Physics to System-level Modeling of Silicon-organic-hybrid Nanophotonic Devices

TL;DR

This paper introduces a comprehensive, physics-to-system-level simulation methodology for silicon-organic-hybrid nanophotonic devices, enabling accurate, scalable, and EDA-compatible modeling for large-scale photonic integrated circuits.

Contribution

It presents the first comprehensive, EDA-compatible modeling approach for SOH devices, bridging physics and system-level design for silicon photonics.

Findings

Validated against experimental data for various modulators

Demonstrated scalability for large systems

Showcased design of a 3-channel wavelength-division multiplexer

Abstract

The continuous growth in data volume has sparked interest in silicon-organic-hybrid nanophotonic devices integrated into silicon photonic integrated circuits (PICs). SOH devices offer improved speed and energy efficiency compared to silicon photonics devices. However, a comprehensive and accurate modeling methodology of SOH devices is lacking. While some preliminary modeling approaches for SOH devices exist, their reliance on theoretical and numerical methodologies, along with a lack of compatibility with electronic design automation (EDA), hinders their seamless and rapid integration with silicon PICs. Here, we develop a phenomenological, building-block-based SOH PICs simulation methodology spanning from the physics to the system level, offering high accuracy, comprehensiveness, and EDA-style compatibility. Our model is also readily integrable and scalable, lending itself to the design of large-scale silicon PICs. Our proposed modeling methodology is agnostic and compatible with any photonics-electronics co-simulation software. We validate this methodology by comparing experimentally demonstrated SOH microring modulators and Mach Zehnder modulators with those obtained through simulation, demonstrating its ability to model various modulator topologies. We also show our methodology's ease and speed in modeling large-scale systems. As an illustrative example, we use our methodology to design and study a 3-channel SOH MRM-based wavelength-division (de)multiplexer, a widely used component in various applications, including neuromorphic computing, data center interconnects, communications, and sensing. Our modeling approach is compatible with other materials exhibiting the Pockels and Kerr effects. To our knowledge, this represents the first comprehensive physics-to-system-level EDA-compatible simulation methodology for SOH modulators.