Semiconductor circuit design in advanced silicon technologies for next-generation communication, computing and automation

半导体芯片技术对未来的经济繁荣具有战略意义。例如，在加拿大制造的每一辆汽车都依赖于数百个硅芯片。至关重要的是，自动驾驶、量子计算和人工智能等新兴应用也严重依赖于半导体电子和先进通信技术。我们的经济盟友和竞争对手继续在半导体电路设计方面投入巨资，以保持全球竞争力。开发先进的通信半导体芯片给加拿大人带来的好处是显而易见的：更快的数据速率和更大的数据吞吐量，支持制造业和服务业的战略经济增长。他们的申请让地理上相距遥远的加拿大人更加紧密地联系在一起。有线和无线通信网络依赖于硅半导体集成电路(IC)，其中许多在加拿大设计，批量生产的每个芯片的制造成本不到1美元。更高的数据传输速度将支持更快的计算技术(例如，新的智能手机)和宽带互联网应用，如Netflix、Zoom和Facebook。由于对互联网服务的需求不断增长，以及5G无线系统和5G以后的世代不断推出，预计未来十年，我们网络中每根光纤的数据吞吐量将达到1000Gbit/S。宽带光通信技术也被应用在服务器群和基础设施中，以Gbit/S速率直接向企业和消费者传输数据。无线电通信(即相干)技术向光域的迁移需要新的宽带、单芯片收发信机，以便以低成本、大容量进行部署。拟议研究计划的目标是：1)进一步提高硅电路的能力，以迎接这一挑战；2)支持加拿大从事半导体电路设计的高技能知识工人的侵蚀基础；3)支持先进通信IC实现的新应用，如车辆自动化和量子计算。龙博士在将相干无线电技术应用于光领域收发信机的电子设计方面拥有丰富的经验，将确保成功实现这些目标。该项目开发的研究原型包括光调制器驱动器、高纯度的片上频率源以及加宽带宽、减少失真和提高电路可靠性的新技术。半导体电路设计方面的创新通过培训稀缺而有价值的专家设计师，加强了加拿大工业在日益依赖宽带通信技术的巨大全球市场中的地位。这项研究项目在新的和现有的应用中具有非常高的工业应用潜力，因为它建立在使用行业标准设计工具开发商业硅芯片技术的基础上。

Semiconductor chip technologies are strategic to future economic prosperity. For instance, every automobile manufactured in Canada relies on hundreds of silicon chips. Crucially, emerging applications such as autonomous driving, quantum computing and artificial intelligence also depend heavily on semiconductor electronics and advanced communication technologies. Our economic allies and rivals continue to invest heavily in semiconductor circuit design to remain competitive globally. The benefits to Canadians from the development of advanced semiconductor chips for communication are clear: faster data rates and greater data throughputs that support strategic economic growth in the manufacturing and service sectors. Their application brings Canadians - distant from each other geographically - into closer contact with each other. Wired and wireless communication networks rely on silicon semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), many designed in Canada, and manufactured for less than $1/chip in volume production. Greater data transfer speeds will support faster computing technology (e.g., new smartphones) and broadband internet applications, such as Netflix, Zoom and Facebook. Data throughput per optical fibre in our networks is anticipated to reach 1,000 Gbits/s within the coming decade, because of the growing demand for internet services and the continuing rollout of 5G wireless systems and generations beyond 5G. Wideband optical communication technologies are also employed in server farms and infrastructure delivering data at Gbit/s rates directly to businesses and consumers. The migration of radio communication (i.e., coherent) techniques to the optical domain requires novel wideband, single-chip transceivers for deployment at low cost in high volumes. The goals of the proposed research program are: 1) to further advance the capabilities of silicon circuits to meet this challenge, 2) to support the eroding base of highly skilled knowledge workers engaged in semiconductor circuit design in Canada, and 3) to support new applications enabled by advanced communication ICs, such as vehicular automation and quantum computing. Dr. Long's extensive experience in coherent radio technologies applied to electronic design of transceivers in the optical domain will ensure success in meeting these goals. Research prototypes developed in this project include optical modulator drivers, on-chip frequency sources of high purity, and new techniques for widening bandwidth, reducing distortion and improving circuit reliability. Innovations in semiconductor circuit design strengthen the position of Canadian industry in a huge global market that is increasingly dependent on broadband communications technology by training scarce and valuable expert designers. This research project has a very high potential for industrial take-up in new and existing applications, as it builds on developing commercial silicon chip technologies using industry-standard design tools.