Prospects and Challenges for InP-based Generic PICs

Generic Integration is rapidly gaining importance. Developing and fabricating PICs from a limited set of Basic Building Blocks in a standardized and qualified integration process leads to a huge reduction of the development costs. This is well known in micro-electronics. Also in Integrated Photonics generic foundry-based integration processes are being developed, both in Silicon and Indium Phosphide. However, the markets for PICs are smaller by several orders than their micro-electronic counterparts, and this makes investors hesitant to provide the capital required to make photonic foundry processes and the corresponding design, test and packaging infrastructure sufficiently qualified. Instead, they tend to focus on business development to increase the market, which is difficult, however, when there are no sufficiently qualified processes. In this presentation an overview will be given of the present status and prospects of InP-based generic integration and the challenges that have to be overcome to turn the present integration environment into a well-qualified foundry infrastructure.