An introduction to InP-based generic integration technology

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are considered as the way to make photonic systems or subsystems cheap and ubiquitous. PICs still are several orders of magnitude more expensive than their microelectronic counterparts, which has restricted their application to a few niche markets. Recently, a novel approach in photonic integration is emerging which will reduce the R&D and prototyping costs and the throughput time of PICs by more than an order of magnitude. It will bring the application of PICs that integrate complex and advanced photonic functionality on a single chip within reach for a large number of small and larger companies and initiate a breakthrough in the application of Photonic ICs. The paper explains the concept of generic photonic integration technology using the technology developed by the COBRA research institute of TU Eindhoven as an example, and it describes the current status and prospects of generic InP-based integration technology

An introduction to InP-based generic integration technology

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are considered as the way to make photonic systems or subsystems cheap and ubiquitous. PICs still are several orders of magnitude more expensive than their microelectronic counterparts, which has restricted their application to a few niche markets.Recently, a novel approach in photonic integration is emerging which will reduce the R&D and prototyping costs and the throughput time of PICs by more than an order of magnitude. It will bring the application of PICs that integrate complex and advanced photonic functionality on a single chip within reach for a large number of small and larger companies and initiate a breakthrough in the application of Photonic ICs. The paper explains the concept of generic photonic integration technology using the technology developed by the COBRA research institute of TU Eindhoven as an example, and it describes the current status and prospects of generic InP-based integration technology.Funding is acknowledged by the EU-projects ePIXnet, EuroPIC and PARADIGM and the Dutch projects NRC Photonics, MEMPHIS, IOP Photonic Devices and STW GTIP. Many others have contributed and the authors would like to thank other PARADIGM and EuroPIC partners for their help in discussions, particularly Michael Robertson (CIP).This is the final published version distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. It can also be viewed on the publisher's website at: http://iopscience.iop.org/0268-1242/29/8/08300

On-wafer testing of basic building blocks in Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs)

Characterization of Photonic ICs is time consuming with very critical alignment tolerances for accurate measurement. To overcome these problems we are working on electrical testing of the optical properties of the most important Building Blocks (BBs) in Photonic ICs by integration of test sources and detectors. This approach allows fast, accurate and reproducible on-wafer measurements prior to cleaving and coating using only electrical contacts. Several structures are proposed for testing the performance of the Basic BBs

On-wafer testing of basic building blocks in Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs)

Characterization of Photonic ICs is time consuming with very critical alignment tolerances for accurate measurement. To overcome these problems we are working on electrical testing of the optical properties of the most important Building Blocks (BBs) in Photonic ICs by integration of test sources and detectors. This approach allows fast, accurate and reproducible on-wafer measurements prior to cleaving and coating using only electrical contacts. Several structures are proposed for testing the performance of the Basic BBs

On-wafer optical loss measurements using ring resonators with integrated sources and detectors

We demonstrate for the first time a fully integrated test structure dedicated to on-wafer propagation loss measurement. An integrated light source is used in combination with a resonant cavity and a full absorbing detector. It is fabricated in a multi project wafer run in an InP based foundry process. The probing of the integrated light source and detector with electrical signals avoids the reproducibility issues and time-overhead associated with high-precision optical alignment. The measurement accuracy, estimated to be ~±0.2, the compact footprint (~1.5 mm2), and the simple and fast measurement procedure make this approach an ideal candidate for the future characterization of propagation losses in both research and manufacturing environments

Progress report on on-wafer testing of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs)

The accurate characterization of photonic integrated circuits is time consuming and is influenced by the alignment tolerance. To overcome these problems we decided to characterize optical properties of the most iniportant Basic Building Blocks (BBB) by means ofelectrical signals

On-wafer optical loss measurements using ring resonators with integrated sources and detectors

We demonstrate for the first time a fully integrated test structure dedicated to on-wafer propagation loss measurement. An integrated light source is used in combination with a resonant cavity and a full absorbing detector. It is fabricated in a multi project wafer run in an InP based foundry process. The probing of the integrated light source and detector with electrical signals avoids the reproducibility issues and time-overhead associated with high-precision optical alignment. The measurement accuracy, estimated to be ~±0.2, the compact footprint (~1.5 mm2), and the simple and fast measurement procedure make this approach an ideal candidate for the future characterization of propagation losses in both research and manufacturing environments