors, and various electronic circuits on a single silicon chip. This will lead to innovations in the size, power consumption, and cost of optical communications modules, which will expand the fields of application of high-speed, large-volume optical fiber communications nets and help implement high-density, large-volume information transmission and processing chips.
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