Monolithic Optical Clock Distribution in Bulk CMOS Using I-Beam Waveguides

Optical clock distribution is presented for the first time in an unmodified bulk CMOS chip. An H-tree distributes the signal using I-beam photonic waveguides operating at 780 nm, and avalanche photodiodes and transimpedance amplifiers bring the signal back to the electronic domain. All components are monolithically integrated on a 180nm bulk CMOS chip. The Ibeam waveguides are also demonstrated in 22nm FDSOI CMOS technology without process modifications or design rule violations, making it the most advanced commercial process to monolithically demonstrate photonic waveguiding.