Bidirectional NPN ESD protection in silicon photonics technology

Silicon photonics interposers enable low power, high bandwidth signal transfer between CMOS chips. Optical wave guides transfer the optical signal that carries the information. Optical modulator and detectors realize the optical to electrical signal transfer and vice versa. These components could be facing ESD stress during assembly. This work presents an in-depth study the self-protecting capabilities of these components and provides an ESD protection solution to increase the ESD robustness.