Generic process for low-cost InP integrated photonics in industrial foundries

Application Specific Photonic Integrated Circuits (ASPICs) are considered key elements to make photonic systems or subsystems cheap and ubiquitous. ASPICs still are several orders of magnitude more expensive than their microelectronic counterpart: ASICS, which has restricted their application to a few niche markets. A novel approach in photonic integration is emerging that will reduce the R&D costs of ASPICs by more than an order of magnitude. It will bring the application of ASPICs that integrate complex and advanced photonic functionality on a single chip within reach for a large number of small and larger companies and initiate a breakthrough in the application of Photonic ICs. In this paper the process is explained. A significant number of designs has been realized the last 4 years, for a variety of applications in telecoms, datacoms, medical and sensing, from parties all over the world.