A 10 Gb/s hybrid-integrated receiver array module using a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) platform including a novel assembly region structure

A planar lightwave circuit (PLC) platform for optoelectronic hybrid integration shows potential for achieving 10 Gb/s operation. It uses AuSn bump-type bonding pads on a silica layer to decrease parasitic capacitance, which limited the CR time constant in the optical chip assembly region, and two-layer electrical wiring to reduce parasitic inductance, which caused resonance in the electrical circuit region. An arrayed receiver module fabricated by integrating a two-channel monolithic opto-electronic integrated circuit (OEIC) chip on the PLC platform demonstrated a 3 dB-bandwidth of 8 GHz in both channels, which is equal to the bandwidth of the OEIC chip. This shows the feasibility of using this PLC platform for multichannel 10 Gb/s operation. Furthermore, this PLC platform can combine the versatile optical circuit functions of a PLC, such as an arrayed-waveguide grating wavelength multiplexer, with the high-speed signal processing function of mature electronic IC circuits. Consequently, this platform is a key device that will lead to high-capacity optical signal processing systems using optical wavelength/frequency routing.