III-V-on-Si photonic integrated circuits realized using micro-transfer-printing

TLDR

Silicon photonics offers compact, high‑performance PICs with diverse optical functions, yet laser source integration remains immature, limiting cost reduction and broader application. This paper explores micro‑transfer‑printing as a promising method for integrating III‑V devices onto silicon photonic circuits. Micro‑transfer‑printing uses a PDMS elastomeric stamp to mass‑parallelly integrate III‑V devices onto silicon wafers with minimal process alteration, substantially lowering fabrication costs.

Abstract

Silicon photonics (SiPh) enables compact photonic integrated circuits (PICs), showing superior performance for a wide variety of applications. Various optical functions have been demonstrated on this platform that allows for complex and powerful PICs. Nevertheless, laser source integration technologies are not yet as mature, hampering the further cost reduction of the eventual Si photonic systems-on-chip and impeding the expansion of this platform to a broader range of applications. Here, we discuss a promising technology, micro-transfer-printing (μTP), for the realization of III-V-on-Si PICs. By employing a polydimethylsiloxane elastomeric stamp, the integration of III-V devices can be realized in a massively parallel manner on a wafer without substantial modifications to the SiPh process flow, leading to a significant cost reduction of the resulting III-V-on-Si PICs. This paper summarizes some of the recent developments in the use of μTP technology for realizing the integration of III-V photodiodes and lasers on Si PICs.