Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Increasing demand for communications calls for optical networks that are even more ubiquitous than they are today. Achieving this goal will require integrated photonic and electronic devices and systems that are low cost, small sized and high bandwidth. Such devices will then enable optics to penetrate further into important communication networks: fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), local and wide area networks (LAN, WAN), machine-to-machine connectivity, and wireless signal distribution. Eventually, these devices will find their way into emerging areas where optical interfaces are required: backplane communications (e.g. between CPU and memory) and inter-chip communication (e.g. between the multiple CPU cores). These applications require the development of low-cost semiconductor laser transmitters with much higher performance (>40 GHz operation) than presently available. The proposed work is a response to this need. This project aims to develop a revolutionary semiconductor laser transmitter technology, based on the homogeneous integration of photonics and electronics. The new device, a TX-VCSEL (Transistor-Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser), consists of a Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor (HBT) and a Vertical Cavity Laser (VCSEL). We will model and design TX-VCSELs, fabricate 980 nm and 1310 nm TX-VCSELs, and develop high-speed driver electronics and packaging. The TX-VCSEL will be integrated with driver electronics, resulting in a very small and a very high frequency optical transmitter to increase optical communications network capacity and enable new network-intensive applications. Integrating very high frequency digitally modulated VCSELs to CMOS will have a dramatic impact in the high-performance microprocessor world, removing the electrical interconnect bottlenecks. It will enable the next generation supercomputers, and hundreds of VCSELs may one day be present in home personal computers. The technology to be developed will benefit Canadian industry by enabling new applications and higher data throughput, thus enhancing Canada's role as a world leader in optical communication technology.