The Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems (IMS) has opened a new photonics laboratory. The facility enables the development, fabrication, and characterization of photonic chiplets at the Duisburg site and expands the institute’s contributions to the European APECS pilot line.

Photonics chiplets use light instead of electrical signals to transmit data. This principle is already used in fiber-optic networks and is considered a key technology for future applications in data communications, medical technology, and AI infrastructures. Fraunhofer IMS manufactures the components in its own cleanroom on 200-mm wafers and combines photonic integrated circuits with CMOS readout circuits.

The new laboratory covers just under 50 m² and features two optical measurement stations. These enable the characterization of photonic circuits at both the chip and wafer levels. One of the measurement setups is designed for circuits with grating couplers and uses a nanopositioning system with six degrees of freedom and an integrated rotary table. This allows optical fibers to be positioned with high precision at the light-coupling points of wafers with diameters of up to twelve inches. Another measurement station is used to examine chips with side couplers.

The equipment includes a supercontinuum laser with a tunable wavelength range from 350 to 2400 nm, as well as a precision laser for telecommunications applications at approximately 1550 nm. The infrastructure is supplemented by tunable filters and a spectrometer for analyzing optical signals.

“With the new photonics lab, we can now develop and characterize our photonic chiplets entirely on-site, from the initial idea to the tested component. This gives the entire APECS network exactly the speed of execution that a European pilot line project of this magnitude requires,” says Prof. Dr. Anna Lena Schall-Giesecke, Head of Technology at Fraunhofer IMS.

On the occasion of a visit by Dr. Eric Fribourg-Blanc, Senior Program Officer at the European Union’s Chips Joint Undertaking, the institute presented its new infrastructure. During the event, Fraunhofer IMS presented its contributions to the APECS pilot line. These include the development and fabrication of photonic chiplets, design infrastructures for external users, and expanded characterization capabilities.

APECS (“Advanced Packaging and Heterogeneous Integration for Electronic Components and Systems”) is part of the EU Chips Act and aims to strengthen research and manufacturing capabilities for semiconductor technologies in Europe. The pilot line is coordinated by the Fraunhofer Society and implemented by the Forschungsfabrik Mikroelektronik Deutschland (FMD). A total of ten partners from eight European countries are involved. Total funding amounts to 730 million euros over a period of four and a half years.