Silicon Photonics is a technology that exploits standard CMOS fabrication processes to create optical integrated circuits on silicon for low-power and high data-rate interconnections and telecommunication systems. The technological limits that so far impaired the development of this promising technology, have been overcome thanks to the invention of an innovative sensor, called CLIPP (ContactLess Integrated Photonic Probe). This device is easily integrable and allows non-invasive detection of optical power passing through a silicon waveguide. The European project ICT-STREAMS (Silicon Photonics Transceiver and Routing technologies for High-End Multi-Socket Blades with Tb/s Throughput interconnect and interfaces) aims to develop an optical router in Silicon Photonics technology for high-bandwidth low-power-consumption optical connections, employing the CLIPP for the system stabilization. In this thesis a low-noise integrated circuit has been designed to read the signals from multiple CLIPP sensors, using the BCD8SP technology (180nm) from STMicroelectronics, involved in the STREAMS project along with the research laboratory of Politecnico di Milano where this work has been done. Different topological solutions has been analyzed and compared to identify the structure with the best performance in terms of noise, dynamics, bandwidth and offset. Known critical aspects of the CLIPP readout technique has been overcome, facing the challenges of the technology, never used before for this application, and the limitation of the supply at 1.8V. The designed circuit is able to detect an impedance variation in the order of pS, managing ambient light-dependent leakage currents, in the order of nA, and critical output offsets caused by parasitic capacitances of the CLIPP sensor itself.
La Silicon Photonics è una tecnologia che utilizza il silicio come mezzo di comunicazione e permette di creare circuiti ottici integrati per interconnessioni a basso consumo di potenza ed elevato data-rate, sfruttando i processi di fabbricazione CMOS. I limiti tecnologici che ostacolavano lo sviluppo di questa promettente tecnologia sono stati superati grazie all’introduzione dell’innovativo sensore CLIPP (ContactLess Integrated Photonic Probe). Questo dispositivo è facilmente integrabile e permette di monitorare la potenza ottica presente in una guida d’onda in silicio in modo non invasivo. Il progetto europeo ICT-STREAMS (Silicon Photonics Transceiver and Routing technologies for High-End Multi-Socket Blades with Tb/s Throughput interconnect and interfaces) ha l’obiettivo di sviluppare un router in tecnologia Silicon Photonics per connessioni ottiche a larga banda e basso consumo di potenza, sfruttando il sensore CLIPP per la stabilizzazione del sistema. In questo lavoro di tesi è stato progettato un chip integrato a basso rumore per la lettura del segnale proveniente dai sensori CLIPP. La tecnologia utilizzata è la BCD8SP (180nm) di STMicroelectronics, azienda coinvolta nel progetto STREAMS in collaborazione con il laboratorio di ricerca del Politecnico di Milano in cui è stata svolto il lavoro. Sono state analizzate e confrontate diverse soluzioni topologiche al fine di individuare la struttura che garantisse le migliori prestazioni in termini di rumore, dinamica, banda e offset. In particolare, l’obiettivo è stato quello di superare le criticità note del circuito di lettura della CLIPP, affrontando anche le sfide poste dalla tecnologia, mai usata per questa applicazione, e dalle alimentazioni limitate 1.8V. Il circuito realizzato è in grado di rilevare una variazione di impedenza dell’ordine del pS e di gestire correnti di perdita fino ad 1nA dipendenti dalla luce ambientale, compensando allo stesso tempo importanti contributi di offset dati da capacità parassite legate al sensore stesso.
Circuito integrato per sensori ottici non invasivi con compensazione di parassitismi e correnti di perdita
GAUDIANO, ROSSELLA
2016/2017
Abstract
Silicon Photonics is a technology that exploits standard CMOS fabrication processes to create optical integrated circuits on silicon for low-power and high data-rate interconnections and telecommunication systems. The technological limits that so far impaired the development of this promising technology, have been overcome thanks to the invention of an innovative sensor, called CLIPP (ContactLess Integrated Photonic Probe). This device is easily integrable and allows non-invasive detection of optical power passing through a silicon waveguide. The European project ICT-STREAMS (Silicon Photonics Transceiver and Routing technologies for High-End Multi-Socket Blades with Tb/s Throughput interconnect and interfaces) aims to develop an optical router in Silicon Photonics technology for high-bandwidth low-power-consumption optical connections, employing the CLIPP for the system stabilization. In this thesis a low-noise integrated circuit has been designed to read the signals from multiple CLIPP sensors, using the BCD8SP technology (180nm) from STMicroelectronics, involved in the STREAMS project along with the research laboratory of Politecnico di Milano where this work has been done. Different topological solutions has been analyzed and compared to identify the structure with the best performance in terms of noise, dynamics, bandwidth and offset. Known critical aspects of the CLIPP readout technique has been overcome, facing the challenges of the technology, never used before for this application, and the limitation of the supply at 1.8V. The designed circuit is able to detect an impedance variation in the order of pS, managing ambient light-dependent leakage currents, in the order of nA, and critical output offsets caused by parasitic capacitances of the CLIPP sensor itself.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2017_07_Gaudiano.pdf
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Descrizione: Testo della tesi
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/135111