HAMLET's work invested on the exploitation and the combination of the features and capabilities of the following technologies and integration platforms:
- Passive optical polymer - PolyBoard™
- Si3N4/SiO2 platform - TriPleX™
- InP elements
Passive optical polymers - PolyBoard™
FhG-HHI has developed a single-mode polymer platform (PolyBoard™) for multi-functional PLCs. Structures that can be monolithically integrated include among others low-loss waveguides (<0.5 dB/cm), MMI couplers, tunable couplers, 90o optical hybrids, Bragg-gratings, DIs, VOAs and AWGs. Using the platform as an optical integration bench, filters and polarization elements such as PBS and polarization rotators can also be integrated, whereas hybrid integration of lasers, gain chips and photodiodes is also supported.
HAMLET further upgraded PolyBoard™ by heterogenously integrating, for the first time, graphene sheets on the platform and fabricating high speed graphene-based electro-absorption modulators (GP-EAMs) and arrays of GP-EAMs (up to 64 elements).
Si3N4/SiO2 platform - TriPleX™
LioniX is the developer and owner of a single-mode, high contrast, ultra low loss platform (TriPleX™) which is compatible with high volume production processes. TriPleX™ is based on alternating SiO2 and Si3N4 layers, enabling the fabrication of very compact photonic circuits. Thermo-optically tunable micro-ring resonators with tight bending radii can be fabricated on this platform and will be used as true time delay elements for building an extensive optical beam forming network.
HAMLET further upgraded TriPleX™ platfrom by heterogenously integrating, for the first time, PZT layers on top of the platform, using an optimized pulsed layer deposition (PLD) process, which resulted the realization of ultra low power consumption PZT-based phase shifters for tuning the micro-ring resonators.
InP elements
FhG-HHI has contributed to HAMLET the developed technology for waveguide-integrated InP photodiode arrays and DFB laser diodes. The photodiodes are based on layered structures and evanescent coupling schemes with record combination of responsivity and bandwidth. In HAMLET, laser diodes and arrays (that can reach up to 64) of photodiodes were hybridly integrated with the PolyBoard™ platform.
Integration of PolyBoard™ and TriPleX™
HAMLET has managed to develop an advanced integration engine for combining and joining the two platforms (PolyBoard™ and TriPleX™) leading to the realization of the HAMLET hybridly integrated platform. 2D tapers were formed on PolyBoard for easing the alignement and the butt-end coupling of the large number of waveguides between the two platforms. As a first step, the two platforms were integrated leveraging the powerful integration engine and then the InP elements were integrated at the PolyBoard™ side.