PLASMOfab

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Integrated photonic biosensors for superior blood diagnostics at the point of care.

The future of CMOS-based PIC technology with plasmonics Researchers in the PLASMOfab project are leveraging plasmonics to co-develop extraordinary photonic components and electronics in a single manufacturing process. This could not only open up new functionalities and opportunities in the medical, communications and consumer sectors, but also help to reduce the cost of manufacturing photonic components, as Dr Dimitris Tsiokos explains. The demand for photonic components for use across a wide variety of devices continues to rise, yet mass manufacturing photonic integrated circuits (PICs) remains a major challenge. While over the last three decades the development of innovative technologies has supported the growth of the electronics industry, there is not yet an effective integration platform that can support mass manufacturing of multifunctional photonic components, a topic central to the work of the PLASMOfab project. “We need to achieve something similar in photonics to what’s happened with electronics. At the same time, we want to effectively merge photonics and electronics, so that we can look to reap the benefits of both technologies,” outlines Dr Dimitris Tsiokos from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the coordinating partner of the project. The motivation behind the project’s work is to develop technologies that will enhance the performance of photonic components and systems. “We’re developing new integration technology, that will exploit plasmonics in the crossroad of photonics and electronics in a common manufacturing line. This will, in parallel, reduce the cost of manufacturing multi-functional and high performance devices,” explains Dr Tsiokos. Integrated approach This more integrated approach is built on optical and electrical nanostructures, that can be used to manufacture both electronic and photonic components in a single process.

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Plasmonic modulator integrated with electronics in a 100 Gbps optical data transmitter.

This is designed to be compatible with CMOS, the basic process used to manufacture most commercial electronics. “The majority of the chips in laptops, mobile phones and other commercially available electronic appliances, use the CMOS process. We want to develop a technology that will eventually be adopted by CMOS manufacturing lines,” says Dr Tsiokos. Combining plasmonics, photonics and electronics will extend the frontiers of integration technology, also widening the functional portfolio of these circuits, says Dr Tsiokos. “On the one hand we open up new functionalities and we boost performance by using plasmonics, in combination with the more commonly used photonics and electronics circuits. At the same time, we also use CMOS-compatible, mass manufacturing equipment, to reduce the cost,” he outlines. “We want to increase the functionality and at the same time reduce the cost. We’re trying to demonstrate this by using plasmonics as a bridging technology, that can effectively complement photonics and electronics.” The underlying principle here is that

plasmonic waveguides can confine light into very small dimensions (nano-scale), even smaller than photonic waveguides can, giving them unique light-matter interaction capabilities and chip-scale functionalities. This means the dimensions of optical components can be further reduced, an important issue when increased chip integration density and energy efficiency are targeted. “In some cases, plasmonic waveguides may even perform a dual function and simultaneously carry both optical and electrical signals, giving rise to exciting new capabilities,” says Dr Tsiokos. “We aim to show that PLASMOfab technology can be used to increase the rate at which information is generated and transferred in cables, computer boards or even within processor chips, at low power and low cost.” This represents quite a radical approach to developing photonics and electronics devices, yet at the same time Dr Tsiokos is keen to stress that it does not require significant investment. Millions have been invested over the last few decades in new electronics manufacturing technology; Dr Tsiokos says the project aims to build on these foundations. “We want to make sure that we can use already existing facilities, to advance photonics in parallel with electronics,” he explains. Researchers are working to demonstrate how this integration technology can improve two main market applications. “One is medical diagnostics, and the other is optical communications for data centers, both growing markets,” continues Dr Tsiokos. “We chose very basic components to demonstrate

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