InP-Based Generic Foundry Platform for Photonic Integrated Circuits

The standardization of photonic integration processes for InP has led to versatile and easily accessible generic integration platforms. The generic integration platforms enable the realization of a broad range of applications and lead to a dramatic cost reduction in the development costs of photonic integrated circuits (PICs). This paper addresses the SMART Photonics generic integration platform developments. The integration technology based on butt joint active-passive epitaxy is shown to achieve a platform without compromising the performance of the different components. The individual components or building blocks are described. A process design kit is established with a comprehensive dataset of simulation and layout information for the building blocks. Latest results on process development and optimization are demonstrated. A big step forward is achieved by applying high-resolution ArF lithography, which leads to increased performance for AWGs and a large increase in reproducibility and yield. The generic nature of the platform is demonstrated by analyzing a number of commercial multiproject wafer runs. It is clear that a large variety of applications is addressed with more than 200 designs from industry as well as academia. A number of examples of PICs are displayed to support this. Finally, the design flow is explained, with focus on layout-aware schematic-driven design flow that is required for complex circuits. It can be concluded that generic integration on InP is maturing fast and with the current developments and infrastructure it is the technology of choice for low cost, densely integrated PICs, ready for high-volume manufacturing.