Revolutionary silicon photodetector（Si photodetector）
Revolutionary all-silicon photodetector（Si photodetector）, performance beyond the traditional
With the increasing complexity of artificial intelligence models and deep neural networks, computing clusters put higher demands on network communication between processors, memory and compute nodes. However, traditional on-chip and inter-chip networks based on electrical connections have been unable to meet the growing demand for bandwidth, latency and power consumption. In order to solve this bottleneck, optical interconnection technology with its long transmission distance, fast speed, high energy efficiency advantages, gradually become the hope of future development. Among them, silicon photonic technology based on CMOS process shows great potential due to its high integration, low cost and processing accuracy. However, the realization of high-performance photodetectors still faces many challenges. Typically, photodetectors need to integrate materials with a narrow band gap, such as germanium (Ge), to improve detection performance, but this also leads to more complex manufacturing processes, higher costs, and erratic yields. The all-silicon photodetector developed by the research team achieved a data transmission speed of 160 Gb/s per channel without the use of germanium, with a total transmission bandwidth of 1.28 Tb/s, through an innovative dual-microring resonator design.
Recently, a joint research team in the United States has published an innovative study, announcing that they have successfully developed an all-silicon avalanche photodiode (APD photodetector) chip. This chip has ultra-high speed and low-cost photoelectric interface function, which is expected to achieve more than 3.2 Tb per second data transfer in future optical networks.
Technical breakthrough: double microring resonator design
Traditional photodetectors often have irreconcilable contradictions between bandwidth and responsiveness. The research team successfully alleviated this contradiction by using a double-microring resonator design and effectively suppressed cross-talk between channels. Experimental results show that the all-silicon photodetector has A response of 0.4 A/W, a dark current as low as 1 nA, a high bandwidth of 40 GHz, and an extremely low electrical crosstalk of less than −50 dB. This performance is comparable to current commercial photodetectors based on silicon-germanium and III-V materials.
Looking to the future: The Path to innovation in optical networks
The successful development of the all-silicon photodetector not only surpassed the traditional solution in technology, but also achieved a savings of about 40% in cost, paving the way for the realization of high-speed, low-cost optical networks in the future. The technology is fully compatible with existing CMOS processes, has extremely high yield and yield, and is expected to become a standard component in the field of silicon photonics technology in the future. In the future, the research team plans to continue to optimize the design to further improve the absorption rate and bandwidth performance of the photodetector by reducing doping concentrations and improving implantation conditions. At the same time, the research will also explore how this all-silicon technology can be applied to optical networks in next-generation AI clusters to achieve higher bandwidth, scalability and energy efficiency.
Post time: Mar-31-2025