There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

An object is to provide a semiconductor device of which a manufacturing process is not complicated and by which cost can be suppressed, by forming a thin film transistor using an oxide semiconductor film typified by zinc oxide, and a manufacturing method thereof. For the semiconductor device, a gate electrode is formed over a substrate; a gate insulating film is formed covering the gate electrode; an oxide semiconductor film is formed over the gate insulating film; and a first conductive film and a second conductive film are formed over the oxide semiconductor film. The oxide semiconductor film has at least a crystallized region in a channel region.

Semiconductor device, and manufacturing method thereof

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are considered as the way to make photonic systems or subsystems cheap and ubiquitous. PICs still are several orders of magnitude more expensive than their microelectronic counterparts, which has restricted their application to a few niche markets. Recently, a novel approach in photonic integration is emerging which will reduce the R&D and prototyping costs and the throughput time of PICs by more than an order of magnitude. It will bring the application of PICs that integrate complex and advanced photonic functionality on a single chip within reach for a large number of small and larger companies and initiate a breakthrough in the application of Photonic ICs. The paper explains the concept of generic photonic integration technology using the technology developed by the COBRA research institute of TU Eindhoven as an example, and it describes the current status and prospects of generic InP-based integration technology.

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An introduction to InP-based generic integration technology

This Review Article provides an overview of chaos in laser diodes by surveying experimental achievements in the area and explaining the theory behind the phenomenon. The fundamental physics underpinning laser diode chaos and also the opportunities for harnessing it for potential applications are discussed. The availability and ease of operation of laser diodes, in a wide range of configurations, make them a convenient testbed for exploring basic aspects of nonlinear and chaotic dynamics. It also makes them attractive for practical tasks, such as chaos-based secure communications and random number generation. Avenues for future research and development of chaotic laser diodes are also identified.

Physics and applications of laser diode chaos

A review of the complexity development of InP-based Photonic ICs is given. Similarities and differences between photonic and microelectronic integration technology are discussed and a vision of the development of photonic integration in the coming decade is given.

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Moore's law in photonics

The state-of-the-art of the development and fabrication of advanced 1.55-mum/40-GHz pulse laser modules with a monolithic InP-based mode-locked distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) MQW laser chip inside is reported, with respect to the future applications in high-speed optical communications. We emphasize the latest improvements for hybrid mode-locked devices, which integrate a saturable absorber or an electroabsorption modulator. We further illustrate different technical approaches that enable meeting predetermined frequencies and wavelengths, and which are at the same time promising with respect to high fabrication yields

Monolithic 40-GHz Mode-Locked MQW DBR Lasers for High-Speed Optical Communication Systems

We study both theoretically and experimentally typical operation regimes of 40 GHz monolithic mode-locked lasers. The underlying Traveling Wave Equation model reveals quantitative agreement for characteristics of the fundamental mode-locking as pulse width and repetition frequency tuning, as well as qualitative agreement with the experiments for other dynamic regimes. Especially the appearance of stable harmonic mode-locking at 80 GHz has been predicted theoretically and confirmed by measurements. Furthermore, we derive and apply a simplified Delay-Differential-Equation model which guides us to a qualitative analysis of bifurcations responsible for the appearance and the breakup of different mode-locking regimes. Higher harmonics of mode-locking are predicted by this model as well.

40 GHz Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers: Theory, Simulations and Experiment

Experiments on the optical generation and transmission of millimeter-wave radio signals are reported. The millimeter-wave signals are generated by heterodyning the optical spectral lines of a mode-locked laser (MLL) or of two or more semiconductor lasers at an optic/millimeter-wave converter (OMC). 70-, 140-, and 155-Mb/s data transmission experiments have been carried out successfully in optical single-channel and multichannel systems at radio frequencies of 12 GHz and 58-70 GHz. Bit-error-rate measurements yielded error-free transmission and no error floor was observed. A monolithically integrated tunable optical-signal source was developed and used for generating the millimeter-wave signals. This technology promises a high cost-saving potential for applications in radio-over-fiber systems.

Optical microwave generation and transmission experiments in the 12- and 60-GHz region for wireless communications

We demonstrate 100 GBd operation of an optical transmitter module including a distributed feedback laser monolithically integrated with a Mach–Zehnder modulator (DFB-MZM), to the best of our knowledge for the first time. Combining high-speed optics and electronics with digital signal processing (DSP), different schemes for intensity modulation and direct detection at 100, 200, and 300 Gbit/s are analyzed, using electrical signals from a 100 GSa/s BiCMOS DAC. Due to close-to-zero transmitter chirp, 100 Gbit/s NRZ transmission over 1.8 km and 200 Gbit/s PAM4 transmission over 1.2 km at 1550 nm with a bit error rate (BER) below the 7% overhead forward error correction (FEC) threshold (3.8 × 10−3) is achieved. At 200 Gbit/s PAM4, the DFB-MZM module consumes only 0.85 pJ/bit, making it a promising device for attractive dual-lane 400 Gbit/s systems. We also achieve 300 Gbit/s PAM8 transmission over 1.2 km with a BER below the 20% overhead FEC threshold (1.9 × 10−2) by implementing advanced DSP based on a pattern-dependent lookup table to mitigate the electrical and optical device bandwidth limitations.

100 GBd Intensity Modulation and Direct Detection With an InP-Based Monolithic DFB Laser Mach–Zehnder Modulator

An InGaAs PIN photodiode was vertically integrated with an inverted optical rib waveguide in InGaAsP. Guided light was transferred to and absorbed by the photodiode at a rate of 0.07dB/?m. For detectors with sufficient length (>300?m) a responsivity of 0.81 A/W was achieved at 1.3 ?m wave-length.

Ronald Kaiser

Papers

Monolithic 40-GHz Mode-Locked MQW DBR Lasers for High-Speed Optical Communication Systems

40 GHz Mode-Locked Semiconductor Lasers: Theory, Simulations and Experiment

Optical microwave generation and transmission experiments in the 12- and 60-GHz region for wireless communications

100 GBd Intensity Modulation and Direct Detection With an InP-Based Monolithic DFB Laser Mach–Zehnder Modulator

Waveguide-integrated pin photodiode on InP