We would like to keep you up to date with the latest information on PIC International 2023 by sending you push notifications.
Presentations at PIC International 2023 are grouped into 6 key themes which collectively provide complete coverage of the photonic integrated circuits industry.
If you are interested in speaking at PIC International 2023, please contact [email protected] or call +44 (0)24 7671 8970.
The talk will present a classification and an overview of mechano-optical coupling structures for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) , which are 3D printed based on Two-Photon Polymerization. It showcases lensed fiber array (LFA) coupling schemes and losses, and provides a demonstration of chip to LFA coupling. It explains the superior quality and speed-up of LFAs with 3D printed lenses using 2-Photon Grayscale Lithography (2GL®). We will show different coupling structures as well as a demonstration of a micro lens array (MLA) on a grating coupler (GC) for beam steering. The process flow from software to printing is also outlined, with an outlook on different future optomechanical coupling mechanisms.
Photonic wire bonding allows to combine the complementary strengths of different optical integration platforms in advanced photonic multi-chip modules leading to compactness with high performance and great design flexibility. The technique relies on highly precise direct-write 3D laser lithography for printing of freeform single-mode waveguides between optical dies, thereby offering a path towards fully automated mass production without the need for active alignment. Additionally, 3D nano-printing can also be used to fabricate facet-attached beam-shaping elements on optical chips and fibers, allowing for low-loss coupling with high alignment tolerance and for wafer-level probing of optical devices.
Now photonic integrated circuits are maturing and being commercially implemented, the bottleneck for further scaling in performance and production becomes clear. While InP PICs have supperior performance in terms of component bandwidth and availability of efficient native-substrate sources, their manufacturability is limited by dedicated fabrication flows. Silicon photonics, on the other hand, lacks native sources and had limited-efficiency modulators, but benefits from a mature fabrication and assembly infrastructure. Further scaling of PICs will require a form of heterogeneous integration of InP on silicon. I will discuss the various techniques.
Zero Point Motion is working with CORNERSTONE (University of Southampton and Glasgow University), to create low noise chipscale optical inertial sensor prototypes by combining photonic integrated circuit (PIC) structures with micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) engineering. Our technology is derived from research exploring the coupling between optical resonances and mechanical motion, already shown to produce 1000x lower noise floors compared with capacitive devices. We therefore exploit this cavity optomechanical interaction using a platform comprising ring resonators containing whispering gallery mode resonances, coupled to the motion of MEMS inertial test-masses placed within resonator evanescent field. We report on progress in realising an integrated device, with both MEMS and PIC structures packaged with light sources and detectors on-chip.
Polarization-independent photonic integrated circuits (PIC) can be realized with 3 µm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides that offer a combination of ultra-low losses and dense integration. A short overview of this technology is presented and followed by some recent examples of hybrid integration and packaging. In particular, III-V light source integration can be used for amplification and lasing at near and mid infrared wavelengths. Low-loss, polarization independent and ultra-broadband fiber coupling can be achieved with either polished interposers or polymer lenses. Also a few application examples are provided for this technology.
Telecom and datacom applications have the lion’s share of the integrated photonics market. However, the needs of their devices have developed technologies which can simultaneously serve other applications. Low loss, broadband, compact photonic devices have been designed for usage in the life sciences, quantum processing, chemical sensing, and measurement. Photonic waveguide platforms optimised towards the relevant wavelengths in each application, as well as a creative circuit design approach and hybrid integration of chips and interfaces, significantly expand the reach of what is commonly understood as the function of silicon photonics.
Not long ago there was a question: which PIC technology platform would win the photonics race: InP or SoI? But, what about SiN, glass, or polymer? It has become clear that each platform offers certain advantages in performance, size and price, and no winner takes it all. For many applications the way forward is actually combining the various PIC technologies in hybrid PIC designs. In order to design such hybrid pics it is pivotal to seamlessly combine two or more PDKs in a single PIC design flow. This presentation shows how Nazca Design lets you do just that.
Recently Silicon Photonic foundries have been incorporating InP building blocks in their PDKs. Industrial efforts from Tower Semiconductor, SCINTIL photonics, Skorpios, and Global Foundries should be highlighted. In parallel, we have seen advances in new on-chip modulators- plus the new materials to make them. For example, Lithium Niobite from Hyperlight or Ori Chip, Polymer-based modulators from Lightwave Logic, NLM Photonics or Sylorix, plasmonics from Polariton or developments Lumiphase made with BTO materials. The list of companies is increasing fast.
As PICs continue to increase in complexity, it is more important than ever to have efficient methods for verifying their functionality. This presentation will discuss what key information can be extracted from PIC designs post-layout, empowering designers to make informed decisions, and to confidently sign-off on their designs and speed up the time-to-market.
We present a custom integration framework of foundry-specific photonic PDKs into a versatile, general-purpose simulation environment addressing integrated photonics and optoelectronics applications. Our concept comprises the user-driven development of custom building block libraries based on standard data exchange formats and automated fitting of characteristics for parameterized compact simulation models. We demonstrate its beneficial application for the layout-aware schematic-driven design of PICs for various technologies and applications.
The mainstreaming of silicon photonics is settled. With applications as diverse as LIDAR, quantum computing, wearables and of course data-center connectivity, our industry is broad, robust, and confronting a steep scaling ramp. This means two things: First, diversity shields us from 2002’s single point of market failure. As presented two years ago, the ramp is massive. Yet it comes when supply chains are strained, resources are scarce, environmental concerns are intensifying and geopolitical tensions are increasing. Thus, the second impact: We must embrace a paradigm of doing more with less. We discuss approaches and solutions proven to yield agility and compress timescales stretched by availability constraints.
In the world of small integrated devices, optical components are a key component to increase photonics integrated circuit performance. For optimal results, active alignment is the missing link. In order to increase system performance, repeatability and production output, one needs to semi or fully automate the processes. Join Averna as they share their 20+ years experience to demonstrate state of the art technologies, experienced techniques and an how an extensive partner network can help achieve these goals in both production environments and in R&D.
In the world of photonics, the need for validating and optimizing packaging performance quickly and reliably is growing. In a joint project with AMO and Black Semiconductors, Etteplan developed a solution for the back-end assembly of photonic products where flexibility and short changeover times in the production sequence of the packaging solution is a crucial element. This flexibility was important to optimize and shorten the lead time of the R&D process. Based on open source software, Etteplan developed this solution for their machine platform combining a simple and efficient block based programming interface, enabling product companies and foundries to program and configure the machine’s production sequence and parameters themselves.
How to layout a chip that allows for easy prototyping and what needs to be done to scale up the production afterwards. What are do’s and don’ts when packaging optical chips and where are limitations in the packaging field come from, and how can you overcome those. What can you do to prevent unexpected high cost on packaging and how do you budget for this?
Propagation losses in PICs are very important to have energy efficient on chip routing and are especially crucial if already very few photons are there to start with. In this talk we will give an overview of LIGENTEC’s low loss PICs based on silicon nitride and application areas in telecom/datacom, LiDAR, Quantum and sensing. Reliability and uniformity are of critical importance and are addressed with statistical process control in our 100mm and 200mm wafer fabrication.
Applications for PIC are diversifying constantly. Next to optimized solutions for optical connectivity, high-speed data transfers in data centers, telecom networks they are considered to enable novel type of optical sensors e.g. in LiDAR components for autonomous driving. This in turn is driving the importance of dedicated manufacturing processes and packaging flows which are developed for and aligned with the specific needs of PIC, to enable most advanced, compact and reliable devices. Wafer-level nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has come into industry focus as manufacturing technology of choice for photonic integrated circuits (PIC). In this talk we will show, how NIL helps to solve key challenges in this area and how to cost-effectively scale up the production.
Over the past decade, integrated photonics have become an essential part of high speed data centers and data communication networks. Integrated silicon photonics (SiPh) is now poised to ramp in volume manufacturing and enable improvements in processing speed, form factor and reduced energy consumption for a broad range of applications including: communications, AI/ML, quantum computing, medical diagnostics and secure transactions. In order to accelerate the uptake of silicon photonics, focus must be placed on the development of an ecosystem – mirroring that of microelectronics – in EDA tools, IP development and photonics packaging.
Electro-optic polymer modulators are now being seriously considered by industry as it looks to increase modulation speed and lowering power consumption. Polymer modulators have inherent speed and low power characteristics, as well as the ability to be additive to any semiconductor wafer platform including Silicon photonics and Indium Phosphide (InP) using foundries. Furthermore, polymer modulators are small enough to fit easily into pluggable transceiver modules and have the potential to enable the future multi-Tbps aggregated data-rates that the industry anticipates over the next decade. The talk will discuss the latest results on foundry fabricated EO polymers for integrated photonics platforms with reliability data. This talk will also review the latest work in photonics roadmaps on both the integrated photonics (PIC) level as well as PIC packaging level.
Tower Semiconductor’s PH18 Silicon Photonics foundry offering is designed to address the growing demand for the data center interconnect market. Enabling high yield and low cost PICs are among our leading considerations. In this talk we will discuss process control with PCM (process control monitor) devices in a high-volume manufacturing foundry environment. The new features from the recent development will be present.
Si Photonics plays an increasing role in Telecommunication and Data Centre applications and is at the centre of development activities in applications ranging from LiDAR to optical computing and sensing. To support this expansion, foundry services based on a broad platform are necessary. While such services provide a versatile offering and attractive solutions to multiple industries, they can be reinforced by the deployment of application specific PDKs. This talk will present this approach, currently implemented at AMF to offer customers a selection of carefully designed devices that can support the fast deployment of relevant solutions.
High volume manufacturing of photonic systems requires assembly machines with high throughput, yield and availability. To meet this demand, the motion systems involved must offer high accuracy combined with high motion speed. At the boundary of performance, these factors often oppose each other, making it necessary to find the optimum trade off. Under changing conditions in the field, finding & maintaining this optimum can impose significant challenges to local operators & engineers alike. We present an approach that automatically adapts the motion system to changing conditions without human intervention. Thereby, best possible yield can be achieved without sacrificing throughput.
Micro-optics and microlenses have become widely a standard and off-the-shelf components are available for applications based on PICs, optical fibers, APDs, laser diodes and VCSELs. In order to keep optical losses at bay, packaging and assembly of micro-optics with sources and detectors require extremely high precision. Presented are advanced mechanical and micro-optical features that are integrated with microlenses and which facilitate the assembly, shorten the BOM and allow for more compact and smaller form factors. Along with the assembly features, we provide in-house design capabilities to help clients with their challenging designs.
Several photonic applications ranging from optical switches, and co-packaged optics, to quantum computing, require an increasing number of optical fiber connections with sub-micron positioning accuracy. Optical fiber arrays are assembled by means of passive alignment features which do not guarantee the needed accuracy for small MFD beam alignment. Such a limit comes from the fiber array imperfections which compromise the core-to-core pitch accuracy. MicroAlign is developing a new fiber array alignment method, based on a novel micro-actuator, that provides independent and simultaneous active alignment capabilities for all the cores of the array unit.
Driven by mega trends such as the IoT and autonomous driving, PICs have been growing at a CAGR of greater 25%. Conventional packaging approaches are unlikely to keep up with short innovation cycles and future volume requirements. 3D laser lithography based Photonic Wire Bonding allows for compact chip-to-chip packaging with high yields, complying with tight optical specification and environmental requirements. Micro-optical lenses can be directly fabricated on wafer-level, allowing for passive alignment of PICs with low coupling losses, while also meeting industrial reliability specifications. See how these technologies have been implemented in a reconfigurable tool chain which scales from prototyping to high-volume production.
Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) has gained significant traction over the last years, mainly driven by the automotive, consumer electronics and industrial automation sectors. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) allow integrating all the required photonic building blocks (laser source, solid-state beamsteering, photodetectors, routing and switching structures) on a single Si/SiN chip using CMOS-compatible foundry processes. This platform is particularly interesting for developing frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) LiDAR engines operating at short-wave infrared (SWIR) wavelengths. Such emerging fully-integrated LiDAR systems promise to reduce size, weight, power and cost, while increasing reliability and performance. In this talk, we will summarize imec’s main research directions on PIC-based solid-state LiDAR modules, with a focus on different solid-state beamsteering approaches.
We will discuss key aspects of silicon photonics based optical transceivers for data rates of 100 Gbit/s per lane. This will include technology platforms as well as MCM and optical design. We will show transmission test results up to 20 km over single mode fiber.
The integration of photonic elements onto a single chip is essential to drive scale and functionality to enable automotive and consumer LiDAR. To drive this adoption, Voyant Photonics is developing silicon photonics chipsets which enable a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) LiDAR approach. These silicon photonics engines have demonstrated performance characteristics that show distinct advantages over other LiDAR approaches.One of the key advantages for Voyant Photonics is that the silicon photonics engines can be developed in a commercial foundry, which enables scalability and fabrication on a line with fully qualified processes. Utilizing a US based commercial foundry, the company has demonstrated solid state scanning that can eventually be incorporated into a single chipset. This enables a reduction in package complexity and eliminates several of the issues observed in mechanical based systems.In this talk we will discuss some of the challenges and requirements for consumer and automotive LiDAR and highlight the advantages of silicon photonics and FMCW for LiDAR applications.
The development of faster ethernet transceivers with data rates of 800 Gbit/s and beyond has become one of the major challenges in order to cope with the continuously growing global data sphere. By combining established silicon photonics with tailor-made, high-efficient organic materials in the so called “Silicon-Organic-Hybrid” (SOH) approach, electro-optic modulators with single lane-speeds above 130 GBd and sub-volt drive-voltages have been realized. Utilizing novel material concepts, SOH-devices do not only exhibit an unmatched performance, but also feature long-term stability, rendering this technology perfectly suited for next generation ethernet transceivers.
PICs have been a key enabler for the rapid growth of optical engines and an impressive scaling of network capabilities and economics. We will review the capacity, power and reach improvements of InP-based PICs for embedded and pluggable applications of optical engines.
We will give an in-depth overview of the role of photonic integrated circuits and their applications in access networks, especially 10G and beyond technologies. Our photonic packaging approach and substrate options will be discussed, as well as the key challenges facing today's networks, for example, scalability, power consumption, and cost efficiency, to provide a flexible and adaptable solution.
This presentation will discuss the trends towards multi-die/multi-technology semiconductor systems and how this changes the requirements for design solutions, IP and silicon life cycle management.
Feeding 10B people by 2050 in a world affected by climate change and a loss of Biodiversity created unprecedented challenges for agriculture and food processing. Switching to more sustainable technologies called precision farming replaces traditional approaches with detailed knowledge of growth conditions, which requires ubiquitous and advanced sensing and location technology. But this needs to be small robust and very affordable.Integrated photonics can play a big role here with smart sensing, communication, lidar and robotics solutions. The presentation will give an overview of new technology platforms and developments as part of the PhotonDelta growth fund
Future optical modules must be smaller to decrease power consumption and increase data throughput. As such, progress in integration of optical component technologies has dramatically cut complexity and cost of the modules. Networking hardware is seeing more common components as technology advancements enable tighter integration of communication and computing technologies in commercial systems. As a result, new very-short-reach optical interconnects have emerged for High Power Computing (HPC) and its new disaggregated architecture. Disaggregated design distinguishes the compute, memory, and storage components found on a server card and pools them separately. Photonic Integrated circuit (PIC) is a key enabling architecture for further development of optical interconnect solutions needed to address growing internet traffic. Today Silicon Photonics (SiPho) PIC plays an important role in 500 m and 80 km pluggable interconnects and is a key driving platform for co-packaged optics assembly for networking and HPC. InP PIC is an emerging technology platform targeting coherent links for long-haul applications. With highly integrated optics and silicon chips, new engineering capabilities and foundries will be greatly desired. This presentation will show global trends, future technologies and market forecast for the PIC industry.
This talk will discuss the use of optical fiber and connectivity for advanced glass substrates in established markets. Optical fiber has been increasingly used for data transmission due to its high bandwidth and low attenuation. With the growing demand for faster transfer rates, optical fiber is starting to move inside datacenter switching equipment to provide higher bandwidth density, lower power consumption and reduced costs compared to electrical interconnects. The use of optical waveguides in glass substrates in conjunction with optical fiber can lead to improved performance and reduced packaging complexity. This talk will cover the benefits of using optical fiber with advanced glass substrates, as well as practical considerations for implementation.
One of the crucial steps needed for PIC deployment is establishing fast, highly reliable and repeatable testing, that intends to accelerate PIC design cycles and increase yield of known good dies. Among key challenges that PIC testing is facing, is insertion loss sensitivity of surface coupling to launching angle and fiber gap as well as fast and accurate polarization alignment. In collaboration with partners, Keysight developed PIC test solutions covering wide range of applications from R&D to full-fledged production and wide range of measurements from polarization and wavelength resolved optical to up to 110 GHz electro-optical. The latest Keysight developments for highly automated, fast and accurate PIC testing will be presented.
Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) have become a key platform for quantum computing due to the low decoherent nature of photons, the capability of room temperature operation, the integration of a large number of qubits onto a chip, and compatibility with silicon chip fabrication. Designing a quantum photonic circuit critically depends on our ability to design high-quality lasers and robust components against manufacturing and environmental variations and on making the design process of these circuits accessible to a broader community of engineers with little to no background in quantum mechanics. The latest advancements at Ansys on Electronic Photonic Design Automation (EPDA) and the introduction of solvers like qINTERCONNECT have put us in a great position to make that happen.
New machine learning algorithms such as deep neural networks and the availability of large datasets have created a large drive towards new types of hardware capable of executing these algorithms with higher energy-efficiency. Recently, silicon photonics has emerged as a promising hardware platform for neuromorphic computing due to its inherent capability to process linear and non-linear operations and transmit a high bandwidth of data in parallel. At Hewlett Packard Labs, an energy-efficient dense-wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) silicon photonics platform has been developed as the underlying foundation for innovative neuromorphic computing architectures. The latest research on our silicon photonic neuromorphic platform will be presented and discussed.
Controlling light with electrical signals is a critical function in photonic integrated circuits for optical communication, sensors, and switches. Lumiphase develops and manufactures photonic chips based on a unique BTO Pockels technology. The superior materials performances translate into electro-optical modulation functionalities with benefits in cost, speed, transparency, power-consumption, and footprint compared to standard silicon solutions. The Pockels-enhanced chips enable next-generation transceivers, both for coherent as well as direct-detect data transmission schemes, as well as for a wide range of photonic applications ranging such as sensing, data processing, or switching, where large numbers of ultra-efficient, integrated phase shifters are needed.
Neuromorphic computing recently gained a lot of interest to enhance the performance and efficiency of neural network inference and training. In this presentation, I will discuss the prospects of analog signal processing in general and present examples of integrated photonic implementations. What are the advantages and challenges of photonic structures for the application in accelerators for neuromorphic computing? What type of operations are especially suited to be performed in the optical domain?
You think Silicon Photonics is the way to go? Well, let us introduce you to Plasmonic PICs - the faster, smaller, and more efficient cousin. With Plasmonics technology, we can manipulate light in ways that were once thought impossible. We're talking about super small components that can process data at lightning-fast speeds. In this presentation, we'll take you through the basics of Plasmonic PICs, share some exciting developments in the field, and remind you that even though Silicon Photonics is awesome, there's always room for improvement. So, get ready for some serious (but not too serious) science talk!
Quantum dot lasers offer a variety of useful characteristics as light sources in integrated highly parallel data transmission links. These properties include low threshold, high efficiency, resilience to unintentional optical feedback, high reliability, and broad wavelength spectral emission. The combination of these lasers with sophisticated silicon photonics components presents a variety of circuit architectures for highly compact, high bandwidth, and highly efficient photonic transmitters with low power consumption which are fabricated in a low cost and high volume commercial foundry. This presentation will provide an overview of the laser and circuit designs enabled by this platform.
The performance of quantum systems would be ten years ahead of those of classical computers – or attain a level that classical computers will simply never reach. It’s therefore no wonder that many companies are looking for advanced technologies to help them to reach quantum supremacy. Imec supports them with technologies such as superconducting and spin-based computing. But in this talk, we focus on integrated photonics and its advanced functions that are relevant for quantum computing.
One year into adoption of the European Chips Act, the topic of fresh money and fresh budgetary commitments needed, questions on concrete policy approaches to implementation, topics such as lack of talent and many other threats are being voiced on different fora. Think tanks and analysts warn that major risks to successful realization of Chips Act objectives come from failed investments, or from a massive disruption of chip supply chains due to various geopolitical development. Success, however, is almost certainly linked to Europe being a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology – of which PICs are part of. Whether we go into history as having achieved strategic cooperation among key players and countries in securing [collectively] technology & industrial leadership in PICs for Europe, along with microelectronics – is a topic that needs clarity and shared vision from the entire PIC ecosystem of Europe. In this brief presentation, I shall provide the audience with an overview of prerequisites, and justify the urgency for a unified approach from the European PIC industry in the context of current Chips Act discussion and implementation.
