CMC microsystems, SiEPIC and NUCLEUS programs are offering the legendary annual Passive Silicon Photonics Fabrication Workshop 2025.
This workshop is more than a single multi-day workshop. It is an experience that spans one year, including a design-fabricate-test cycle in building Silicon Photonics chips on Silicon and Silicon Nitride SOI technologies provided by Applied NanoTools, Alberta, Canada.
The design-fabricate-test cycle takes place over the following six months. The students analyze the test data and submit the final report.
The workshop is intended to bring students to the forefront of research and commercialization in silicon photonics. Lumerical (now part of the ANSYS family) and Luceda Photonics are supporting this workshop by providing access arrangements to their tools.
Important Notes:
- To obtain access to ANT confidential technology information 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 (zhang@cmc.ca) 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 (Neville@cmc.ca) prior to confirmation of registration.
Pre-Requisites
Completion of an undergraduate program in electrical engineering or applied physics.
Students from the provinces of BC and Quebec could earn three credits by registering and completing the following graduate courses:
- GEL7070 or GEL7071, from Laval university
- ELEC 582, from UBC
For more information, contact Professor Lukas Chrostowski (UBC) or Professor Wei Shi (Laval University).
Content
The training includes 30-hour lectures, three-month licenses to CAD/simulation tools, chip fabrication areas on ANT fabrication runs aggregated by CMC, one-year access to the SiEPIC repository, CMC engineering support until tape-outs, and UBC automatic test on the fabricated chips.
You will start with an online self-paced study from the SiEPIC repository. The material covers the theory and simulation on:
- Waveguides,
- Couplers,
- Gratings, and
- Resonators.
The in-person workshop will follow, and it focuses on:
- Advanced passive photonics device and circuit design,
- AI for photonics design and new devices,
- Introduction to ANT nanoSOI technology,
- Mask layout and verification,
- Design review, design for fabrication (DFF) and design for test (DFT), and
- Corner analysis and data analysis.
Training Schedule
- Access the online repository after registration is confirmed. Self-paced learning from pre-recorded video lectures, tutorials, and activities
- In Person Passive workshop: November 20 to 24, 2025
- ANT Si SOI fabrication mask layout submission deadline: February 23, 2026
- ANT SiNx SOI fabrication mask layout submission deadline: March 9, 2026
- Analyze test data on the design, submit final report
Technology Description
ANT Technology
- Silicon-on-insulator, 220-nm top Si film, 2000-nm buried oxide (BOX)
- Silicon nitride on silicon-on-insulator, 400-nm top SiNx film, 4.5 µm BOX layer
- Electron beam lithography, enabling features down to 60 nm
- Supports:
- waveguides (strip)
- gratings for fiber 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 (ANT) in Canada. Other capabilities, such as edge couplers, oxide window openings and thermal isolation trenches are available outside of the workshop through Applied Nanotools
- Separate chips from the workshop can be fabricated and delivered with additional fee. Contact zhang@cmc.ca for more information
Access to Tools
- 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.
- Luceda Photonics – Luceda offers workshop attendees no-cost access to Python based ipkiss during the workshop. CMC subscribers can continue to access the license through CMC CADPass system.
Travel and Accommodations
On campus:
- University of Alberta Lister Conference Centre: The room rate is $129 per night.
- Campus Tower Suite Hotel: University of Alberta discount rate $155 – $181 per night
Off campus:
The best places are hotels in downtown that have a good LRT connection to the University of Alberta campus.