University Of Sydney Develops 'Lego-like' Optoelectronic Chip Architecture

Recently, the University of Sydney Nano Institute (USNI) researchers invented a compact silicon semiconductor chip, which will be electronic components and photonic components integrated together. This new technology greatly expands the radio frequency bandwidth and improves the ability to accurately control the information flowing through the device.
The extended bandwidth means more information can flow through the chip and includes photonics for advanced filter control, creating versatile new semiconductor devices.
The researchers anticipate that the chip will be used in the rollout of advanced radar, satellite systems, wireless networks, and 6G and 7G telecommunications, and opens the door to advanced autonomous manufacturing. It could also help establish high-tech value-added factories in places such as Western Sydney's Aerotropolis.
The chip uses an emerging silicon photonics technology that can integrate multiple systems on semiconductors less than 5 millimeters wide. Vice-Chancellor Professor Ben Eggleton, who directed the research team, likened it to assembling Legos, using small electronic chips to integrate new materials through advanced component packaging.
Research into the invention has been published in Nature Communications.
Dr. Alvaro Casas Bedoya, associate director of Photonic Integration in the School of Physics, who led the chip design, said the unique approach to heterogeneous material integration has been in the works for 10 years.
The use of overseas semiconductor foundries to manufacture the basic chip wafers, coupled with local research infrastructure and manufacturing, was critical to the development of such photonic integrated circuits," he said. This architecture means that Australia can develop its own in-house chip manufacturing without having to rely entirely on international foundries for value-added processes."
Professor Eggleton emphasized that most of the items on the Australian Government's list of key technologies of national interest rely on semiconductors. He claimed that the invention means Sydney Nano's work fits well with initiatives such as the NSW Government-sponsored Semiconductor Sector Services Bureau (S3B) in Australia, which aims to develop the local semiconductor ecosystem.
Dr. Nadia Court, Director of S3B, commented, "This work is consistent with our mission to drive semiconductor technology forward and holds great promise for the future of semiconductor innovation in Australia. This result strengthens local strengths in research and design at a critical time of increased global interest and investment in the sector."
The integrated circuit was designed in collaboration with scientists from the Australian National University and built in a clean room at the core research facility of the University of Sydney's Centre for Nanoscience, a purpose-built A$150 million (US$100 million / €92 million) building with advanced lithography and deposition equipment.
The photonic circuits in the chip, which will be used to create a device with a tunable frequency with a bandwidth of 15 gigahertz, with a spectral resolution down to just 37 MHz, less than a quarter of the total bandwidth, Professor Eggleton said, "Led by our PhD student Matthew Garrett, this invention is a microwave photonics and integrated photonics research significant advances."
"Microwave photonic filters play a vital role in modern communications and radar applications, providing the flexibility to precisely filter different frequencies, reducing electromagnetic interference and improving signal quality. Our innovative approach to integrating advanced functionality into semiconductor chips, particularly the heterogeneous integration of sulfur-based glass with silicon, has the potential to reshape the local semiconductor landscape."
Co-author and senior researcher Dr. Moritz Merklein said, "This work paves the way for a new generation of compact, high-resolution RF photonic filters with broadband frequency tunability, which is particularly beneficial for airborne and spaceborne RF communication payloads, opening up possibilities for enhanced communication and sensing capabilities."