Robust Thermal Platform for Photonic Integrated Circuits

Thermal controls form a critical component of any practical co-integrated photonic transceiver technology. We are working to develop a set of thermal test platforms which may be used to demonstrate performance at datacenter temperature levels, and to characterize shifts in device qualities across the thermal spectrum. These efforts include rigorous simulation efforts and practical evaluations using temperature-controlled testing chambers, to ensure that valid models may be developed for future use.

Silicon photonic structures and devices are highly temperature sensitive, so in data centers, whose compute nodes can in some cases reach temperatures of over 85°F, active measures are needed to ensure that optical communication channels are not degraded or destroyed. Our efforts to address these issues currently include investigation of wafer undercuts to allow heat dissipation, and active thermo-optic control devices for tuning the thermally-sensitive behavior of photonic integrated circuit devices.

Current Projects:

  • Wafer Undercut

  • Thermal Control