Photonic Integrated Circuit Technology
Photonic Integrated Circuit (also known
as PIC), is a complex integrated circuit which incorporates a lot of
optical devices to form a single photonic circuit. The main difference
between a PIC and an Electronic IC is that PIC is analogous to an
Electronic Integrated Circuit. Many optical devices like optical
amplifiers, multiplexers, de-multiplexers, optical lasers, attenuators
and also detectors are integrated on to a Photonic Integrated Circuit.
For a large-scale operation of such a device thousands of optical
devices will be integrated on to the device.
In a PIC, the signals are sent by
superimposing them on wavelengths usually in the range between the
visible spectrum and infrared. The range usually is between 800
nanometers and 1700 nanometers.
In 2005, during a development of a laser
light through silicon in an electronic integrated circuit, there
occurred a problem with quantum noise, which prevented the generation.
This problem was easily overcome by a photonic integrated circuit, which
easily created the laser light and that too in a higher bandwidth,
within the circuit as a single medium. Thus the importance of PIC was
known.
