Heterogeneous integration of III-V materials onto silicon photonics has experienced enormous progress in the last few years, setting the groundwork for the implementation of complex on-chip optical systems that go beyond single device performance. Recent advances on the field are expected to impact on next generation optical communications to attain low power, high efficiency and portable solutions. To accomplish that aim, intense research on hybrid lasers, modulators and photodetectors is being done to implement optical modules and photonic integrated networks with specifications that match the market demands. Similarly, important advances on packaging and thermal management of hybrid photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is currently in progress. In this paper, we report our latest results on hybrid III-V on Si transmitters, receivers and packaged optical modules for high-speed optical communications. In addition, a review of recent advances in this field will be provided for benchmarking purposes.

Heterogeneously integrated III-V/Si lasers and semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are key devices for integrated photonics applications requiring miniaturized on-chip light sources, such as in optical communications, sensing, or spectroscopy. In this work, we present a widely tunable laser co-integrated with a semiconductor optical amplifier in a heterogeneous platform that combines AlGaInAs multiple quantum wells (MQWs) and InP-based materials with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers containing photonic integrated circuits. The co-integrated device is compact, has a total device footprint of 0.5 mm², a lasing current threshold of 10 mA, a selectable wavelength tuning range of 50 nm centered at λ = 1549 nm, a fiber-coupled output power of 10 mW, and a laser linewidth of ν = 259 KHz. The SOA provides an on-chip gain of 18 dB/mm. The total power consumption of the co-integrated devices remains below 0.5 W even for the most power demanding lasing wavelengths. Apart from the above-mentioned applications, the co-integration of compact widely tunable III-V/Si lasers with on-chip SOAs provides a step forward towards the development of highly efficient, portable, and low power systems for wavelength division multiplexed passive optical networks (WDM-PONs).

The tremendous demand for low-cost, low-consumption and high-capacity optical transmitters in data centers challenges the current InP-photonics platform. The use of silicon (Si) photonics platform to fabricate photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is a promising approach for low-cost large-scale fabrication considering the CMOS-technology maturity and scalability. However, Si itself cannot provide an efficient emitting light source due to its indirect bandgap. Therefore, the integration of III-V semiconductors on Si wafers allows us to benefit from the III-V emitting properties combined with benefits offered by the Si photonics platform. Direct epitaxy of InP-based materials on 300 mm Si wafers is the most promising approach to reduce the costs. However, the differences between InP and Si in terms of lattice mismatch, thermal coefficients and polarity inducing defects are challenging issues to overcome. III-V/Si hetero-integration platform by wafer-bonding is the most mature integration scheme. However, no additional epitaxial regrowth steps are implemented after the bonding step. Considering the much larger epitaxial toolkit available in the conventional monolithic InP platform, where several epitaxial steps are often implemented, this represents a significant limitation. In this paper, we review an advanced integration scheme of AlGaInAs-based laser sources on Si wafers by bonding a thin InP seed on which further regrowth steps are implemented. A 3 µm-thick AlGaInAs-based MutiQuantum Wells (MQW) laser structure was grown onto on InP-SiO₂/Si (InPoSi) wafer and compared to the same structure grown on InP wafer as a reference. The 400 ppm thermal strain on the structure grown on InPoSi, induced by the difference of coefficient of thermal expansion between InP and Si, was assessed at growth temperature. We also showed that this structure demonstrates laser performance similar to the ones obtained for the same structure grown on InP. Therefore, no material degradation was observed in spite of the thermal strain. Then, we developed the Selective Area Growth (SAG) technique to grow multi-wavelength laser sources from a single growth step on InPoSi. A 155 nm-wide spectral range from 1515 nm to 1670 nm was achieved. Furthermore, an AlGaInAs MQW-based laser source was successfully grown on InP-SOI wafers and efficiently coupled to Si-photonic DBR cavities. Altogether, the regrowth on InP-SOI wafers holds great promises to combine the best from the III-V monolithic platform combined with the possibilities offered by the Si photonics circuitry via efficient light-coupling.

We present a single photonic chip that processes both optical and microwave signals, and can convert signals between the two domains. Our chip, fabricated in IMEC’s iSiPP50G silicon photonics process, is capable of both generation and detection of analog electrical and optical signals, and can program a user-defined filter response in both domains. The single chip integrates all essential components like modulators, optical filters, and photodetectors, as well as tunable lasers enabled by transfer-printed indium phosphide optical amplifiers. This makes it possible to operate the chip as a black-box microwave photonics processor, where the user can process high-frequency microwave signals without being exposed to inner optical operation of the chip. The system’s configuration is locally programmed through thermo-optic phase shifters and monitored by photodetectors, and can select any combination of optical or microwave inputs and outputs. We demonstrate our chip’s capabilities with different combinations of RF and optical signal processing functions, including optical and RF signal generation and filtering. This represents a key step towards compact and affordable microwave photonic systems that can enable higher-speed wireless communication networks and low-cost microwave sensing applications.

We present a photonic engine that processes both optical and microwave signals, and can convert signals between the two domains. Our photonic chip, fabricated in IMEC's iSiPP50G silicon photonics process, is capable of both generation and detection of analog electrical and optical signals, and can program user-defined filter responses in both domains. This single chip integrates all essential photonic integrated components like modulators, optical filters, and photodetectors, as well as tunable lasers enabled by transfer-printed indium phosphide optical amplifiers. This makes it possible to operate the chip as a black-box microwave photonics processor, where the user can process high-frequency microwave signals without being exposed to inner optical operation of the chip. The system's configuration is locally programmed through thermo-optic phase shifters and monitored by photodetectors, and can select any combination of optical or microwave inputs and outputs. We construct multiple systems with this engine to demonstrate its capabilities for different RF and optical signal processing functions, including optical and RF signal generation and filtering. This represents a key step towards compact and affordable microwave photonic systems that can enable higher-speed wireless communication networks and low-cost microwave sensing applications.

The explosion of data volume in communications, AI training, and cloud computing requires efficient data handling, which is typically stored as digital electrical information and transmitted as wireless radio frequency (RF) signals or light waves in optical fibres. Today's communications systems mostly treat the RF and optical signals separately, which results in unnecessary conversion losses and increased cost. In this work, we report the first fully on-chip signal processor for high-speed RF and optical signals based on a silicon photonic circuit. Our chip is capable of both generation and detection of analog electrical and optical signals, and can program a user-defined filter response in both domains. The single silicon photonic chip integrates all essential components like modulators, optical filters, and photodetectors, as well as tunable lasers enabled by transfer-printed Indium Phosphide (InP) optical amplifiers. The system's configuration is locally programmed through thermo-optic phase shifters and monitored by photodetectors. We demonstrate our chip's capabilities with different combinations of RF and optical signal processing functions, including optical and RF signal generation and filtering. This represents a key step towards compact microwave photonic systems for future wireless communication and sensing applications.