Low losses in an active silicon photonic multi-project wafer runs

The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) runs a silicon photonics multi-project wafer (MPW) program providing riders with access to silicon photonic devices and circuits fabricated in a state-of-the-art 300 mm CMOS line. Current MPW offerings include both silicon and silicon nitride waveguides, GHz modulation/detection, electro-optic switches and filters, low-loss edge coupling, three metal levels, and supports operation in the O, C, and L bands. Often propagation loss is not prioritized for active MPW runs in favor of other key parameters such as modulation speeds, photodiode responsivity, device size, spectral bandwidths, etc. However, for areas such as quantum technology, sensors, LiDAR, and data communications it is an imperative to incorporate both low-loss waveguides and active devices on a single die. These application areas require lower propagation losses because they either use single photons, high Q resonators, and/or require high efficiency coupling for lasers/SOAs. As part of our updated MPW integration, we have demonstrated losses of 1.1 dB/cm in Si strip waveguides and 0.4 dB/cm in SiN strip waveguides, a reduction of 1.4 dB/cm and 1.6 dB/cm, respectively, from our published MPW values.