Research summary
Silicon photonics uses silicon-based materials and semiconductor fabrication processes developed for microelectronic chips to create photonic integrated circuits. It holds great promise for large-scale electro-optic integration on a microchip and is particularly suited for applications that require a large variety of components. As Canada Research Chair in Silicon Photonics, Dr. Wei Shi is scaling the bandwidth and complexity of integrated photonic systems on a silicon microchip.
He and his research team are developing devices, design and analysis methodologies, and integration techniques that will allow them to transmit bits via photons (data via light, in other words) at distances ranging from intra-microprocessor to cross-continent—all while maximizing bandwidth and minimizing energy consumption. Shi’s research will also pave the way toward novel applications, such as high-performance, chip-scale 3D imaging sensors and light detection and ranging (LiDAR)—a remote sensing technology for measuring distances to objects on the Earth’s surface.