Silicon-on-Insulator Guided Wave Optical Clock Distribution

Kirsten E. Moselund, PhD Assistant at EPFL-STI-LEG

Abstract: With each new technology generation transistors become smaller and faster, the clock frequency goes up and the total chip dimensions increase. Thus, we are often limited by the performance of the interconnect rather than the devices, and it becomes increasingly difficult to deliver a synchronous clock signal throughout a chip. One possible solution to this problem is optical on-chip clock distribution using silicon guided wave optics.

In our group we are working specifically on the development of passive waveguides for signal distribution, as well as a GHz silicon based optical modulator. Previously, high efficiency modulators based on diode injection have been produced, but these are limited in frequency by carrier recombination. Recently new results using a MOS capacitor as the modulating element have shown speeds in the GHz, but at much reduced efficiency. We are currently working on the development of a novel Gate-All-Around modulator, where we hope to combine high efficiency and high speed, due to a better overlap with the electromagnetic field, thus the target for this year is to validate the performance of the GAA modulator as a "proof of concept" device, developed at EPFL.


About the speaker: Kirsten E. Moselund received her MS degree in the field of microelectronics from the Technical University of Denmark in 2003. For her masters project she worked on the design, fabrication and characterization of vertical-external cavity surface-emitting lasers. During her studies she has spent 12 months at EPFL and 7 months at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, where she carried out her Bachelor's thesis in ASIC design.

Kirsten has been with Adrian Ionescu's laboratory since November 2003, where she is working on integrated silicon optoelectronics.


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