Technology

Benefits of photonic integration

Compared to a system based on discrete components, monolithic optoelectronic integration offers crucial benefits to device manufacturers. Similar to integrated electronics, monolithic optoelectronic integration based is providing the way forward to an unprecedented level of cost, functionaly and size & weight reduction.

• With monolithic integration one chip replaces a large number of discrete components. An equipment manufacturer has less components to test.
• Since the number of components is lower, systems assembly is easier.
• The systems manufacturer has fewer types of components to keep in stock, making inventory management simpler.
• When compared to the equivalent discrete components, the price of integrated solutions is typically lower.
• Monolithic integration is semiconductor based. Like in the electronic semiconductor industry, larger volumes lead to continuous cost reduction. Unlike the discrete practice, the manufacturing process for integrated components is very well scalable.
• Systems with monolithically integrated parts are smaller - a welcome advantage in environments with space limitations.
• Due to parallel integration ASPICs can handle a larger number of signals. The equipment manufacturer has fewer fibers to handle and route.
• The fewer the number of parts, the fewer potential sources of malfunction. Especially the number of vulnerable fiber connections is reduced substantially.
• The reduced number of components allows for the faster development of new systems.
• Monolithic integration allows for new functionalities that are hard or impossible to achieve with discrete components (f.i. a stable Mach-Zehnder inteferometer filter).