This paper outlines the challenges and benefits of applying silicon-based photonic techniques in the 2 to 5 μm midinfrared (MIR) wavelength range for chem.-bio-physical sensing, medical diagnostics, industrial process control, environmental monitoring, secure communications, Ladar, active imaging, and high-speed communications at 2 μm. Onchip passive and active components, mostly waveguided, will enable opto-electronic CMOS or BiCMOS integrated “circuits” for system-on-a-chip applications such as spectroscopy and lab-on-a-chip. Volume manufacture in a silicon foundry is expected to yield low-cost (or even disposable) chips with benefits in size-weight-power and ruggedness. This is “long-wavelength optoelectronic integration on silicon” which we call LIOS. Room temperature operation appears feasible, albeit with performance compromises at 4 to 5 μm. In addition to the electronics layer (which may include RF wireless), a 3-D LIOS chip can include several inter-communicating layers utilizing the photonic, plasmonic, photoniccrystal and opto-electro-mechanical technologies. The LIOS challenge can be met by (1) discovering new physics, (2) employing “new” IV and III-V alloys, (3) scaling-up and modifying telecom components, and (4) applying nonlinearoptical wavelength conversion in some cases. This paper presents proposals for MIR chip spectrometers employing frequency-comb and Ge blackbody sources. Active heterostructures employing Si, Ge, SiGe, GeSn and SiGeSn are key for laser diodes, photodetectors, LEDs, switches, amplifiers, and modulators that provide totally monolithic foundry integration, while numerous III-V semiconductor MIR devices within the InGaAsSb and InGaAsP families offer practical hybrid integration on Si PICs. Interband cascade and quantum cascade lasers on Ge waveguides are important in this context.

Date Published: 14 March 2013
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 8629, Silicon Photonics VIII, 862902 (14 March 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2013769

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8629:
Silicon Photonics VIII
Joel Kubby; Graham T. Reed, Editor(s)