The Silicon Photonics Group is lead by by Professor Graham T. Reed who formed the group in 1989. Originally based at the University of Surrey, the group carried out the work upon which the first company in silicon photonics was built, Bookham Technology, founded by Reed’s PhD student, Dr Andrew Rickman OBE.Initial strategy was to adopt a proof of principle and device optimisation approach.
The multidisciplinary group is now based at at the University of Southampton and spans Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC) and Physics. The activity has evolved to look at larger and more complex circuits, as technology has become more advanced.
Over the last 20 years, the group has made a significant contribution in the field of silicon photonics most notably in waveguides, optical modulators, grating couplers, optical filters and switches. Collaborations with a number of industrial and academic institutions have been established.