- Optical propagation loss (<1dB/m in C-band)
- Coupling to single mode fiber (<1dB/facet)
- Thermal phase tuning (pi-shift < 15 mW)
- High confinement ring resonators (Q factors >20M)
- 200 mm, automotive qualified foundry partner
- Statistical process control
LIGENTEC: 200 mm volume scale integrated SiN platform
STATE-OF-THE-ART SILICON NITRIDE PLATFORM
| ALL-NITRIDE PERFORMANCE | |
|---|---|
| Bending loss at 50μm radius | < 0.005 dB |
| Propagation loss | < 0.1 dB/cm |
| Minimum feature size | 200 nm |
| Mode field diameter for edge coupling | > 2-10 μm (customizable) |
| Statistical Process Control |
| IP BLOCKS PERFORMANCE AN800 | |
|---|---|
| Delay line | < 5 dB/m |
| Mach Zehnder Interferometer (rejection) | > 22 dB |
| High Q Resonator | > 2*106 20*106 (best measured) |
| Fiber chip coupling loss | < 1.5 dB |
| Thermal Tuning | > 4 nm, 4π – shift π – shift < 100 mW |
Innovations in development:
- Integration of Lithium Niobate modulators (LNOI)
- Photodiode integration
- Gain materials
- Other
DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
FABRICATION MODULES AND SELECTED PDK COMPONENTS
X2. Multi level photonics circuits
LoCA. Local cladding open for sensing and bonding
M1. High efficiency heater module for thermo-optic tuning
ExSpot. Spot size converters for mode matching to SMF in 1550nm
RIB. Enabling low loss grating coupler and polarisation management
Integration of active components
Low loss delay line
Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
Phase shifter
Tunable Mach-Zehnder
Tunable ring resonator
Polarisation management
Splitter
LIGENTEC: 200 mm volume scale integrated SiN platform
STATE-OF-THE-ART SILICON NITRIDE PLATFORM
| ALL-NITRIDE PERFORMANCE | |
|---|---|
| Bending loss at 50μm radius | < 0.005 dB |
| Propagation loss | < 0.1 dB/cm |
| Minimum feature size | 200 nm |
| Mode field diameter for edge coupling | > 2-10 μm (customizable) |
| Statistical Process Control |
| IP BLOCKS PERFORMANCE AN800 | |
|---|---|
| Delay line | < 5 dB/m |
| Mach Zehnder Interferometer (rejection) | > 22 dB |
| High Q Resonator | > 2*106 20*106 (best measured) |
| Fiber chip coupling loss | < 1.5 dB |
| Thermal Tuning | > 4 nm, 4π – shift π – shift < 100 mW |
- Optical propagation loss (<1dB/m in C-band)
- Coupling to single mode fiber (<1dB/facet)
- Thermal phase tuning (pi-shift < 15 mW)
- High confinement ring resonators (Q factors >20M)
- 200 mm, automotive qualified foundry partner
- Statistical process control
Innovations in development:
- Integration of Lithium Niobate modulators (LNOI)
- Photodiode integration
- Gain materials
- Other
DESIGN FLEXIBILITY
FABRICATION MODULES AND SELECTED PDK COMPONENTS
X2. Multi level photonics circuits
LoCA. Local cladding open for sensing and bonding
M1. High efficiency heater module for thermo-optic tuning
ExSpot. Spot size converters for mode matching to SMF in 1550nm
RIB. Enabling low loss grating coupler and polarisation management
Integration of active components
Low loss delay line
Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
Phase shifter
Tunable Mach-Zehnder
Tunable ring resonator
Polarisation management
Splitter
LIGENTEC process offers a state of the art, cost-effective platform with very high geometric accuracy. The process is accompanied by a complete PDK (available in L-edit, Calibre, Luceda and Synopsys). The PDK includes DRC rules files, and validated simulation film for our reference designs. Example of reference design:
- Spot converters
- Ultra low loss spirals
- MZI, MMI
- Ring resonators
- Filters
- AWG
- Heaters
- 2 x 2 mm
- uniformity
An unique feature of the thick waveguides is their anomalous dispersion and their high damage threshold that is important in a range of nonlinear optical applications, including integrated quantum communication, supercontinuum generation in waveguides from pulsed lasers, femtosecond pulse generation from CW lasers using soliton generation in microresonators. The high power threshold enables applications such as LIDAR to propagate Watts of power in the waveguides. In addition the transparency window in the visible renders silicon nitride planar photonic circuits attractive for microfluidics and bio-sensing applications.
At the start, AN technology is named because most of the mode (>90%) is in the nitride waveguide. The high mode confinement:
- Extends the transparency window to 3.0 µm in the MIR
- Reduces the bending radius, making very compact design possible
- Gives access to non-linear and quantum option through waveguide design
- Can operate in very high power with/without non-linear effects
- Reduced the propagation losses
The AN technology is available in two modular processes, developed from the ground up for photonics.
SILICON NITRIDE
Ultra wide transparency window reaching from 400-4000nm of wavelength
Large band gap providing ultra low propagation loss and high nonlinear coefficient for nonlinear integrated photonics applications
Refractive index of 2.00 enabling easy fiber coupling
Deposited amorphous material allowing monolithic 3D integration of devices on the same chip
Ultra thick waveguides for excellent mode-confinement, providing tight bends (< 10 µm) and access to dispersion engineering
LIGENTEC process offers a state of the art, cost-effective platform with very high geometric accuracy. The process is accompanied by a complete PDK (available in L-edit, Calibre, Luceda and Synopsys). The PDK includes DRC rules files, and validated simulation film for our reference designs. Example of reference design:
- Spot converters
- Ultra low loss spirals
- MZI, MMI
- Ring resonators
- Filters
- AWG
- Heaters
An unique feature of the thick waveguides is their anomalous dispersion and their high damage threshold that is important in a range of nonlinear optical applications, including integrated quantum communication, supercontinuum generation in waveguides from pulsed lasers, femtosecond pulse generation from CW lasers using soliton generation in microresonators. The high power threshold enables applications such as LIDAR to propagate Watts of power in the waveguides. In addition the transparency window in the visible renders silicon nitride planar photonic circuits attractive for microfluidics and bio-sensing applications.
At the start, AN technology is named because most of the mode (>90%) is in the nitride waveguide. The high mode confinement:
- Extends the transparency window to 3.0 µm in the MIR
- Reduces the bending radius, making very compact design possible
- Gives access to non-linear and quantum option through waveguide design
- Can operate in very high power with/without non-linear effects
- Reduced the propagation losses
The AN technology is available in two modular processes, developed from the ground up for photonics.
SILICON NITRIDE
Ultra wide transparency window reaching from 400-4000nm of wavelength
Large band gap providing low propagation loss and high nonlinear coefficient for nonlinear integrated photonics applications
Deposited amorphous material allowing monolithic 3D integration of devices on the same chip
High refractive index of 2.00 enabling high confinement waveguides and cost benefits through reduced device size
Ultra thick low loss LPCVD SiN for excellent mode-confinement and small bending radius
LIGENTEC offers its proprietary silicon nitride (Si3N4) platform targeted at photonic applications using integrated photonic chips from visible to mid-IR.
Silicon nitride as a material strikes a balance between silicon and silicon oxide.
| Silicon | Silicon Nitride | Silicon Oxide | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transparency | 1.1-9 μm | 0.25-8 μm | 0.13-3.5 μm |
| Band gap | 1.12 eV | 5 eV | 9 eV |
| Refractive index at 1550 nm | 3.47 | 2.00 | 1.46 |
| Nonlinear coefficient (m2W-1) | ~ 6*10-18 | 2*10-19 | ~ 2.5*10-20 |
| Deposition | Crystal material EPI/SOI* | High quality deposited by LPCVD | Thermally grown* |
* film in direct contact to the substrate
LIGENTEC is developing cutting-edge technology to integrate novel, high performance materials on top of our state-of-the-art silicon nitride platform. One of key materials is the integration of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN) on SiN, also called lithium niobate on insulator or LNOI. This will create a platform that will transform the world of photonics by combining the best passive photonics platform with an exceptional electro-optical material platform.
Benefits:
- Enhanced performance. Lithium niobate is renowned for its exceptional electro-optic, piezoelectric and nonlinear properties. When combined with the robustness and low propagation loss of silicon nitride, it will result in devices with unparalleled performance.
- Compact and efficient. Our integration approach allows for more compact devices. The high confinement of light in LNOI and SiN, combined with its high electro-optic coefficient leads to enhanced performance in terms of Vpi*L and modulation bandwidths, all the way above 100GHz.
- Versatility. This hybrid platform is suitable for a wide range of applications, from telecommunications (>100GHz), to optical clocks (nonlinear properties), all the way to quantum computing applications (ultra low loss).
- Cost-effective manufacturing and scalability. Combining LNOI with SiN will leverage the existing high volume, 200 mm scaling path for large scale deployment of this technology, making it a viable option for high volume applications (AI, datacenters,…) without compromising on specifications.
APPLICATION AREAS
LIDAR
LIGENTEC AN technology provides a basis for your LIDAR system:
– Work at the wavelength you want. Transparent to all LIDAR light sources 0.8 – 1.7um
– High power handling and low propagation losses to reach 200m of range safely (up to 10W tested, <0.1db/cm)
– Small chip size for scaling, with folded designs using the X2 module and tight bends (<10um)
– Minimal phase variations and easy in/out coupling (index contrast 0.7)
+ KNOW MORE ABOUT LIDAR
Biosensing & Microscopy
Transparency and low loss propagation in the visible and NIR regions make Silicon Nitride (SiN) platforms attractive for many biophotonic sensing and imaging applications. As these areas usually rely on expensive, complicated and often bulky equipment, integrated photonics can bring here cost reduction.
+ KNOW MORE ABOUT BIOSENSING & MICROSCOPY
Quantum
LIGENTEC with our customers and partners use the unique properties of light to build quantum systems. Integrated photonics based on Ligentec technology incorporate quantum states generation, transmission and measurements on a single packaged solution having less sensitivity to environmental noise.
AN technology unique features for quantum applications
– Ultra-low propagation losses, with delay lines IP block having <5dB/m with bending radius in the um.
– Access to efficient spontaneous four wave mixing as a source of photon-pair generation. SFWM is enabled by high Q ring resonators and dispersion engineering by design.
– Technology tested down to 4mK at LPQM quantum photonics labs
– Efficient coupling to our chips (butt coupled, evanescence coupling) and fibers on the same chip using ExSpot and LoCA modules. Up to 4 spot converters and evanescent coupling demonstrated on a single chip.
+ KNOW MORE ABOUT QUANTUM
MORE APPLICATION AREAS
