TECHGuru

  Photonic Integrated Circuits (PIC) are the ones which use light instead of electric signals in order to transfer information within a circuit unlike the electronic integrated circuits (EIC) that uses electric electrons for the same purpose. Several optical devices such as optical amplifiers, multiplexers, de-multiplexers, optical lasers, attenuators and also detectors are integrated on to a Photonic Integrated Circuit. The pivotal difference between PIC and electronic IC is the material that is used for the fabrication. While the latter uses silicon as the dominant material, the material used in the former depends on the purpose of the device. Hybrid PIC technology uses the combination of both, PIC and electronic IC for the transfer of signal. Hybrid PIC is still a developing technology. However, the technology is catching up fast with the availability of highly integrated transmitters, switches, and optical phased arrays. Hybrid PICs is gaining popularity with the major players...