Photonic Integrated Circuits: From Fundamentals to Emerging Technologies

A Special Issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027 | Viewed by 1620

Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: silicon photonics; photonic integration; monolithic and heterogeneous integration; micro-transfer printing; high-frequency photonic devices; narrow-linewidth lasers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: integrated or high-performance semiconductor photodetectors; photonic integration

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are revolutionizing modern technology by addressing the critical demand for ultrahigh-speed, energy-efficient solutions across optical interconnects, computing, and sensing applications. From data centers and AI hardware to agrifood, biomedical, and aerospace systems, PICs enable unprecedented performance gains. Recent advances in semiconductor materials, heterogeneous integration, and AI-driven design tools further accelerate this transformation.

This Special Issue highlights cutting-edge research and transformative innovations in PICs, bridging fundamental discoveries and real-world impact. It aims to curate high-quality contributions advancing the science, design, and application of PICs, aligning with the journal’s focus on photonics, materials, and integrated technologies. We seek to assemble a collection of at least 10 articles (original research or reviews) that address both theoretical and practical challenges in photonic integration, with potential for publication as a printed book. Submissions should emphasize novel methodologies, scalable solutions, or disruptive applications within the scope below.

We welcome original research and reviews addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Novel Materials and Components: Novel photonic devices, III-V/Si hybrids, thin-film LiNbO₃, 2D materials, ultra-low-loss waveguides, metamaterials.
  • Integration Platforms: Heterogeneous Integration (SOI, SiN, InP, LiNbO₃), monolithic Integration, monolithic/hybrid co-design, wafer-scale fabrication.
  • Design Innovations: AI/ML-driven photonic design automation, physics-aware modeling, scalable architectures.
  • Interconnects and Computing: Chip-scale optical I/O, photonic tensor cores, neuromorphic circuits.
  • Emerging Applications: Quantum PICs, LiDAR, biomedical/environmental sensors, CMOS-photonics co-integration.
  • Reliability and Scalability: Packaging, thermal management, yield optimization, manufacturing readiness.

We look forward to sharing your contributions to shape the future of photonic integration!

Dr. Hua Yang
Dr. Han Ye
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • photonic integrated circuits (PICs)
  • silicon photonics
  • integrated optoelectronics
  • heterogeneous integration
  • monolithic integration
  • thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN)
  • III-V/Si hybrid integration
  • neuromorphic photonics
  • AI/ML for photonic design
  • photonic design automation (PDA)
  • quantum photonic circuits
  • 2D/3D photonic integration/interposer
  • data center photonics
  • biophotonics sensing
  • LiDAR on-chip
  • energy-efficient photonics
  • active and passive optical devices
  • optical coupling and mode transformation
  • reverse engineering

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 6746 KB  
Article
High-Speed Waveguide InP/InGaAs UTC-PDs for over 200 Gb/s/λ Optical Transmission
by Han Ye, Qin Han, Liyan Geng and Hua Yang
Photonics 2026, 13(9), 874; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13090874 - 16 Sep 2026
Abstract
Scaling of artificial intelligence data centers is pushing the aggregate speed of photonic transceivers over 1.6 Tb/s and even 3.2 Tb/s, which in the multi-channel configuration accounts for a 200 Gb/s data transmission speed for each wavelength. Uni-traveling carrier photodetectors have proved high [...] Read more.
Scaling of artificial intelligence data centers is pushing the aggregate speed of photonic transceivers over 1.6 Tb/s and even 3.2 Tb/s, which in the multi-channel configuration accounts for a 200 Gb/s data transmission speed for each wavelength. Uni-traveling carrier photodetectors have proved high bandwidth performance utilizing ultra-fast carrier transit and ultra-small junction capacitance, while few reports discuss the effect of the coplanar lines on bandwidth. In this work, the parasitic effect of coplanar lines is studied, and a modified structure is designed for an InP-based waveguide uni-traveling carrier photodetector. Simulation results reveal a promotion rather than deterioration effect in PD frequency response from the coplanar lines after optimization, and the circuit analysis predicts a parasitic capacitance decrease over 40 fF, which is larger than the 23 fF junction capacitance itself. The fabricated photodetector verifies a 69% increase in bandwidth up to 120 GHz for the same active area at an external responsivity of 0.476 A/W. The eye-diagrams of 100 GBd and 140 GBd under PAM4 format also indicate huge potential for over 200 Gb/s/λ photodetection. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 1909 KB  
Article
Monolithic InP-Based Wavelength Meter for 100 nm Bandwidth Operation in the C-Band
by Andrea Volpini, Damiano Massella, David Alvarez-Outarelo, Vahram Voskerchyan, Francisco Soares, Francisco J. Diaz-Otero and Omar Guillan-Lorenzo
Photonics 2026, 13(6), 527; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics13060527 - 28 May 2026
Viewed by 618
Abstract
We present a monolithically integrated wavelength meter fabricated on an indium phosphide (InP) platform, suitable for seamless integration with active photonic components such as lasers and optical amplifiers. The device architecture incorporates multiple ring resonators and was realized through a commercial multi-project wafer [...] Read more.
We present a monolithically integrated wavelength meter fabricated on an indium phosphide (InP) platform, suitable for seamless integration with active photonic components such as lasers and optical amplifiers. The device architecture incorporates multiple ring resonators and was realized through a commercial multi-project wafer (MPW) process. Experimental characterization over a 1 nm spectral window using a tunable laser demonstrates the feasibility of the approach and validates the operating principle. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop