I-Corps: Fiber to Chip Photonic Packaging with Low Loss

University Of Rochester, Rochester NY

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development and translation of a photonic integrated circuit packaging technology that will help in the advancement and scalability of integrated photonics. Silicon photonic devices are poised to enter high volume markets such as data communications, telecommunications, and laser-based radar. The integrated photonics market is predicted to grow from $600M in 2017 to $1,600M by 2022 and to $4,000M in optical transceivers in the data communications market by 2025. However, up to 80% of the cost of a silicon photonic device is in the packaging. The main cost driver for optical packaging is permanently attaching fiber to the photonic chip with high optical efficiency. The proposed technology substantially decreases the footprint of a photonic device and increases the performance of a photonic device by four times the current standard. Currently, 80% of the total cost of a photonic device comes from packaging and testing, not from fabrication. Current techniques for attaching the fiber to a chip without dissipating electrical or electromagnetic energy (loss) are time consuming and/or use bulky fixtures for packaging. The proposed technology permanently attaches a fiber to a chip using laser fusion splicing, which is robust, low loss, and scalable to high volume manufacturing. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a packaging solution for integrated photonic devices. The technology provides a novel method for packaging integrated photonic devices using fusion splicing, with the lowest loss, cost, and time. The laser fusion splicing process melts a fiber to an integrated photonic chip at the glass-glass interface. The technology includes a mode converter, which improves the performance of the device and acts as an interface for splicing the fiber to the chip efficiently. Recent results show a loss of 1dB per facet after fusing a fiber to a photonic chip, which is the lowest measured loss in a completely packaged photonic device. The proposed technology may scale manufacturing of photonic chips at a lower cost, faster speed, and higher performance than existing technologies. Further, the technology enables higher temperature processing, which simplifies current packaging processes leading to additional cost reductions. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.