Figure 1
From: On-chip wireless silicon photonics: from reconfigurable interconnects to lab-on-chip devices
Envisioned scenarios for on-chip wireless optical systems. (a) Flexible networks: the use of highly directive antennas could allow for a variety of interferenceless wireless crossing configurations, favoring more flexible intra- and inter-core communications11, 12. (b) Reconfigurable pathways and beam shaping: the radiation properties of antenna arrays (for example, radiation direction) depend on each antenna’s phase, which can be electrically controlled by modifying the corresponding feeding waveguide temperature (benefiting from silicon’s high thermo-optic effect) through the voltage applied over a nanoheater. This could be used for complex on-chip field pattern generation or traffic routing6, 13. (c) Lab-on-a-chip: the proposed antennas can replace bulky light emitters and receptors, providing an ideal platform for the miniaturization and smart integration of sensors and voluminous lab equipment7, 8. As an example, we show a fully integrated flow cytometer consisting of a microfluidic channel through which a sample containing several analytes of interest (platelets, DNA segments) can flow and be simultaneously illuminated by an antenna. The scattered light collected by other antennas provides information on each analyte.
