ATOM integrated optoelectronics program
C-MAC MicroTechnology has a comprehensive design, manufacture and test offering for integrated optoelectronic modules. The modules are based upon a range of enabling technologies including optical fibre alignment and splicing, three-dimensional ceramic structures, chip-and-wire assembly and hermetic sealing. Through the ATOM (Advanced Technology for Optoelectronic Modules) programme, we partner OEMs in the implementation of multichannel optical transmitters and receivers, photonic switches, array waveguide gratings, add-drop multiplexers, optical modulators and other advanced optoelectronic products.
We have a wide ranging technology portfolio oriented towards optoelectronic design and manufacture. The company can offer a range of services, from module design to the development, mass production and test of finished product from a customer concept.
At the heart of the ATOM programme is our full custom low-temperature cofired ceramic (LTCC) capability, in which up to 75 layers of ceramic tape with individual via and track patterns are stacked and laminated to form a single rigid structure. Because we can both formulate and process ceramics in house, we can customize their electrical and physical properties to suit particular applications. For example, a low-loss dielectric formulation can be used to reduce signal power loss and distortion, so maintaining signal integrity even at OC768 (40 Gbps) data rates and above.
The ability to implement impedance matched interconnect is critical for signal routing in optoelectronic modules. We do this by controlling the physical dimensions of microstrip and stripline transmission lines implemented within the substrate, matching them against the thickness of the dielectric substrate layers. Distributed inductors and capacitors can be realized using screen printed conductor patterns. Lumped element inductors and resistors can also be embedded, minimizing the discrete component requirement.
Use of bare semiconductor die provides two advantages in optical module design: reduced size due to the elimination of individual component packaging and short, controlled-impedance wire bonds. Because LTCC is rigid it enhances ultrasonic bonding and provides a stable base for fragile gallium arsenide and indium phosphide compound semiconductors, either on the substrate surface or in cavities within the ceramic structure.
The demand for both receive and transmit functions within the same package (transponders) and for multichannel systems has increased the need for intelligent thermal management. This is necessary, for example, to minimize wavelength fluctuations in DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplex) lasers and to reduce noise in photodetectors. We can embed TECs (thermal electric coolers) within LTCC structures, providing a total thermal management solution that maximizes power efficiency and temperature control through a combination of thermal conduction paths, reservoirs and barriers.
Alignment of optical fibres with lasers and photodetectors is notoriously difficult. However, LTCC’s high dimensional stability with respect to temperature and its impermeability to moisture allow precise alignment to be retained even with complex optical array geometries. We can offer facilities for nanometer fibre alignment, fusion splicing, laser hermetic sealing and optoelectronic interface testing.
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Clean room
Substrates
Packaging
Assembly
RF & microwave
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