BACKGROUND:  As the demand for bandwidth continues to increase, it will be necessary to deploy low cost optical communication links that are closer to the end user than ever before. Furthermore, as silicon VLSI circuits achieve ever higher data rates, system performance will eventually be limited by standard low-speed chip-to-chip interconnect. Electro-absorption (EA) modulators are key components in optical networks and have recently been considered as solutions to the problem of chip-to-chip interconnect. However, EA modulators are traditionally fabricated in expensive III-V technologies, making them unsuitable for low cost optical systems or for the interconnection of silicon VLSI circuits. Therefore, a silicon based EA modulator, like the one disclosed here, offers significant benefits over traditional III-V EA modulators.

INNOVATION:  The invention discloses an EA modulator with semiconductor quantum dots in a vertical cavity that consists of two Photonic Band Gap structures that can easily be fabricated during the back end of the process in conventional Si CMOS fabrication facilities.

POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS 

• High-speed chip-to-chip interconnects for silicon VLSI circuits
• Low cost, silicon based, optical communication devices

ADVANTAGES

• Lower cost compared to traditional III-V EA modulators
• Ease of fabrication
• Enables higher integration of components used in optical networks
• Allows for high-speed chip-to-chip interconnect for systems that use silicon VLSI circuits

DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:  The invention has yet to be physically proven but the underlying physical process has been experimentally demonstrated.

Reference: UCLA Case No. 2003-155

PCT Published App: WO/2006/113725