PIXAPP Photonics Packaging Pilot Line – Development of a Silicon Photonic Optical Transceiver With Pluggable Fiber Connectivity

This paper demonstrates how the PIXAPP Photonics Packaging Pilot Line uses its extensive packaging capabilities across its European partner network to design and assemble a highly integrated silicon photonic-based optical transceiver. The processes used are based on PIXAPP's open access packaging design rules or Assembly Design Kit (ADK). The transceiver was designed to have the Tx and Rx elements integrated on to a single silicon photonic chip, together with flipchip control electronics, hybrid laser and micro-optics. The transceiver used the on-chip micro-optics to enable a pluggable fiber connection, avoiding the need to bond optical fibers directly to the photonic chip. Finally, the packaged transceiver module was tested, showing 56 Gb/s loop-back modulation and de-modulation, validating both the transmitter and receiver performance.