Heterogeneous 2D/3D photonic integrated microsystems

The continuing trend of exponential growth in data communications and processing are driving the need for large-scale heterogeneous integration. Similar to the trend we have observed in electronic integrated circuit development, we are witnessing a growing trend in 3D photonic integrated circuits (PICs) development in addition to that in 2D PICs. There are two main methods for fabricating 3D PICs. The first method, which utilizes ultrafast laser inscription (ULI), offers freeform shaping of waveguides in arbitrary contours and formations. The second method, which utilizes multilayer stacking and coupling of planar PICs, exploits relatively mature 2D PIC fabrication processes applied to each layer sequentially. Both the fabrication methods for 3D PICs have advantages and disadvantages such that certain applications may favor one method over the other. However, a joining of 2D PICs with 3D PICs can help develop integrated microsystems with new functionalities such as non-mechanical beam steering, space-division multiplexing (SDM), programmable arbitrary beam shaping, and photonic signal processing. We discuss examples of 3D PICs and 2D/3D integrated PICs in two applications: SDM via orbital-angular-momentum (OAM) multiplexing/demultiplexing and optical beam steering using optical phased arrays. Although a 2D PIC by itself can function as an OAM multiplexer or demultiplexer, it has limitations in supporting both polarizations. Alternatively, a 3D PIC fabricated by ULI can easily support both polarizations with low propagation loss. A combination of a 3D PIC and a 2D PIC designed and fabricated for OAM applications has successfully multiplexed and demultiplexed 15 OAM states to demonstrate polarization-diversified SDM coherent optical communications using multiple OAM states. Coherent excitation of multi-ring OAM states can allow highly scalable SDM utilizing Laguerre–Gaussian modes or linearly polarized (LP) modes. The preliminary fabrication of multi-ring OAM multiplexers and demultiplexers using the multilayer 3D PIC method and the ULI 3D PIC method has also been pursued. Large-scale (for example, 16×16 optical phased array) 3D PICs fabricated with the ULI technique have been demonstrated. Through these examples, we show that heterogeneous 2D/3D photonic integration retains the advantages of 2D PICs and 3D waveguides, which can potentially benefit many other applications.

[1]  Robert R. Thomson,et al.  Controlling the Cross-section of Ultrafast Laser Inscribed Optical Waveguides , 2012 .

[2]  C. Gunn,et al.  Fully Integrated VLSI CMOS and Photonics "CMOS Photonics" , 2007, 2007 IEEE Symposium on VLSI Technology.

[3]  Animesh Jha,et al.  Three-dimensional mid-infrared photonic circuits in chalcogenide glass. , 2012, Optics letters.

[4]  Roberto Proietti,et al.  Polarization diversified integrated circuits for orbital angular momentum multiplexing , 2015, 2015 IEEE Photonics Conference (IPC).

[5]  Di Liang,et al.  Photonic integration: Si or InP substrates? , 2009 .

[6]  Hiroaki Niitsuma,et al.  Fracture Mechanics Evaluation of Fracture Strength of Ferroelectric Ceramics : FERROELECTRIC MATERIALS , 1981 .

[7]  S. J. B. Yoo,et al.  Ultra-low loss vertical optical couplers for 3D photonic integrated circuits , 2015, 2015 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC).

[8]  Rajaram Bhat,et al.  Semiconductor lasers on Si substrates using the technology of bonding by atomic rearrangement , 1993 .

[9]  Philip G. Emma,et al.  Is 3D chip technology the next growth engine for performance improvement? , 2008, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[10]  Ajoy K. Kar,et al.  Ultrafast laser inscription: perspectives on future integrated applications , 2014 .

[11]  Ali Adibi,et al.  On-chip hybrid photonic-plasmonic light concentrator for nanofocusing in an integrated silicon photonics platform. , 2015, Nano letters.

[12]  Nicolas K. Fontaine.  Integrated photonics and components for space-division multiplexing systems , 2014, 2014 13th International Conference on Optical Communications and Networks (ICOCN).

[13]  van der Jjgm Jos Tol,et al.  Moore's law in photonics , 2012 .

[14]  T A Birks,et al.  Ultrafast laser inscription of an integrated photonic lantern. , 2011, Optics express.

[15]  Nicolas K Fontaine,et al.  Free-space coherent optical communication with orbital angular, momentum multiplexing/demultiplexing using a hybrid 3D photonic integrated circuit. , 2014, Optics express.

[16]  G. Moore.  Cramming more components onto integrated circuits, Reprinted from Electronics, volume 38, number 8, April 19, 1965, pp.114 ff. , 2006, IEEE Solid-State Circuits Newsletter.

[17]  U. Gösele,et al.  Semiconductor wafer bonding , 1998 .

[18]  Robert H. Dennard,et al.  Design of ion-implanted MOSFET's with very small physical dimensions , 2007 .

[19]  Bin Liu,et al.  3-D photonic circuit technology , 2002 .

[20]  G. Roelkens,et al.  Thin-Film III-V Photodetectors Integrated on Silicon-on-Insulator Photonic ICs , 2007, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[21]  Nicolas K Fontaine,et al.  Demonstration of free space coherent optical communication using integrated silicon photonic orbital angular momentum devices. , 2012, Optics express.

[22]  Graeme Brown,et al.  Efficient mid-infrared Cr:ZnSe channel waveguide laser operating at 2486 nm. , 2013, Optics letters.

[23]  S.J.B. Yoo,et al.  Si 3 N 4 multilayer platform for photonic integrated circuits , 2015, CLEO 2015.

[24]  Yoshinori Hibino,et al.  Low-loss waveguides written with a femtosecond laser for flexible interconnection in a planar light-wave circuit. , 2005, Optics letters.

[25]  S. J. B. Yoo,et al.  Integrated optical orbital angular momentum multiplexing device using 3-D waveguides and a silica PLC , 2013, CLEO: 2013.

[26]  G.E. Moore,et al.  Cramming More Components Onto Integrated Circuits , 1998, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[27]  Kuanping Shang,et al.  Low-loss compact multilayer silicon nitride platform for 3D photonic integrated circuits. , 2015, Optics express.

[28]  R Schmogrow,et al.  Photonic wire bonding: a novel concept for chip-scale interconnects. , 2012, Optics express.

[29]  Michiharu Nakamura,et al.  Integration of a Laser Diode and a Twin FET , 1981 .

[30]  David Hillerkuss,et al.  Photonic Wire Bonds for Terabit/s Chip-to-Chip Interconnects , 2011, 1111.0651.

[31]  R R Thomson,et al.  Ultrafast laser inscription of near-infrared waveguides in polycrystalline ZnSe. , 2010, Optics letters.

[32]  H. Matsueda.  AlGaAs OEIC transmitters , 1987 .

[33]  Nicolas K. Fontaine,et al.  Design Constraints of Photonic-Lantern Spatial Multiplexer Based on Laser-Inscribed 3-D Waveguide Technology , 2015, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[34]  Chigo Okonkwo,et al.  Compact spatial multiplexers for mode division multiplexing. , 2014, Optics express.

[35]  Roberto Proietti,et al.  Experimental demonstration of 3D elastic optical networking in space, time and frequency , 2015, 2015 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO).

[36]  A. Fender,et al.  Ultrafast laser inscription of a three dimensional fan-out device for multicore fiber coupling applications , 2007, 2008 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics and 2008 Conference on Quantum Electronics and Laser Science.

[37]  Enrico Temporiti,et al.  A 3D-integrated 25Gbps silicon photonics receiver in PIC25G and 65nm CMOS technologies , 2014, ESSCIRC 2014 - 40th European Solid State Circuits Conference (ESSCIRC).

[38]  Paragkumar Thadesar,et al.  Electrical, optical and fluidic through-silicon vias for silicon interposer applications , 2011, 2011 IEEE 61st Electronic Components and Technology Conference (ECTC).

[39]  Lute Maleki,et al.  Optical resonators with ten million finesse. , 2007, Optics express.

[40]  Roberto Osellame,et al.  Fundamentals of Femtosecond Laser Modification of Bulk Dielectrics , 2012 .

[41]  Patrick A. Berry,et al.  Directly Written Mid-Infrared Waveguides in Zinc Selenide , 2012 .

[42]  Arvind Kumar,et al.  Three-dimensional integrated circuits , 2006, IBM J. Res. Dev..

[43]  S. Noda,et al.  Full three-dimensional photonic bandgap crystals at near-infrared wavelengths , 2000, Science.

[44]  S. J. B. Yoo,et al.  Free-space coherent optical communication demonstration using a 3D photonic integrated circuit device for orbital angular momentum multiplexing/demultiplexing , 2013 .

[45]  R.H. Dennard,et al.  Design Of Ion-implanted MOSFET's with Very Small Physical Dimensions , 1974, Proceedings of the IEEE.

[46]  S. J. B. Yoo,et al.  Tri-layer, vertical Y-junction, Si3N4/SiO2 3D photonic integrated circuits with arbitrary splitting ratio , 2016, 2016 Optical Fiber Communications Conference and Exhibition (OFC).

[47]  Guo-Qiang Lo,et al.  Three-dimensional (3D) monolithically integrated photodetector and WDM receiver based on bulk silicon wafer. , 2014, Optics express.

[48]  M. Kohtoku,et al.  Waveguide Interconnection in Silica-Based Planar Lightwave Circuit Using Femtosecond Laser , 2009, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[49]  Michel Gendry,et al.  Optical mode study of III–V-nanowire-based nanophotonic crystals for an integrated infrared band microlaser , 2014 .

[50]  Michiharu Nakamura,et al.  Integration of a laser diode and a twin FET , 1980 .

[51]  Michal Lipson,et al.  Scalable 3D dense integration of photonics on bulk silicon. , 2011, Optics express.

[52]  Masayuki Ishikawa,et al.  144 °C operation of 1.3 μm InGaAsP vertical cavity lasers on GaAs substrates , 1992 .

[53]  John E. Bowers,et al.  Low-Loss Silicon Nitride AWG Demultiplexer Heterogeneously Integrated With Hybrid III–V/Silicon Photodetectors , 2014, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[54]  S. J. B. Yoo,et al.  Hybrid 3D photonic integrated circuit for optical phased array beam steering , 2015, 2015 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO).

[55]  Lech Wosinski,et al.  The Moore’s Law for photonic integrated circuits , 2006 .

[56]  Ziyang Zhang,et al.  Multicore Polymer Waveguides and Multistep 45° Mirrors for 3D Photonic Integration , 2014, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[57]  M. A. Koza,et al.  Bonding by atomic rearrangement of InP/InGaAsP 1.5 μm wavelength lasers on GaAs substrates , 1991 .

[58]  Ajoy K Kar.  Ultrashort Pulse Inscription of Photonic Structures in ZnSe and GaAs for Mid Infrared Applications , 2010 .