IRT Nanoelec integrates laser on silicon with modulator

French R&D consortium IRT Nanoelec says it has successfully integrated a III-V/silicon laser and silicon Mach Zehnder modulator for 25-Gbps optical transmission. Alternative approaches to 10-km 25-Gbps optical engines traditionally have relied on an external source, the group points out.

The effort represents a collaboration among IRT, Leti, STMicroelectronics, Samtec and Mentor Graphics. The group created silicon photonics circuits with an integrated modulator on a 200-mm SOI wafer; 300-mm wafers also could be used in the near future, the group adds. The group then directly bonded a two-inch wafer of III-V material on the silicon wafer. The hybrid wafer was then processed using conventional semiconductor and/or MEMS process steps to produce an integrated modulator-and-laser transmitter.

IRT Nanoelec launched its silicon photonics program in 2012, with core members Mentor Graphics, STMicroelectronics, and CNRS.

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