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NEW SINGLE-
CHIP MICROWAVE FIRST 2D COMPUTER CHALLENGES
PHOTONICS SYSTEM DOMINANCE OF SILICON
The Photonics Research Group and IDlab, two silicon photonics platform, which includes low-loss Researchers at Penn State University have, for First Author Subir Ghosh adds:
imec research groups at Ghent University, have waveguides and passive components, high-speed the first time, used 2D materials to develop a
“Our 2D CMOS computer operates at low-supply
developed, with the help of imec itself, a fully modulators and detectors, and thermo-optic phase complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
voltages with minimal power consumption and
integrated single-chip microwave photonics shifters for tuning the optical response. An indium (CMOS) without reliance on silicon. can perform simple logic operations at frequencies
system that combines optical and microwave phosphide optical amplifier is incorporated on the
Two different 2D materials were used to develop both up to 25 kilohertz.
signal processing on a single silicon chip. chip to provide an integrated light source, achieved types of transistors needed to control the electric
as a result of a microtransfer-printing process We also developed a computational model,
The chip integrates high-speed modulators, current flow, namely molybdenum disulphide for the
developed by the Photonics Research Group. In calibrated using experimental data and
optical filters, photodetectors and transfer-printed n-type transistors and tungsten diselenide for the incorporating variations between devices, to
combination with on-chip tuneable filter circuits,
lasers, making it a compact, self-contained and p-type transistors. project the performance of our 2D CMOS computer
this allows the optical amplifier to function also as a
programmable solution for high-frequency signal and benchmark it against state-of-the-art silicon
tuneable laser. Metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD),
processing. This enables bulky and power-hungry technology. Although there remains scope for
a fabrication process that involves vapourising
components to be potentially replaced, allowing for Wim Bogaerts, Professor at the Photonics Research further optimisation, this work marks a significant
ingredients, was used to force a chemical reaction
faster wireless networks, low-cost microwave sensing Group, states: milestone in harnessing 2D materials to advance
and deposit the products onto a substrate so as to
and scalable deployment in applications such as the field of electronics”.
“The ability to integrate all essential microwave grow large sheets of molybdenum disulphide and
5G/6G, satellite communications and radar systems.
photonics components on a single chip marks a tungsten diselenide and fabricate over a thousand of
Modern communications rely on high-speed fibre- major step toward scalable and energy efficient each transistor type. Reference: Gittins, C., Electronic Specifier, 15th. June
optic links and wireless radio-frequency microwave high-frequency signal processing. By eliminating
transmission, but with increasing demand for higher bulky external components, this technology By carefully tuning the device fabrication and
data rates and operation at higher frequencies, the paves the way for more compact, cost-effective post-processing steps, it was possible to adjust
need for tighter integration between these to offset solutions in next-generation wireless networks and the threshold voltages of both the n-type and
signal processing complexity, high transmission advanced sensing systems”. p-type transistors to enable the construction of fully
losses and power-hungry electronics is greater than functional CMOS logic circuits.
ever Reference: Miles, S., ‘imec and Ghent unveil Single-chip Microwave Saptarshi Das, Ackley Professor of Engineering and
Photonics System’, Electronic Specifier, 5th. June
Microwave photonics has been identified as a Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at
promising solution with optical technology deployed Penn State University, says:
to process high-frequency signals with lower loss, “We have demonstrated, for the first time, a
higher bandwidth and improved energy efficiency. CMOS computer built entirely from 2D materials,
Most present-day systems, however, still rely on combining large area grown molybdenum
bulky fibre-based architectures that have limited disulphide and tungsten diselenide transistors.
scalability.
We expect that the development of 2D material
The new system deploys a novel combination of a computers is going to be a gradual process, but
reconfigurable modulator and a programmable this is a leap forward compared to the trajectory of
optical filter that enables efficient modulation and silicon”.
filtering of microwave signals while significantly
reducing signal loss.
The chip is built on imec’s standard iSiPP50G
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