Independent of Academia and Commerce - The Overlooked Originator of Multi Chip Integrated Silicon Photonics

Background and Motivation

There are two professional paths for scientist or researcher. 1. The academic route, which emphasizes recognition and publications. 2. The commercial route, which emphasizes productization and financial return. Historical examples such as Copernicus and Galileo illustrate how social and institutional frameworks can distort the pursuit of truth. Whether in academia or in industry, the pressures of reputation and profit can hinder objective, curiosity driven inquiry.

A young scientist who had experienced both academic and commercial settings chose a third path in the 1990s. It was an independent, self funded research aimed at technical truth and public benefit. He described creativity as a boundless ocean. The academic and commercial institutions act as containers that constrain how that creativity can be expressed.

That scientist is Dr. Hung Chih Lu (盧鴻智博士). Relying on broad and deep multidisciplinary expertise, he provided technical consulting across domains and reinvested personal earnings into research. His first independent research program focused on silicon photonics.

Technical Contributions and Rationale

Dr. Lu began independent research on silicon photonics in 1999 and by 2004 had proposed a comprehensive multi chip integrated silicon photonics system and began seeking industrial cooperation. While silicon photonics had been the subject of academic research before his work, prior efforts typically addressed single structures or individual components (for example, waveguides, single modulators, or discrete couplers). Dr. Lu proposed a systemic architecture for integrating multiple chips and heterogeneous components into a complete system which was an integrated platform that combines optimized photonic building blocks rather than treating them as isolated devices. In that sense, he is the originator of the multi chip integrated silicon photonics system and one of the earliest inventors to describe a full silicon photonics architecture.

Terminology: OEIC vs. Silicon Photonics

At the time Dr. Lu named his approach Optoelectronic Integrated Circuits (OEIC). The label "silicon photonics" was popularized later by industry players such as Intel, which emphasized silicon based light sources in their particular roadmap. OEIC is a broader term that emphasizes integration of optical and electronic functions on complementary substrates and is therefore descriptive of multi chip systems that pair external or heterogeneous light sources with silicon passive and active components.

Fiber to Chip Coupling and the Antiguide Concept

One of the dominant engineering challenges for silicon photonics is coupling light efficiently between high index contrast silicon waveguides (silicon core with silicon dioxide cladding on a silicon substrate) and standard optical fibers. The mode field diameter (MFD) of single mode fiber is typically several micrometers, while silicon waveguides confine optical modes into sub micron cross sections with much higher effective index. This mode mismatch causes significant coupling loss when light is transferred directly between the chip waveguide and the fiber.

Dr. Lu proposed an antiguide (antiguided waveguide) approach that deliberately leverages the Silicon Dixoide Buried Layer as an antiguiding region to reshape the optical mode and reduce coupling loss between Silicon Photonics chips (Silicon Waveguide/Silicon Dioxide Buried Layer/Silicon Substrate) and fiber in 1999. In engineering terms, the antiguided structure modifies the local effective index profile to adiabatically expand the guided mode as it transitions from the high index silicon waveguide into a larger, lower index region that better matches the fiber's mode field. This can reduce insertion loss at the fiber chip interface and improve practical coupling efficiency without requiring expensive or proprietary grating coupler processes. It was successfully developed and later a Taiwanese invention patent was applied for, "TWI443395 Structure of low-loss optical coupling interface".

Figure 1 presents an optical simulation titled Lossy_Antiguide_Simulation in 1999 and a slide from the original 2004 presentation (Invention v1) that documents the antiguided waveguide concept and its role in achieving low loss fiber coupling for a multi-chip silicon photonics system.

Figure 1, Optical simulation and presentation screenshot illustrating the antiguided waveguide ("antiguide") concept used to reduce coupling loss between silicon photonics chips and optical fiber.

System Architecture and Design Choices

Dr. Lu's multi chip approach intentionally separates functions across specialized dies: external or heterogeneous light sources, passive wavelength routing (WDM filters, AWGs), modulators and driver electronics, and photodetectors. This heterogeneous multi chip integration strategy aligns with modern silicon photonics practice: use the best available substrate for each function (e.g., III V for lasers, silicon for high index passive routing and modulators, silica for low loss passive waveguides), and integrate them at the package or die level to create a complete system. Compared with monolithic emitters on silicon, Dr. Lu's architecture assumed external light sources (consistent with many current practical silicon photonics deployments) and emphasized system level manufacturability and scalability.

Patents and Technology Transfer

Dr. Lu encountered resistance and skepticism from 2004 through 2010. Wishing his work to serve public benefit rather than private profit, he arranged to transfer the inventions to an academic institution. National Central University (中央大學) accepted stewardship of his silicon photonics inventions. While the multi chip architecture itself had been publicly disclosed and therefore was not patentable in its entirety, key components and enabling elements were filed as patent applications under the university's auspices. U.S. patents issued from these efforts include: US 8,406,579, US 8,478,091, and US 8,594,474. After securing these patents, Dr. Lu completed the mission and moved on.

Later Work: Thermal Management and Distributed AI Robot Systems

After silicon photonics, Dr. Lu developed a nano-carbon heat dissipation technology. He ultimately left that field as well, citing disappointment that commercial incentives sometimes eclipse the pursuit of truth and public benefit.
Dr. Lu is critical of integrating batteries inside portable devices on thermal grounds. Batteries and high power chips (CPUs/GPUs) are all heat sensitive. When all heat sources are packed into a compact chassis, even advanced cooling solutions can be insufficient. Battery heating and thermal expansion may deform or damage a device's internals and, in extreme cases, create fire hazard. Dr. Lu instead advocates externalized battery designs and demonstrates practical examples.

The photograph in Figure 2 documents a Surface Pro 4 unit (retail 2015) that Dr. Lu purchased in January 2016 and has used for ten years. He disassembled the device after warranty expiration, removed the internal lithium battery, and improved the device's thermal dissipation. The practices discouraged by manufacturers but demonstrated here as a case study in pragmatic, longevity focused hardware maintenance.

Figure 2, Surface Pro 4 modified to remove the internal lithium battery and improve thermal performance. The device shown has been in continuous service for ten years and runs Windows 11 Pro Insider Preview (January 2026 build) as a primary machine for daily work and 3D modeling/rendering.

Ongoing Public Interest Projects

In recent years Dr. Lu has returned to independent work, developing a Distributed AI Robot Series and an adaptive, pixelated modular architecture for AI compatible buildings and stilted urban systems (Pixelated Modular Architectural and Stilted Urban Systems). These projects continue his long standing focus on technological innovation that privileges truth and public benefit over private gain.

postal code: 328015, Taoyuan city, Taiwan

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This release was published on openPR.