Cisco Optics Podcast Episode 16. Silicon photonics explained, with Ron Horan. Part 2 of 5.

Silicon photonics was a buzzword in the optics research community for years before it finally became a reality. Cisco recognized it as not only a hot technology, but one that would deliver real value. Hence three key acquisitions in this space, including Luxtera which Cisco acquired in 2019. In Episode 16, we continue a conversation with Ron Horan, Senior Director of Product Management, who joined Cisco via the Luxtera acquisition. In this episode we get into silicon photonics, what it is and how it’s revolutionizing optics. – Pat Chou, Cisco Optics Product Manager Ron attended The University of Texas at San Antonio for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. His Master’s thesis topic entitled “Synthetic Vision Landing Aids System” was patented as the first GPS-based aircraft landing aid. From 1994 to 1999, while at Compaq, he earned 15 patent awards. In 2001, he joined Broadcom Corporation where he managed Field Applications Engineering for the Compute Segment team, ran Program Management in the Networking BU, and was a Sr. Director of Sales and Strategic Account Manager covering the Hewlett Packard worldwide account. In 2011 Ron moved to Luxtera where he worked as Vice President of Sales before moving into the role as Vice President of Marketing. Luxtera was eventually acquired by Cisco in 2019 where Ron now runs Product Management for the Cisco Client Optics Group. Related links Cisco Optics-to-Device Compatibility Matrix: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/ Cisco Optics-to-Optics Interoperability Matrix: https://tmgmatrix.cisco.com/iop Cisco Optics Product Information: https://copi.cisco.com/ Additional resources Cisco Optics Podcast: https://blogs.cisco.com/tag/ciscoopticspodcast Cisco Optics blogs: https://blogs.cisco.com/tag/ciscoopticsblog (subscribe at https://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=CiscoOpticsBlog ) Cisco Optics YouTube playlist: http://cs.co/9008BlQen Cisco Optics landing page: cisco.com/go/optics Timestamps 2:37 Silicon photonics 4:41 Humans vs. robots 7:01 DML lasers 9:02 Coupling light source 9:47 Grating coupler 10:37 DML vs continuous light source with Mach Zehnder interferometer modulator 14:03 Receiver side Music credits Sunny Morning by FSM Team | https://www.free-stock-music.com/artist.fsm-team.html Upbeat by Mixaund | https://mixaund.bandcamp.com