Perspective on the future of silicon photonics and electronics

TLDR

Silicon photonics is rapidly advancing, with multiple foundries producing high‑performance passive and active devices, and its integration with electronics has enabled transceivers exceeding 1.6 Tbps, though electronic systems remain limited by I/O and power at high data rates. Co‑packaged silicon photonics and electronics therefore accelerate progress in both fields and drive further innovation.

Abstract

Silicon photonics is advancing rapidly in performance and capability with multiple fabrication facilities and foundries having advanced passive and active devices, including modulators, photodetectors, and lasers. Integration of photonics with electronics has been key to increasing the speed and aggregate bandwidth of silicon photonics based assemblies, with multiple approaches to achieving transceivers with capacities of 1.6 Tbps and higher. Progress in electronics has been rapid as well, with state-of-the-art chips including switches having many tens of billions of transistors. However, the electronic system performance is often limited by the input/output (I/O) and the power required to drive connections at a speed of tens of Gbps. Fortunately, the convergence of progress in silicon photonics and electronics means that co-packaged silicon photonics and electronics enable the continued progress of both fields and propel further innovation in both.