IEEE IGDTUW 2014-2015 | Page 12

Optoelectronics : Flaming up the old conventional techniques ARUSHI BUTAN, ECE II YEAR In the fast pacing world we live in, technology is thriving by the minute. The Sci-fi movies we've grown up adoring are no longer fiction, they're a booming reality. New inventions and ideas are revolutionizing our lifestyle and simultaneously leaving us dumbfounded. Optoelectronics is one such field which is growing exponentially owing to its vast commercial implementation and resourcefulness in diverse industries. Optoelectronics amalgamates the physics of light with electricity. In elementary terms, an optoelectronic device combines an optical device and an electronic device. An Electronic device operates by controlling electricity whereas an Optical device operates by controlling light; Hence Optoelectronics bridges the chasm between these two worlds by bringing them together: allowing electricity to control light, or allowing light to control electricity. 1) Silicon photonics is an evolving technology in which data is transferred among computer chips by optical rays. Optical rays can carry far more data in less time than optical fibres. The mature fabrication technology of the CMOS industry and the low cost of silicon make it consummate for on-chip routing and short distance transmission of signals. The next threshold in development is the connectivity between chip and processors. The concept involves combining laser and silicon technology on the same chip. The effective implementation of silicon photonics X