Multichannel and high-density hybrid integrated light source with a laser diode array on a silicon optical waveguide platform for interchip optical interconnection

A hybrid integrated light source was developed with a configuration in which a laser diode (LD) array was mounted on a silicon optical waveguide platform for interchip optical interconnection. This integrated light source is composed of 13-channel stripes with a pitch of 20 or 30 μm. The output power of each LD in the 400 or 600-μm long LD array was over 40 mW at room temperature without cooling. An output power uniformity was 1.3 dB including an LD array power uniformity. The use of a SiON waveguide with a spot size converter resulted in an optical coupling loss of 1 dB between an LD and SiON waveguide. The integrated light source including 52 output ports demonstrated a reduction in the footprint per channel. We also demonstrated a light source with over 100 output ports in which the number of output ports is increased by using a waveguide splitter and multichip bonding. These integrated light sources are practical candidates for use with photonic integrated circuits for high-density optical interconnection.