Recently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it has reached a cooperative R&D agreement with the American Institute of Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics), which will provide chip developers with key new tools to design faster photonic integrated circuits (PICs).
As a key part of the collaboration, NIST will be responsible for designing electrical "calibration structures" that can be used to measure and test the electronic performance of the chip.
This will improve the design quality of the chip and make it run at 110 GHz (at present, most photonic chips operate at about 25 GHz). It is reported that AIM Photonics will incorporate these calibration structures into its Process Design Kit (PDK) for engineers to use when designing and manufacturing new chips in the AIM Photonics factory.
NIST said that experts from both institutions have been working hard to integrate the new measurement structure into the OEM process of AIM Photonics, and it is estimated that an updated PDK and calibration structure can be provided to the market within about one year.
With the development of integration technology, especially silicon optical integration technology, photonic integrated chips integrating passive and active cells become the next generation of development direction. Different from conventional LSI chips, optoelectronic chips (especially laser chips) have high material costs, multiple manufacturing processes, complex processes and high scrap rates. Therefore, it is particularly critical to evaluate and screen optoelectronic chips at the wafer stage.
Laurie E. Locascio, Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Director of NIST in charge of standards and technology, said, "This work will draw on NIST's expertise in chip measurement, calibration and integrated device modeling. Although the plan for this work started before the CHIPS Act was passed, it is consistent with the goal of the Act. This shows that the government and industry can jointly promote innovation and restore the United States' global leadership in semiconductor manufacturing."
Earlier this year, with the support of funds from the American Rescue Act, NIST allocated more than 5 million dollars to AIM Photonics to develop photonic technologies to respond to the pandemic, and most of the 5 million dollars were used to develop one-time integrated photonics tests. By examining blood samples, the miniaturized device integrated with AIM Photonics chip will conduct accurate virus immune detection to observe whether patients still have protection from COVID-19 antibodies, and even predict the severity of infection.
AIM Photonics, headquartered in northern New York, is one of the nine Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (MIIs) established and managed by the US Department of Defense, and is also a member of the US Advanced Manufacturing Network. As early as September 2020, AIM Photonics had won the support of the National Science Genetics Association of the United States to cooperate in scientific research in the field of photonic integrated circuits. The agency will continue to develop advanced integrated photonic technology capabilities for various existing products, and will realize key applications such as data communication, telecommunications, lidar, chemical and biological sensing, artificial intelligence, quantum applications and customized DoD applications.
Source: OFweek
