Solutions | Photonics
InP handles gain and amplification, absorption and photodetection on one platform. Design starts from the band structure, and the challenge is making active components and passive waveguides work together on the same chip.
Design challenges
Optical gain comes from carrier occupation in strained multiple quantum wells, so the electronic states and the gain and absorption spectra have to be obtained before any optical layout is drawn. The same epitaxial structure has to be evaluated as an oscillator, an amplifier and an absorber, and photodetectors and passive waveguides have to work on the same chip alongside them. Keeping band structure through to circuit as one continuous chain is the premise.
Design and simulation workflow
Prepare the optical constants of ternary and quaternary alloys lattice-matched to InP.
Obtain the effective index and confinement factor from the cross-sectional modes.
Obtain gain and spontaneous emission spectra from the band structure.
Solve injection, transport and self-heating to obtain the state of the active region.
Obtain the behavior as an oscillator, an amplifier and an absorber.
Model the photodetector as well, and place it in the circuit.
The stages differ by project. Amplifiers, modulators and photodetectors follow the same flow as lasers.
Related analysis technologies
The principles and scope of each method are explained on the Analysis Technologies pages.
Related products
The capabilities and coverage of each product are described on its own product page.
Handles optical mode and confinement analysis. FDE gives the cross-sectional effective index and confinement factor.
Stage / 02
Handles gain and absorption, carrier and thermal analysis. MQW, CHARGE, HEAT and FEEM are solved together.
Stage / 02-04, 06
Handles longitudinal analysis of active components and their integration into the circuit. A travelling-wave model gives the behavior as an oscillator, an amplifier and an absorber.
Stage / 05-06
Handles compact model generation. Extracted results are organized into a model library usable in circuit analysis.
Stage / 06
Foundry and manufacturing
Once the epitaxial structure and active component specification are settled, you move to prototyping on an InP platform. Because the epitaxial structure is closely tied to the manufacturing process, confirm before handover that the layer structure and composition the design assumes can be realized in the target process.
Which processes and prototyping routes are available is judged case by case from the target epitaxial structure and device specification.
Related technical information
Tell us where the design stands, whether the quantum well structure exists, whether the target is an oscillator, an amplifier or a photodetector, and whether you have measured data, and we will propose a way forward.