Research Projects

Silicon Photonics (SiPh) is a transformative technology for modern telecommunications, enabling the integration of optical and electronic components on a single chip for scalability, cost-effectiveness, and compatibility with semiconductor processes. Despite its potential, pure silicon (Si)-based optical modulators and photodetectors face significant limitations in the near-infrared wavelength range, critical for long-haul telecommunications and data center interconnects. These constraints hinder the development of compact and efficient photonic transceivers integrating modulation and detection functions. Si modulators are limited by Si’s weak electro-optic effect, which restricts modulation speed and efficiency, making them unsuitable for high-speed communications. Thermal effects further degrade performance under high-power conditions. For photodetectors, Si’s inability to absorb light efficiently beyond 1100 nm leads to poor responsivity and detection in the near-infrared range, severely limiting their effectiveness in advanced communication systems. This project proposes a Hybrid SiPh platform integrating two-dimensional (2D) materials such as such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) with Si waveguides. These materials offer strong near-infrared absorption, tunable electro-optic properties, thermal stability, enabling compact, efficient, and thermally stable photonic transceivers. Scientific Objectives Photonic Integration: Develop hybrid photonic transceivers with efficient modulation and detection capabilities. Device Optimization: Enhance key metrics, including extinction ratio, responsivity, speed, and bandwidth. Scalability and Performance: Demonstrate the integration potential for compact, high-performance photonic circuits. Hypothesis: Integrating 2D materials with SiPh will improve modulation and detection efficiency in the near-infrared range, addressing fundamental limitations of pure Si devices. Experimental Approach: Device Modelling: Simulate hybrid Si waveguides for strong light-matter interaction using Ansys Lumerical. Material Growth and Integration: Synthesize MoS₂/WSe₂ via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and integrate with Si waveguides. Device Fabrication: Use advanced techniques like electron beam lithography and reactive ion etching to fabricate photonic transceiver. Testing: Assess device performance, including propagation loss, extinction ratio, responsivity, and bandwidth. Significance This project will overcome Si’s inherent limitations, enabling compact, efficient, and scalable photonic transceivers for high-speed optical communication. Combining 2D materials with Si will advance detection efficiency, modulation speed, and thermal stability, fostering innovations in telecommunications, data centers, and photonic computing. By addressing key bottlenecks in SiPh, this work will contribute to the development of miniaturized, energy-efficient photonic networks for future quantum communication.