An End-to-End Approach to the Challenges in PIC Packaging
Channel: AIM Photonics
Date: 2024-02-22

AIM Photonics Chief Operations Officer David Harame will present at the Integrated Photonics Summit, a virtual event presented by the editors of Photonics Spectra on January 17, 2024, at 12:55 p.m. 

An End-to-End Approach to the Challenges in PIC Packaging

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are currently fabricated primarily in CMOS semiconductor fabrication facilities, which allows manufacturers to take advantage of the large installed base of tools and processes. However, for a variety of reasons, traditional electronic packaging—which is the final step in the manufacturing process—is not equipped to handle the inherent challenges associated with packaging these advanced devices into functional products. In this presentation we explore some of these challenges, such as sub-micron alignment tolerances, sensitivity to temperature variations, optical losses, and a lack of established standards, especially as they relate to the design and manufacture of optical coupling structures.

Harame and the team at AIM Photonics learned that the best results are obtained when the PIC manufacturing and packaging processes are co-designed to better achieve low-loss coupling, particularly between photonic integrated circuits and other elements in the system. AIM’s “end-to-end” approach to developing an integrated photonics manufacturing ecosystem—including electronic photonic design automation (EPDA), wafer manufacturing (including interposers and heterogeneous integration), and electronic-photonic test, assembly, and packaging capabilities—enables the development of reliable, accessible, and affordable solutions that ensure the manufacturing-readiness of this critical technology for decades to come.