1.3 Integration of Photonics and Electronics

The market for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is rapidly growing. Photonic integration which is now the dominant technology in high-bandwidth and long-distance telecommunications is increasingly applied to shorter distances within data centers. Now, it is set to become also dominant in many other fields: PICs offer compelling performance advances in terms of precision, bandwidth, and energy efficiency. To enable uptake in new sectors, the availability of highly standardized (generic) photonic-integration-platform technologies is of key importance, as this separates design from technology, reducing barriers for new entrants. Another major challenge is low-cost energy-efficient integration of photonics with the electronic circuitry that is used for driving and controlling the photonic IC and processing its information. Today, the major platform technologies are indium phosphide (InP)-based monolithic integration and silicon (Si)-based photonics. InP technology offers integration of the full suite of photonic components, including lasers, optical amplifiers, and high-performance modulators. While Si photonics offers better compatibility with CMOS process facilities, it lacks the most important photonic building blocks: lasers and optical amplifiers. In this paper, we describe the current status and directions for future developments of InP-based generic integration, and we compare the potential of InP photonics and Si photonics for integration with controlling electronics. In what follows, we will focus in Section 1 on similarities and differences between InP and Si photonics. In Section 2, we will give a concise overview of the present status of this technology and how it compares with Silicon photonics. In sections 3 and 4 we will discuss membrane-based technologies which support efficient integration with electronics.