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Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits

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A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2015) | Viewed by 110314

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. John Bowers

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Guest Editor

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
Interests: Silicon photonics; photonic integrated circuits; optical sensors

Prof. Dr. Martijn J. R. Heck

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering Aarhus University, DK-8200 Aarhus, Denmark
Interests: photonic integrated circuits; optical interconnects; telecommunications; microwave photonics; photonic sensors; tunable lasers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The technology to integrate multiple photonic components, such as waveguides, lasers, modulators and detectors, on a single chip is maturing fast. Such photonic integrated circuits can consist of hundreds of components in commercial devices, and up to thousands in research demonstrators. The three main material platforms for photonic circuit technology are silicon-on-insulator, indium phosphide, and silica and silicon nitride based waveguides. However, integration requires an inherent trade-off, in terms of size, performance and cost and the three main integration technologies mentioned above have different advantages and limitations, depending on the application.

To overcome such limitations, increasingly the combination of materials is needed. This combination can be achieved in a hybrid way, by combining processed chips or chiplets in a package and/or on an interposer. Alternatively, this can be done heterogeneously, by combining different materials on a single substrate during the process flow. In these ways, the ‘best of both worlds’ can be combined. Examples include the combination of indium phosphide based active chips with silicon or silica passive chips, and the heterogeneous integration of indium phosphide active layers on silicon photonic wafers using wafer bonding.

This Special Issue will focus on hybrid and heterogeneous integration technology for photonic integrated circuits, including materials processing, techniques for combination and integration, novel components and circuits, and the applications that are uniquely enabled by such a technology. With a combination of invited and contributed papers, this issue will present the latest developments and state-of-the-art in this rapidly developing field.

Prof. Dr. John E. Bowers
Prof. Dr. Martijn J. R. Heck
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Photonics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

photonic integrated circuits
silicon photonics hybrid integration; heterogeneous integration
optical interposers;
indium phosphide photonics
silica and silicon nitride photonics
wafer bonding
optical interconnects
telecommunications
microwave photonics
photonic sensors
tunable lasers

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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4167 KiB

Open AccessArticle

PLAT4M: Progressing Silicon Photonics in Europe

by Carmelo Scarcella, Jun Su Lee, Cormac Eason, Marie Antier, Jerome Bourderionnet, Christian Larat, Eric Lallier, Arnaud Brignon, Thijs Spuesens, Peter Verheyen, Philippe Absil, Roel Baets and Peter A. O‘Brien

Photonics 2016, 3(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics3010001 - 24 Dec 2015

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 9014

Abstract

Photonic integration is an appealing technology for emerging applications in communications, medical diagnostics and sensing. Silicon Photonics presents a highly attractive solution for large-scale photonic integration, principally because it is based on well-established CMOS-fabrication technologies. However, Silicon photonics can be difficult and expensive to implement, as it requires complex device design, fabrication and packaging capabilities. Photonic Libraries And Technology for Manufacturing (PLAT4M) is a major European project that brings together the key capabilities required to develop solutions for a range of Silicon photonic-based applications. This paper will present an overview of the PLAT4M project. It will present, in detail, a key application demonstrator (Coherent Beam Combiner), highlighting the ability of the project team to develop an integrated Silicon Photonic sub-system, from design, through to device fabrication, packaging and final test. The paper also highlights the need to consider additional capabilities besides device fabrication, such as packaging, which are critical to achieving fully operational sub-systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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584 KiB

Open AccessArticle

InP-Based Waveguide Triple Transit Region Photodiodes for Hybrid Integration with Passive Optical Silica Waveguides

by Vitaly Rymanov, Besher Khani, Sebastian Dülme, Peng Lu and Andreas Stöhr

Photonics 2015, 2(4), 1152-1163; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2041152 - 07 Dec 2015

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 7058

Abstract

We report on a novel InP-based 1.55 μm waveguide triple transit region photodiode (TTR-PD) structure for hybrid integration with passive optical silica waveguides. Using the beam propagation method, numerical analyses reveal that, for evanescent optical coupling between a passive silica waveguide and the InP-based waveguide TTR-PD, a coupling efficiency of about 90% can be obtained. In addition to that, an absorption of about 50% is simulated within a TTR-PD length of 30 µm. For fabricated TTR-PD chips, a polarization dependent loss (PDL) of less than 0.9 dB is achieved within the complete optical C-band. At the operational wavelength of 1.55 µm, a reasonable PDL of 0.73 dB is measured. The DC responsivity and the RF responsivity are achieved on the order of 0.52 A/W and 0.24 A/W, respectively. Further, a 3 dB bandwidth of 132 GHz is experimentally demonstrated and high output-power levels exceeding 0 dBm are obtained. Even at the 3 dB cut-off frequency, no saturation effects occur at a photocurrent of 15.5 mA and an RF output power of −4.6 dBm is achieved. In addition to the numerical and experimental achievements, we propose a scheme for a hybrid-integrated InP/silicon-based photonic millimeter wave transmitter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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788 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optical Characteristics of a Multichannel Hybrid Integrated Light Source for Ultra-High-Bandwidth Optical Interconnections

by Takanori Shimizu, Nobuaki Hatori, Mitsuru Kurihara, Yutaka Urino, Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, Takahiro Nakamura and Yasuhiko Arakawa

Photonics 2015, 2(4), 1131-1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2041131 - 25 Nov 2015

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5214

Abstract

The optical characteristics of a multi-channel hybrid integrated light source were described for an optical interconnection with a bandwidth of over 10 Tbit/s. The power uniformity of the relative intensity of a 1000-channel light source was shown, and the minimum standard deviation s of the optical power of the 200 output ports at each 25-channel laser diode (LD) array was estimated to be 0.49 dB. This hybrid integrated light source is expected to be easily adaptable to a photonics-electronics convergence system for ultra-high-bandwidth interchip interconnections. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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968 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Double-Slot Hybrid Plasmonic Ring Resonator Used for Optical Sensors and Modulators

by Xu Sun, Daoxin Dai, Lars Thylén and Lech Wosinski

Photonics 2015, 2(4), 1116-1130; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2041116 - 25 Nov 2015

Cited by 53 | Viewed by 8779

Abstract

An ultra-high sensitivity double-slot hybrid plasmonic (DSHP) ring resonator, used for optical sensors and modulators, is developed. Due to high index contrast, as well as plasmonic enhancement, a considerable part of the optical energy is concentrated in the narrow slots between Si and plasmonic materials (silver is used in this paper), which leads to high sensitivity to the infiltrating materials. By partial opening of the outer plasmonic circular sheet of the DSHP ring, a conventional side-coupled silicon on insulator (SOI) bus waveguide can be used. Experimental results demonstrate ultra-high sensitivity (687.5 nm/RIU) of the developed DSHP ring resonator, which is about five-times higher than for the conventional Si ring with the same geometry. Further discussions show that a very low detection limit (5.37 × 10⁻⁶ RIU) can be achieved after loaded Q factor modifications. In addition, the plasmonic metal structures offer also the way to process optical and electronic signals along the same hybrid plasmonic circuits with small capacitance (~0.275 fF) and large electric field, which leads to possible applications in compact high-efficiency electro-optic modulators, where no extra electrodes for electronic signals are required. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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448 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Oxide-Free Bonding of III-V-Based Material on Silicon and Nano-Structuration of the Hybrid Waveguide for Advanced Optical Functions

by Konstantinos Pantzas, Ahmad Itawi, Isabelle Sagnes, Gilles Patriarche, Eric Le Bourhis, Anatole Lupu, Henri Benisty and Anne Talneau

Photonics 2015, 2(4), 1054-1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2041054 - 29 Oct 2015

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4513

Abstract

Oxide-free bonding of III-V-based materials for integrated optics is demonstrated on both planar Silicon (Si) surfaces and nanostructured ones, using Silicon on Isolator (SOI) or Si substrates. The hybrid interface is characterized electrically and mechanically. A hybrid InP-on-SOI waveguide, including a bi-periodic nano structuration of the silicon guiding layer is demonstrated to provide wavelength selective transmission. Such an oxide-free interface associated with the nanostructured design of the guiding geometry has great potential for both electrical and optical operation of improved hybrid devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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695 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integrated Microwave Photonic Isolators: Theory, Experimental Realization and Application in a Unidirectional Ring Mode-Locked Laser Diode

by Martijn J.R. Heck, Sudharsanan Srinivasan, Michael L. Davenport and John E. Bowers

Photonics 2015, 2(3), 957-968; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2030957 - 10 Sep 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6606

Abstract

A novel integrated microwave photonic isolator is presented. It is based on the timed drive of a pair of optical modulators, which transmit a pulsed or oscillating optical signal with low loss, when driven in phase. A signal in the reverse propagation direction will find the modulators out of phase and, hence, will experience high loss. Optical and microwave isolation ratios were simulated to be in the range up to 10 dB and 20 dB, respectively, using parameters representative for the indium phosphide platform. The experimental realization of this device in the hybrid silicon platform showed microwave isolation in the 9 dB–22 dB range. Furthermore, we present a design study on the use of these isolators inside a ring mode-locked laser cavity. Simulations show that unidirectional operation can be achieved, with a 30–50-dB suppression of the counter propagating mode, at limited driving voltages. The potentially low noise and feedback-insensitive operation of such a laser makes it a very promising candidate for use as on-chip microwave or comb generators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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573 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Microfiber-Lithium Niobate on Insulator Hybrid Waveguides for Efficient and Reconfigurable Second-Order Optical Nonlinearity on a Chip

by Andrey V. Gorbach and Wei Ding

Photonics 2015, 2(3), 946-956; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2030946 - 09 Sep 2015

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 7196

Abstract

We present an optical microfiber-lithium niobate on insulator (MF-LNOI) hybrid waveguide for efficient second-order nonlinear processes. The structure combines the advantages of low-loss fiber and high-nonlinearity waveguide systems. We demonstrate the possibility of phase matching between fundamental and second harmonics in a wide spectral and dimensional range, and efficient second harmonic generation over sub-millimeter propagation distances, both of which are very attractive for high-density on-chip integration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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685 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of the Current-Controlled Phase Transition of VO₂ Microwires for Hybrid Optoelectronic Devices

by Arash Joushaghani, Junho Jeong, Suzanne Paradis, David Alain, J. Stewart Aitchison and Joyce K.S. Poon

Photonics 2015, 2(3), 916-932; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2030916 - 28 Aug 2015

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5381

Abstract

The optical and electrical characteristics of the insulator-metal phase transition of vanadium dioxide (VO₂) enable the realization of power-efficient, miniaturized hybrid optoelectronic devices. This work studies the current-controlled, two-step insulator-metal phase transition of VO₂ in varying microwire geometries. Geometry-dependent scaling trends extracted from current-voltage measurements show that the first step induced by carrier injection is delocalized over the microwire, while the second, thermally-induced step is localized to a filament about 1 to 2 μm wide for 100 nm-thick sputtered VO₂ films on SiO₂. These effects are confirmed by direct infrared imaging, which also measures the change in optical absorption in the two steps. The difference between the threshold currents of the two steps increases as the microwires are narrowed. Micron- and sub-micron-wide VO₂ structures can be used to separate the two phase transition steps in photonic and electronic devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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Review

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1368 KiB

Open AccessReview

Low-Temperature Bonding for Silicon-Based Micro-Optical Systems

by Yiheng Qin, Matiar M.R. Howlader and M. Jamal Deen

Photonics 2015, 2(4), 1164-1201; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2041164 - 15 Dec 2015

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 12599

Abstract

Silicon-based integrated systems are actively pursued for sensing and imaging applications. A major challenge to realize highly sensitive systems is the integration of electronic, optical, mechanical and fluidic, all on a common platform. Further, the interface quality between the tiny optoelectronic structures and the substrate for alignment and coupling of the signals significantly impacts the system’s performance. These systems also have to be low-cost, densely integrated and compatible with current and future mainstream technologies for electronic-photonic integration. To address these issues, proper selection of the fabrication, integration and assembly technologies is needed. In this paper, wafer level bonding with advanced features such as surface activation and passive alignment for vertical electrical interconnections are identified as candidate technologies to integrate different electronics, optical and photonic components. Surface activated bonding, superior to other assembly methods, enables low-temperature nanoscaled component integration with high alignment accuracy, low electrical loss and high transparency of the interface. These features are preferred for the hybrid integration of silicon-based micro-opto-electronic systems. In future, new materials and assembly technologies may emerge to enhance the performance of these micro systems and reduce their cost. The article is a detailed review of bonding techniques for electronic, optical and photonic components in silicon-based systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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1470 KiB

Open AccessReview

Transfer Printed Nanomembranes for Heterogeneously Integrated Membrane Photonics

by Hongjun Yang, Deyin Zhao, Shihchia Liu, Yonghao Liu, Jung-Hun Seo, Zhenqiang Ma and Weidong Zhou

Photonics 2015, 2(4), 1081-1100; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2041081 - 13 Nov 2015

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 10143

Abstract

Heterogeneous crystalline semiconductor nanomembrane (NM) integration is investigated for single-layer and double-layer Silicon (Si) NM photonics, III-V/Si NM lasers, and graphene/Si NM total absorption devices. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous integration are realized by the versatile transfer printing technique. The performance of these integrated membrane devices shows, not only intact optical and electrical characteristics as their bulk counterparts, but also the unique light and matter interactions, such as Fano resonance, slow light, and critical coupling in photonic crystal cavities. Such a heterogeneous integration approach offers tremendous practical application potentials on unconventional, Si CMOS compatible, and high performance optoelectronic systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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1948 KiB

Open AccessReview

Hybrid Photonic Integration on a Polymer Platform

by Ziyang Zhang, David Felipe, Vasilis Katopodis, Panos Groumas, Christos Kouloumentas, Hercules Avramopoulos, Jean-Yves Dupuy, Agnieszka Konczykowska, Alberto Dede, Antonio Beretta, Antonello Vannucci, Giulio Cangini, Raluca Dinu, Detlef Schmidt, Martin Moehrle, Patrick Runge, Jung-Han Choi, Heinz-Gunter Bach, Norbert Grote, Norbert Keil and Martin Schell Show full author list Hide full author list

Photonics 2015, 2(3), 1005-1026; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2031005 - 21 Sep 2015

Cited by 49 | Viewed by 10103

Abstract

To fulfill the functionality demands from the fast developing optical networks, a hybrid integration approach allows for combining the advantages of various material platforms. We have established a polymer-based hybrid integration platform (polyboard), which provides flexible optical input/ouptut interfaces (I/Os) that allow robust coupling of indium phosphide (InP)-based active components, passive insertion of thin-film-based optical elements, and on-chip attachment of optical fibers. This work reviews the recent progress of our polyboard platform. On the fundamental level, multi-core waveguides and polymer/silicon nitride heterogeneous waveguides have been fabricated, broadening device design possibilities and enabling 3D photonic integration. Furthermore, 40-channel optical line terminals and compact, bi-directional optical network units have been developed as highly functional, low-cost devices for the wavelength division multiplexed passive optical network. On a larger scale, thermo-optic elements, thin-film elements and an InP gain chip have been integrated on the polyboard to realize a colorless, dual-polarization optical 90° hybrid as the frontend of a coherent receiver. For high-end applications, a wavelength tunable 100Gbaud transmitter module has been demonstrated, manifesting the joint contribution from the polyboard technology, high speed polymer electro-optic modulator, InP driver electronics and ceramic electronic interconnects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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2350 KiB

Open AccessReview

III-V-on-Silicon Photonic Devices for Optical Communication and Sensing

by Gunther Roelkens, Amin Abassi, Paolo Cardile, Utsav Dave, Andreas De Groote, Yannick De Koninck, Sören Dhoore, Xin Fu, Alban Gassenq, Nannicha Hattasan, Qiangsheng Huang, Sulakshna Kumari, Shahram Keyvaninia, Bart Kuyken, Lianyan Li, Pauline Mechet, Muhammad Muneeb, Dorian Sanchez, Haifeng Shao, Thijs Spuesens, Ananth Z. Subramanian, Sarah Uvin, Martijn Tassaert, Kasper Van Gasse, Jochem Verbist, Ruijun Wang, Zhechao Wang, Jing Zhang, Joris Van Campenhout, Xin Yin, Johan Bauwelinck, Geert Morthier, Roel Baets and Dries Van Thourhout Show full author list Hide full author list

Photonics 2015, 2(3), 969-1004; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics2030969 - 18 Sep 2015

Cited by 121 | Viewed by 21521

Abstract

In the paper, we review our work on heterogeneous III-V-on-silicon photonic components and circuits for applications in optical communication and sensing. We elaborate on the integration strategy and describe a broad range of devices realized on this platform covering a wavelength range from [...] Read more.

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hybrid and Heterogeneous Technologies in Photonics Integrated Circuits)

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