Group IV Photonics: Towards Carbon Nanotube Photonics

Photonics, i.e., the use of optics to overcome intrinsic limitations of metallic interconnects in microelectronic circuits, is more and more considered as a viable solution. Carbon nanotubes are promising candidate for photonics, due to their ability to emit, modulate and detect light in the wavelength range of silicon transparency. We will first underline use of carbon nanotube for photonics, and the way to select a suitable nanotube in the 1.3 μm range. We will then report the observation of optical gain in carbon nanotube at 1.3 μm and the integration of carbon nanotubes with an optical waveguide, leading to the successfull coupling of their absorption and emission properties. This leds to demonstration of the temperature independent emission from carbon nanotubes in silicon at a wavelength of 1.3 μm.