HyBoard platform
C3PO's core photonic integration technology is based on a silica-on-silicon integration platform that can offer high levels of integration. Using CIP’s HyBoard™ platform, the hybrid integration of InP active optoelectronic devices with passive planar silica waveguide devices will be realized. This platform has been successfully used in the past to develop functionally specific PICs, such as optical flip-flops, array regenerators, optical phase locked loops and tunable lasers.
The figure shows the principle of the hybrid integration platform used by CIP. The example shown is twin array optical regenerator using an array of 4 semiconductor optical amplifiers integrated into the passive silica PLC (the motherboard) mediated through the use of a micromachined silicon submount (daughterboard). Mode expanded and precision cleaved InP devices are passively assembly on micromachined silicon submounts against lateral and vertical alignment stops. This daughterboard is then passively assembled on the motherboard. The passive assembly is a key requirement for low cost. Current discrete devices are actively assembled with lensed fibres. This alignment and packaging constitutes ~70% of the final device costs. The HyBoard approach can be assembled using automated flip chip bonding machines.
