Integrated Photonics
What Are Photonic Integrated Circuits?
Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) are devices that integrate multiple photonic functions (such as waveguides, light generation, modulation and detection) on a single chip, similar to how electronic integrated circuits (ICs) integrate electronic functions. Common materials used in PICs include silicon, indium phosphide, silicon nitride and thin film lithium niobate. Each material has its own advantages depending on the application. Silicon photonics PICs that use CMOS fabrication processes offer numerous significant advantages, including cost-effectiveness due to economies of scale and mass production, seamless integration with electronic circuits for high-speed data transfer, and compact design with high component density. They also provide low power consumption, high bandwidth, and compatibility with existing semiconductor manufacturing processes, ensuring consistent quality and performance.
Why Use Photonic Integrated Circuits?
PICs can perform a variety of functions such as transmitting data, processing optical signals, and sensing. By integrating multiple photonic components on a single chip, PICs reduce the size and weight of optical systems. PICs can offer high-speed data transmission and processing with low power consumption. They can be mass-produced using semiconductor fabrication techniques, making them cost-effective for large-scale deployment. They are used in telecommunications, data centers, medical devices, and sensing applications.
Design, Test and Packaging PICs: We Can Do It All!
indie have been designing, testing and packaging silicon photonics chips for years. Our designs combine up to several tens of components on a single circuit on SiP chips that can be a few mm2 up to tens of mm2. They comprise passive routing components such as waveguides, multimode-interference couplers, tap couplers, optical fiber butt couplers and also active components such as phase modulators, intensity modulators and photodetectors. We have in-house test stations to test the bare chips with electrical and optical probes. Our in-house packaging capabilities include die bonding, wirebonding, passive optical positioning of components, active alignments. All the packaging steps are done in-house. We have experience in testing and packaging of several PIC materials including silicon, indium phosphide, silicon nitride and lithium niobate.
Related Products
| Product | Description | |
|---|---|---|
Integration of laser diodes, PICs, and modulators into custom fiber-coupled packages, offering standard or custom enclosures and laser control electronics. |
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