This study experimentally demonstrates both inter-chip and intra-chip RF transmission for short-range microwave communication using on-chip antennas, implemented on a silicon photonic platform. The unification of antenna with photonic integrated circuits (PICs) reduces system loss for high data rate communication by eliminating parasitics. We designed, fabricated, and measured two antenna topologies (blade and triangular) for intra-chip communication and one (meander antenna) for both inter-chip as well as intra-chip communication. The three on-chip antenna topologies have resonance at 15.7 GHz, 13.2 GHz, and 12.6 GHz, and maximum transmission coefficient (S21) value above −30 dB for all antennas. Their operation is further validated by low return loss value (S11 ≤ −20 dB), indicating strong impedance matching with minimal power reflection. The intra-chip RF data transmission has been confirmed with bit- error-rate (BER) measurements of below 10 ⁻⁹ up to a data rate of 4 Gbps. We have also performed inter-chip communication between two on-chip antennas separated by a distance of upto 18 mm and accomplished 4 Gbps transmission with BER < 10 ⁻⁹ . Our findings indicate that on-chip antennas integrated onto silicon photonic chips provides a seamless conversion between electrical and optical signals. This integration enables various on-chip RF wireless applications such as chip-to-chip and off-chip communication, along with wireless sensing off-chip. Furthermore, the incorporation of an integrated antenna facilitates the realization of integrated RF photodetector-antenna emitters on a silicon photonic chip, thereby significantly reducing size, weight, area, and power requirements.

中文翻译：

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使用 RF 片上天线进行片间/片内无线通信的硅光子学

这项研究通过实验证明了在硅光子平台上实现的使用片上天线的短程微波通信的芯片间和芯片内射频传输。天线与光子集成电路 (PIC) 的统一通过消除寄生现象来降低高数据速率通信的系统损耗。我们设计、制造和测量了两种用于芯片内通信的天线拓扑（刀片式和三角形）以及一种用于芯片间和芯片内通信的天线拓扑（曲折天线）。三种片上天线拓扑在 15.7 GHz、13.2 GHz 和 12.6 GHz 处具有谐振，所有天线的最大传输系数 (S21) 值均高于 -30 dB。它们的运行通过低回波损耗值 (S11 ≤ -20 dB) 得到进一步验证，表明阻抗匹配极强，功率反射极小。芯片内 RF 数据传输已得到证实，误码率 (BER) 测量值低于 10 ^-9，数据速率高达 4 Gbps。我们还在相距18毫米的两个片上天线之间进行了片间通信，并实现了BER < 10 ^-9的4 Gbps传输 。我们的研究结果表明，集成到硅光子芯片上的片上天线可提供电信号和光信号之间的无缝转换。这种集成可实现各种片上 RF 无线应用，例如芯片间和片外通信，以及片外无线传感。此外，集成天线的结合有助于在硅光子芯片上实现集成射频光电探测器-天线发射器，从而显着降低尺寸、重量、面积和功率要求。