III-V silicon heterogeneous integration for integrated transmitters and receivers

Silicon is excellent material for realizing compact nanophotonic ICs operating at wavelengths in the telecom range. Moreover, the desired circuits can be realized with the most advanced equipment available, used also for the fabrication of high-end electronic circuits. Efficient light emission and amplification directly from silicon remains a bottleneck however. Therefore, we developed an alternative approach, based on the heterogeneous integration of III-V epitaxial material and silicon nanophotonic circuits. Following fabrication and planarization of the latter, small unprocessed dies of InP-based epitaxial material are bonded on top. Next, the substrate of these dies is removed down to an etch stop layer. Finally the desired active optoelectronic devices are processed in the remaining Ill-V layers using waferscale processes. The critical alignment between the sources and the underlying nanophotonic circuits is ensured through accurate lithography. In this paper we review some recent devices fabricated through this integration process.Silicon is excellent material for realizing compact nanophotonic ICs operating at wavelengths in the telecom range. Moreover, the desired circuits can be realized with the most advanced equipment available, used also for the fabrication of high-end electronic circuits. Efficient light emission and amplification directly from silicon remains a bottleneck however. Therefore, we developed an alternative approach, based on the heterogeneous integration of III-V epitaxial material and silicon nanophotonic circuits. Following fabrication and planarization of the latter, small unprocessed dies of InP-based epitaxial material are bonded on top. Next, the substrate of these dies is removed down to an etch stop layer. Finally the desired active optoelectronic devices are processed in the remaining Ill-V layers using waferscale processes. The critical alignment between the sources and the underlying nanophotonic circuits is ensured through accurate lithography. In this paper we review some recent devices fabricated through this integration process.P