State of the art Sensing Techniques using Silicon Photonics

Abstract

Copper wires were replaced by optical technology; photons came forward as a replacement for electrons to transfer signals or data. The future of next generation communication techniques rely on speed, power and bandwidth of the systems. With rapid advancement in technology most of the systems use high speed data transfer methods .Optics can be explored to achieve high speed data transfer by integrating optical components with the silicon chips. With the advancement of silicon photonics the future of IC industry will be revolutionized. Compatibility of silicon photonics with the existing CMOS fabrication technology can be utilized to offer advantages, such as low cost, high volume integration etc. The application of silicon photonics in sensing is gaining popularity nowadays. This paper presents a comprehensive review of different types of silicon photonics based sensors.