DIMENSION tackles silicon photonics’ laser shortfall

Ambitious European project seeks to combine lasers, electronics and photonics, all on one chip

Several companies and research institutes, part of a European project, are developing a silicon photonics process that combines on-chip electronics and lasers. Dubbed Dimension (Directly Modulated Lasers on Silicon), the silicon photonics project is part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

 The Dimension process showing the passive photonics, dielectric material, BiCMOS circuitry, and the on-chip lasers and modulators. The indium phosphide material is shown in red. Source: Dimension.

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Former Compass Networks staff look to silicon photonics

The Compass Networks team that designed a novel chip with optical input-output is exploring new opportunities now that the IP core router venture has closed it doors. 

The team plans to develop chips using silicon photonics for input-output and is involved in a European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 project dubbed L3Matrix that will make such a chip for the data centre. 

Kobi HasharoniCompass Network was the first company to sell a commercial product - an IP core router - that used an ASIC co-packaged with optics. The IP router was sold to several leading service providers including NTT Communications and Comcast but the venture ultimately failed.

Compass Networks has now become a software company, while its chip R&D team decided to spin off to keep the co-packaged IC and photonics technology alive. 

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