Silicon photonics prototyping service offered to Canadian network

CMC Microsystems (Kingston, ON, Canada) is now offering a multi-project wafer (MPW) service that enables silicon photonics developers to reduce the cost of prototyping their circuit designs by sharing the costs of a silicon fabrication run. The service is primarily aimed at developers in Canada's National Design Network and is based on the 25G Silicon Photonics platform developed by A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics (IME; Singapore).

The IME silicon photonics platform includes a suite of library elements such as high speed modulators, photodetectors, and passive elements for telecom and datacom applications. “This enhanced service builds on our multi-year relationship with IME, which since 2012 has led to the fabrication of more than 120 designs from research groups and industrial innovators,” says Dan Gale, Vice-President and Chief Technology Officer of CMC.

As part of its offering to clients, CMC’s photonics engineering team can review and provide feedback on new designs. CMC is accepting designs for two upcoming runs in March and October 2016. The company is a not-for-profit corporation that operates, maintains, and manages the facilities of Canada’s National Design Network.

Canada’s National Design Network (NDN) enables multi-disciplinary research and complex prototype microsystems with the potential to be rapidly commercialized. It comprises over 950 faculty members and their collaborators at over 50 post-secondary institutions across Canada, along with over 30 micro-nano technology facilities providing lab processes and equipment at Canadian universities and over 100 international industry partners and suppliers.

Source: CMC Microsystems