Prof. Dr. Filip Tavernier of KU Leuven

Optical communication has many advantages compared to copper and wireless systems. However, the conversion from the optical to the electrical domain in the receiver typically requires an external photodiode which adds bulk and cost to the system. This talk will therefore discuss the possibility to realize fully integrated optical receivers in CMOS, making use of integrated pn-photodiodes and Schottky photodiodes. While the former are only sensitive to 850 nm light, the latter can be used at the more popular 1310 nm and 1550 nm wavelengths. Due to the intrinsically low response of such integrated photodiodes, low-noise readout circuits are required. The talk will therefore also address these circuit aspects of optical receivers.

Biography:

Filip Tavernier obtained the MSc degree in Electrical Engineering (ir.) and the PhD degree in Engineering Science (dr.) from KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, in 2005 and 2011 respectively. During 2011-2014, he was Senior Fellow in the microelectronics group at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland. During 2014-2015, he was Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT-MICAS) of KU Leuven. Since October 2015, he is Assistant Professor at KU Leuven within the same department. His main research interests include circuits for optical communication, data converters, DC/DC converters and chips for extreme environments. Prof. Tavernier is member of the technical program committee of ESSCIRC, CICC and SBCCI, SSC-L Guest Editor and SSCS European Webinar Coordinator.