Weight, size and cost reductions, EMI immunity, COMSEC and enhanced functionality are key technology drivers for hybrid photonic technologies. Optical components and sub-assemblies are expensive as a rule because automation and pick-and-place assembly is not pervasive in this manufacturing environment. Standard manufacturing operations often still use the same high labor content and cost-intensive processes that R&D departments employ in prototype development. These manual processes have a host of disadvantages – especially since many system components with varying functionalities must be fitted into a single housing. Manually positioning and packaging individual components such as lasers, coupling optics, isolators, fibers, photo detectors, integrated waveguides or dielectric filters is a tedious task requiring enormous precision and time. Tiny deviation from the ideal fiber or device positioning impairs performance, impacts production yields, and generates significant component cost.

A critical path in the deployment of hybrids is the effective use of "silicon optical bench" (SiOB) technology and planar lightwave circuits (PLC). SiOB technology is to the optoelectronics industry as printed circuit boards or PCBs are to the computer or electronics industry. A silicon-based network of optical waveguides is produced using conventional photo-lithographic techniques and then combined with planar patterning, and micro-machining. High-precision pick-and-place assembly is necessary to align the glass fibers with the waveguides or precisely butt the active components to the passive elements for maximum coupling. Flip chip bonding is used for the precision positioning of active components and the provisioning of electrical connections. SiOB’s have the benefit of low insertion loss as the light propagates through the waveguide (under 0.01 dB/cm), making it ideal for waveguide routers, switches and network couplings. Additionally, advances in the science have yielded the capability to dope the waveguides with erbium thereby creating an integrated, compact optical amplifier.

Contact a Sales Representative regarding your Hybrid Integrated Platform (HIP) requirements.