‘Hybrid chips’ to make the square centimeter even more efficient
Photonics – which involves sending signals using light – may be the solution. But how can photonic chips be combined with today’s electronic chips?
Photonic chips, which operate using light instead of electricity, already exist in various technologies. One is based on silicon, which is the material that forms the basis of today’s semiconductor industry, so theoretically, with existing capabilities, these photonic chips could be mass-produced soon.
“Silicon is a kind of like baked sand,” simplifies full Professor Peter Baltus. “That’s convenient, because the beaches are full of it. And it is an easily manipulated and controlled material with special properties. It can carry or conduct a little bit of current through it, but it can also stop current. So, silicon can act as an insulator at the same time. Half conduct and half insulate, hence the term semiconductors.”
However, an essential aspect of photonic chips is that instead of current (electricity), its light that passes through them. “So, then you are less dependent on semiconductors, but rather mainly on glass fibers. Many people know about glass fibers when it comes to our Internet connections, but in chip production it is still an emerging technology. And we cannot yet replace all the electronic components on current chips to allow light to pass through them,” Baltus says as he outlines the problem.
Silicon, however, still leaves something to be desired regarding its use in photonic chips. For example, you cannot make lasers or light sources in conjunction with silicon.
Indium phosphide, on the other hand, is a material well-suited for use in photonic chips with lasers. However, it is still incompatible with other essential components in chip production. “The possibilities for connection between electronics and photonics are still too limited,” Baltus summarizes simply. “The ideal is to eventually make everything on one chip that has electronic and photonic components on it. But for now, we mainly need to see what the options are to combine different technologies and figure out where we put our money.”
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