CMC and its SiEPIC partner professors offer this legendary Silicon Photonics Fabrication Workshop starting September 10, 2024.
This workshop is more than a single multi-day workshop. It is an experience that spans one year, includes two design-fabricate-test cycles, and takes place both online and in person.
It begins with a three-month of online activities, including theory on
- Waveguides
- Couplers
- Gratings
- Resonators
The first passive design-fabricate-test cycle is on a shared chip fabricated by ANT nanoSOI technology. The students will experience on
- Modelling of passive components
- Device and circuit design
- Mask layout
- Design review, design for fabrication (DFF) and design for test (DFT)
- Data analysis
This is followed by an in-person workshop (Carleton University, Ottawa, January 10 – 12, 2025, location TBD) focusing on
- Advanced passive photonics design
- AI for photonics design and new devices
- Introduction to the second fabrication run of CMC AMF MPW technology
- Mask layout and verification
The design-fabricate-test cycle takes place over the following six to nine months. The students receive fabricated chips of their designs.
The workshop is intended to bring students to the forefront of research and commercialization in silicon photonics. Siemens and Lumerical (now part of the ANSYS family) support this course by providing access arrangements to their tools.
Important Notes:
- To obtain access to ANT and AMF confidential technology information provided during the course and required for fabrication, your organization must either have active Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in place or sign new NDAs prior to the release of the information. Please get in touch with Jessica Zhang to facilitate the NDA execution process.
- Workshop participants will have access to other proprietary and confidential information during the course. Each participant is required to sign an Access to Intellectual Property & Non-Disclosure Agreement. Participants should submit a signed agreement to Sarah Neville prior to registration confirmation.
Pre-requisites
Completion of an undergraduate program in electrical engineering or applied physics.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Location |
| September 10 to December 13, 2024 | N/A | Online lecture: Pre-recorded video lectures, tutorials, and activities |
| January 10 to 12, 2025 | 9:00 am to 6:00 pm | On-site workshop, Ottawa, location TBD |
Registration
The training includes 30-hour lectures, three-month licenses to CAD/simulation tools (see Note), chip fabrication areas on ANT and AMF fabrication runs aggregated by CMC, one-year access to the pre-recorded materials, plus CMC engineering support until tape-outs.
Students from Canadian Universities can earn 3 credits by registering and completing the graduate courses offered by:
- Laval GEL7070 or GEL7071
- UBC ELEC 582
Note: Siemens license imposes access restrictions on non-academic participants. Contact Jessica Zhang for updates.
Training Schedule
- Online lectures, pre-recorded video lectures, tutorials, and activities after registration is confirmed
- ANT fabrication mask layout submission deadline: October 21, 2024
- In Person Passive workshop: January 10 to 12, 2025
- ANT device testing result: February 2025
- AMF fabrication mask layout submission deadline: April 14, 2025
Technology Description
ANT Technology
- Silicon-on-insulator, 220-nm top Si film, 2000-nm buried oxide (BOX)
- Electron beam lithography, enabling features down to 60 nm
- Supports:
- waveguides (strip)
- gratings for fibre coupling
- metal heaters for thermo-optic phase shifting
- deep trench and nano-tapers for edge coupling
- multiplexers, filters, ring and disk resonators
- Fabrication is carried out by Applied Nanotools in Canada. Other capabilities, such as edge couplers, oxide window openings and thermal isolation trenches are available outside of the course through Applied Nanotools
AMF Technology
- Silicon-on-insulator, 220-nm top Si film, 3000-nm buried oxide (BOX)
- High resistivity handle wafer (>750 ohm-cm)
- 193-nm deep UV lithography for waveguides, enabling features down to approximately 140 nm
- Two partial etches and one full etch of the top silicon
- PECVD Silicon Nitride waveguide integration
- 6 implants for optical modulators (P++, P+, P, N++, N+, N)
- Germanium deposition and implanting for photodetectors
- Two metal levels, no planarization
- Front side oxide etch to selectively expose waveguides, e.g. for sensing applications
- Deep trench with etched facets for edge coupling
- Supports design and fabrication of a range of components and systems consisting of:
- modulators
- detectors
- waveguides (strip or ridge)
- gratings for fiber coupling
- deep trench and nano-tapers for edge coupling
- multiplexers (diffraction or arrayed waveguide) and filters (resonators, Bragg gratings)
- ring and disk resonators
Access to Tools
- Siemens– Siemens offers workshop attendees from academic institutions no-cost access to Tanner and Calibre licenses during the workshop and following the workshop, for the purpose of completing their course designs. License access for industrial participants will be reviewed by Siemens (Mentor) on a case-by-case basis.
- ANSYS Lumerical– Lumerical offers workshop attendees no-cost access to Lumerical workshop licenses during the workshop and following the workshop for the purpose of completing their course designs.
