Silicon Photonics: A New Hardware Device
Group 6
Chastity Byford, Celisha McGhee, Doug Tistle, Karla Tyler
Key Words: Silicon, Photonics, Photon, Modulator, Laser
Today’s computers still consist of copper wires and electrons, but with all of the advancements in technology and the expectations of users, copper is nearing its capability limit. Researchers are working on a solution that will be able to keep up with the speed of emerging computers. Silicon photonics is the newest form of transferring data in a computer. It is hardware that sends information through beams of light. Silicon photonics will benefit businesses by leading to faster processing, smaller devices, and cheaper products.
Silicon is a chemical element that is widely used as a
semiconductor. Photonics is the science and technology of light and a photon is
a quantum of light energy. Researchers at the
Silicon has the ability to confine and route light. However, it is not naturally a good light emitter. To improve light emission, the researchers combined the silicon with a material call indium phosphide which boosts the emission of light. Since silicon and indium phosphide don’t naturally bond together, researchers bond them together with a “glass glue” that is only 25 atoms thick. A cavity is etched in the silicon and bonded with the indium phosphide. Then metal contacts are connected to the indium phosphide and an electric current is applied. Negative and positive particles combine with the indium phosphide and produce photons when the current is turned on. The photons are confined and concentrated in the silicon cavity which produces a beam of light.
Another silicon photonics device that researchers are working on is a silicon modulator. A modulator is a device that processes various periodic waveforms to use that signal to transmit a message. A silicon modulator can encode data at 30 gigabits per second. With this modulator, it is possible to make faster computers that produce less heat and includes photonic chips. This fabrication could also be part of a chip made entirely out of silicon photons that may be used in fiber optic networks. The makeup of the silicon modulator is relatively simple. It contains a diode which is a component that allows electric current to flow in only one direction. Light goes through the modulator at one end and splits into two beams. Both beams go through silicon diodes. When the electrical current is applied to the diodes, they alter the position of the light wave. This position alteration encodes data which represents a 1 or a 0. By changing the chemical makeup of the diodes slightly, it is expected that the modulator will extend to 40 gigabits, which is the rate of commercial non-silicon modulators.
These new silicon photonic devices are going to be very beneficial to businesses. Having light-wave communication between components on the same chip would speed information gathering and interactions up to speed of light. Faster processing means more information can be processed. A knowledge worker can make better business decisions when supplied with more information. Smaller devices with more capabilities would make m-commerce and e-commerce more efficient. Silicon devices are easy to mass-produce and fairly inexpensive, which could lead to a cheaper cost of bandwidth because it would replace more expensive network hardware. Reducing the IT expense would lead to a higher profit margin.
Silicon photonics is an emerging way to speed up computers. Silicon-based lasers and modulators will benefit anyone using them by processing faster, reducing in size, and being cheaper that current products. All of this can happen with the second most abundant element on Earth.
References
Greene, Kate. (2005). Most Important Infotech
Stories of '05. Technology Review. Retrieved
Greene, Kate. (2006). Bringing Light to Silicon. Technology Review. Retrieved January 31,
2007, from http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=moores&id=17519
Greene, Kate. (2007). Intel Speeds Up Silicon Photonics. Technology Review. Retrieved
RP Photonics Consulting .Retrieved
Technology Review. (2005). 10 Emerging Technologies. Technology
Review. Retrieved
(2006). Breakthrough In Silicon
Photonics Devices. Science Daily. Retrieved
Silicon Photonics: A New Hardware Device
Group 6
|
1. |
What is silicon
photonics? |
|
A. |
the newest form of transferring
data in a computer |
|
B. |
It is hardware that sends
information through beams of light |
|
C. |
A solution that will be able to
keep up with the speed of emerging computers |
|
D. |
All
the above |
|
2. |
Who began working on
silicon photonics and came up with the first silicon laser in the fall of 2004? |
|
A. |
The company Intel |
|
B. |
|
|
C. |
Researchers at the |
|
D. |
Both A and
B |
|
1. 3.3. 3. |
Adding these lasers to microprocessors is advantageous
because……… |
|
A
|
It will allow information to be
sent through fibers by encoding the data in light at a speed of gigabytes per
second. |
|
B. |
The silicon-based laser can be made using the same manufacturing equipment that is used in making the microprocessors. |
|
C. |
Neither
A or B |
|
D. |
A
and B |
|
4. |
What did researchers do to
improve light emission? |
|
A. |
They denatured
the elements |
|
B. |
They combined the silicon with a
material called indium phosphide |
|
C. |
They combined the silicon with a
material called carbon dioxide |
|
D. |
The
combined silicon with photosynthetic organisms |
|
5. |
What’s another silicon
photonics device that researchers are working on? |
|
A. |
A
silicon radio |
|
B. |
A
silicon Nintendo |
|
C. |
A
silicon modulator |
|
D. |
A
silicon transistor |
|
6. |
When the diodes in a silicon
modulator alter the light waves, what is produced? |
|
A. |
A’s
and B’s |
|
B. |
1’s
and 0’s |
|
C. |
+’s
and –‘s |
|
D. |
<’s
and >’s |
|
7. |
Reducing the IT expense due to silicon photonic technology
would lead businesses to…….. |
|
A. |
Loss
wages |
|
B. |
A higher profit margin |
|
C. |
A
decrease in stock |
|
D. |
A
lower profit margin |