Workshop Overview
In partnership with the SiEPIC and NSERC CREATE NUCLEUS program, along with FABrIC — a project funded by the Government of Canada and managed by CMC Microsystems, CMC is offering this legendary Silicon photonics workshop again at UBC, Vancouver.
This in-person workshop will teach participants how to design, simulate, fabricate, and test photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The participants’ designs will be fabricated using Applied NanoTools (ANT) Si Photonics technologies, available through CMC Microsystems.
Built for
- Final-year undergraduate students in electronics and applied physics.
- MSc/PhD students building up skills in Photonics research and industry.
- Industry professionals seeking structured upskilling in Photonics design and fabrication
Important Notes
- Training participants will have access to other proprietary and confidential information during the event; each participant is required to agree to the terms of the Access to Intellectual Property & Non-Disclosure Agreement at the time of registration.
- To obtain access to ANT confidential technology provided during the course and required for fabrication, your organization is required to either have active Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) in place or to sign new Non-Disclosure Agreements prior to the release of the information. Please contact Jessica Zhang to facilitate the NDA execution process.
Prerequisites
Completion of an undergraduate program in electrical engineering or applied physics.
What You Will Learn
- Understand the complete flow of fabricating a Silicon Photonics chip
- Photonics design principles, simulation and corner analysis using commercial design tools
- Layout planning and execution for a fab-ready tape-out to a commercial foundry
- Fabricate a Photonics chip
- Validate the Photonics design through test and data analysis
Topics Covered
- Six-month training in passive silicon photonics device and circuit design, fabrication, and testing,
- Five-day in-person workshop.
- Optional one more day lecture on photonics theory
- Three-month license to sponsor CAD/simulation tools for the purpose of complete designs
- Year-long access to the SiEPIC learning repository enabled after registration is confirmed
- One chip fabrication on either Si or SiNx ANT Technology aggregated by CMC
- CMC support until chips are delivered
- Graduate course GEL7070 and GEL7071 credited by Laval University
- Graduate course ELEC582 credited by UBC
Training Schedule
Format | Content | Timeline |
Self-paced study | SiEPIC online repository | Apon registration is confirmed |
In-Person | Optional lectures on Photonics theory | Sun, Jan. 3, 2027 — 9:00–15:00 PT |
In-Person | Lectures, Tutorials, ANT technologies, Mini-projects and Presentations on advanced topics in Photonics | Mon, Jan. 4 – Fri Jan. 8, 2027 – 9:00 – 18:00 PT |
Self-paced design | Develop skills on CAD tools including Lumerical, Luceda, K-layout, GDSFactory | Mon, Jan. 11 – Feb. 28, 2027 |
Self-paced layout | Layout design and verification using ANT PDK and DRC on its design center | Feb. 1 – March, 2027 tape-out day TBD |
Self-paced | Chip delivery, test and data analysis | Jun. 2027 and onward |
Self-paced | Final report for the purpose of completing the graduate courses offered by Laval and UBC | July, 2027 |
Outcomes
Execute an end-to-end Photonics chip from design till validation
Equipment Requirements
- Windows, macOS, or Linux laptop
- Power adapter for full-day training