Photonics Integrated Circuit International Award Winners Announced

The Photonics Integrated Circuit (PIC) International Awards took place this week recognizing and highlighting key industry achievements in advancing photonic integration through platform development, manufacturing, design, packaging and device characterization.

PIC International Magazine handed out six awards to “leading lights” in the industry. Voting took place online.

The 2017 PIC International Award winners are:

Design and Packaging

PhoeniX Software - World Class Software Solutions for Micro- and Nanotechnology Corporations and Institutes

Pioneering photonics design automation since 1991, today PhoeniX Software has a global presence and is a trusted and well-recognized partner for a large number of organizations. They enable easy and cost-effective realization of integrated photonics chips and systems, by means of internally developed products and services.

Device Characterization

Oclaro - Lasers, Optical Components, Modules and Subsystems for the Optical, Industrial, and Consumer Laser Markets

Oclaro is one of the largest providers of lasers and optical components, modules and subsystems for the optical communications, industrial and consumer laser markets. Oclaro has enabled an almost complete on-wafer test (OWT) of InP PICs. They can automatically identify known good die for assembly and map all key parameters at wafer level to maintain process control and integrity. Adding the OWT capability to Oclaro’s InP platform is a huge step toward the reduction of manufacturing costs for InP-based PICs.

Advances in Integration

Effect Photonics - Highly Integrated Optical Communications Products Based on DWDM Optical System-on-Chip Technology

Effect Photonics develops highly integrated optical communications products based on its DWDM optical system-on-chip technology. The key enabling technology for cost-effective DWDM systems is full monolithic integration of all photonic components within a single chip, also known as photonic integrated circuits (PICs). This technology, combined with Effect Photonics' low-cost packaging capability, addresses the soaring demand for low-cost DWDM solutions in high-bandwidth connections between datacenters (Inter-Datacenter), mobile cell towers for fronthaul and backhaul, and passive optical networking (PON) applications such as NGPON2.

Advances in Manufacturing

SmartPhotonics - Production Services for Indium Phosphide (InP)-Based Photonic Components

Smart Photonics is a pure-play foundry offering production services for indium phosphide (InP)-based photonic components. They offer the complete creation process from first epitaxial growth, high-resolution lithography, re-growth, wafer processing, metallization, polishing of wafers, up to the coating of the chip facets. Smart Photonics has further developed its generic integration technology for integration of InP-based photonic components. For this new technology, free access to the Smart Photonics design manual is offered to customers to design their own PICs. Designs can be easily, and cost-effectively, tested in the Smart Photonics MPW-runs.

PIC Platforms

Kaiam Corporation - Using Silicon Photonics Integration to Address Data Center Demands

The Kaiam Corporation has developed a system-in-package (SiP) structure where glass waveguides together with laser diodes that are MEMS-coupled are simply mounted on a silicon photonics chip. The silicon photonics hybrid chip assembly is a commercial IC meant for multiple-fiber applications.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Meint Smit - Leading Contributions to the Development of an InP PIC Ecosystem In Europe

Meint K. Smit invented the Arrayed Waveguide Grating for which he received a LEOS Technical Achievement award in 1997. In 2000 he became leader of the photonic integration group at the COBRA Research Institute of Eindhoven University of Technology. His current research interests are in InP-based photonic integration, including integration of InP circuitry on silicon.

Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners!

All of the winners are members of the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC).