"Silicon Photonics for Future Systems" is a 6-year (2013-2019) project funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Most of the work within this project is carried out through collaboration of several research groups at the University of Southampton.

The project is organized in six work packages, five of which are focusing on solving the important problems in bringing the Silicon Photonics to mass-market. The sixth work package comprises research outcomes of the previous work packages, embodied in four proof of principle demonstrators.

The first work package is focused on a technology that should enable relatively inexpensive and easy wafer-scale testing of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The second work package is related to development of technologies that would enable low-cost fabrication of multiple photonic layers. In this way, it would be possible to achieve high density integration of photonic devices on a single chip, in a similar way that is the case in electronics. Technologies employed in this work package should enable fabrication of photonic devices that will be developed in other work packages.

The other three, task-oriented work packages are focusing on: 1) modulators and optimizing coding formats; 2) development of efficient packaging solutions; and 3) development of lasers suitable for fabrication in Silicon Photonics.