The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched two homegrown silicon photonics products, marking a first for India. Developed at the Centre of Excellence for Co-Packaged Photonic Integrated Circuits and Systems (CoE-CPPICS), these innovations are market-ready and poised for commercial adoption.
The products include a Fibre-Array Unit (FAU) attachment tool for photonic chip packaging and a silicon photonic Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG). The QRNG has a range of critical applications, particularly in IT security for defence and military systems, cryptographic algorithms, quantum key distribution (QKD), scientific modelling and simulations, blockchain and financial transactions, one-time password (OTP) generation, and gaming applications.
Further, photonic packaging and assembly require sub-micron precision alignment and advanced bonding techniques, as well as efficient thermal management to maintain signal stability via thermo-optic control. These challenges make photonic integrated circuit (PIC) packaging a complex, multidisciplinary process.
Furthermore, CoE-CPPICS is working toward scalable, indigenous solutions in microwave and quantum photonics. Its focus includes high-performance radio frequency (RF) transceivers, linear optical quantum computing processors for next-gen qubit computation, and chip-level quantum key generation and distribution circuits. The centre is also developing home-grown PIC design rules and precision packaging infrastructure to support system-level applications.
