Silicon photonics is a technology that uses silicon-based photonic integrated circuits to manipulate light for processing and communication. In simple terms, it means building optical devices on silicon chips similar to how electronic circuits are made. These silicon photonic chips can send and receive data using light, enabling ultra-fast data transfer with high bandwidth and low energy loss ansys.com. Key components include waveguides, modulators, lasers, and photodetectors ansys.com. By integrating these on a silicon platform, engineers leverage well-established semiconductor manufacturing to mass-produce photonic devices, combining the speed of light with the scale of modern chip fabrication ansys.com. How does it work? Instead of electrical pulses in copper wires, silicon photonic circuits use infrared laser light coursing through micron-scale waveguides. Silicon
