Automated Characterization of Silicon Photonics and Electronic Devices at Wafer–level

IHP photonics BiCMOS platform offers high-performance electronic and photonic circuit design capability of industrial level. However, a stable and standardized silicon photonics technology platform for commercial applications requires continuous testing with high reproducibility at high measurement speed. The first and most important requirement is to establish reliable process control techniques. To support process control, a new semi-automated 200 mm wafer-level opto-electronic characterization and testing system was built. The testing system is based on Cascade wafer prober CM300xi and PI (Physik Instrumente) controllers. SiPh-Tools interfaces with third-party probe control software to accurately place the optical fibers with sub-micron level precision. There are various methods of fiber to grating coupler alignment. Fiberoptic instruments can be controlled via proprietary software solutions. According to customer testing requirements, the optical and electro-optical measurements can be based on standard fibers, fiber arrays, electrical DC or RF probes. Functional tests are enabled by full compatibility with electro-optic probe cards. The measurement system allows for characterization in the O-, C- and L- band. The presentation will show performance evaluation results of the automated wafer-level photonic testing and characterization system of IHP, addressing functionality, optional features and reproducibility. Characterization results of basic photonic devices such as photodiodes or waveguides will be presented.