Optical component, optical chip, communication equipment and detection device

Abstract

The present invention provides an optical component, an optical chip, a communication device and a detection device, wherein a first waveguide and a second waveguide are arranged on a substrate; the second waveguide is arranged around the first waveguide and there is a gap between the second waveguide and the first waveguide; the first waveguide is used to conduct invisible light; the second waveguide is used to conduct visible light, and the visible light is used to locate the failure point. By adding a second waveguide to conduct visible light to determine the failure point, not only can the chip defect be accurately located, but also the failure location can be achieved without using a destructive method, which can effectively shorten the chip iteration cycle and thus reduce product costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to an optical component, an optical chip, a communication device and a detection device. Background Art

[0002] At present, the tape-out cycle of optical chips is long and the tape-out cost is high. Therefore, failure analysis of optical chips is crucial for process optimization and yield improvement of the product. Common faults that lead to optical chip failure include process defects (for example, the structural dimensions do not meet the design requirements, and the material strength does not meet the required value) and operating process defects (for example, the electrostatic environment in the production and transportation environment does not meet the standards or the stress conditions do not meet the standards). Due to the complexity and high integration of the design of optical chips, the working band of the chip is usually in the non-visible light band, and there is a lack of intuitive and effective defect location methods when failure occurs. In addition, failure location in the prior art can often only rely on destructive wafer cutting methods to observe cross-sectional images of multiple suspected defect points for failure analysis. Using slices for defect analysis will completely destroy the entire chip / wafer, and the accuracy is low. When slicing is performed before or after the failure occurs, it is possible to draw an erroneous conclusion that there are no defects in the section.

[0003] Therefore, an optical component, an optical chip, a communication device and a detection device are urgently needed to improve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an optical component, an optical chip, a communication device and a detection device, which can provide an intuitive on-chip optical path monitoring method without affecting the chip performance, so that chip defects can be accurately located.

[0005] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an optical component, comprising: a substrate and a first waveguide and a second waveguide disposed on the substrate;

[0006] The second waveguide is arranged around the first waveguide and there is a gap between the second waveguide and the first waveguide;

[0007] The first waveguide is used to guide invisible light;

[0008] The second waveguide is used to transmit visible light, and the visible light is used to locate the failure point.

[0009] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: by arranging the first waveguide and the second waveguide on the substrate; the second waveguide is arranged around the first waveguide and there is a gap between the second waveguide and the first waveguide; the first waveguide is used to conduct invisible light; the second waveguide is used to conduct visible light, and the visible light is used to locate the failure point. By adding the second waveguide to conduct visible light to determine the failure point, not only can the chip defects be accurately located, but also the failure location can be achieved without using destructive methods, which can effectively shorten the chip iteration cycle and thus reduce product costs.

[0010] Optionally, the number of the second waveguides is N, where N is a positive integer;

[0011] The N second waveguides are distributed around the first waveguide. The beneficial effect is that by arranging the N second waveguides around the first waveguide, all failure points around the first waveguide can be better located.

[0012] Optionally, when N is equal to 2, a second waveguide is respectively provided on two opposite sides of the first waveguide.

[0013] Optionally, the bottom surface of the second waveguide is on the same horizontal plane as the first waveguide;

[0014] The height of the second waveguide is smaller than the height of the first waveguide; and / or the width of the second waveguide is smaller than the width of the first waveguide. The beneficial effect is that by setting the bottom surface of the second waveguide and the first waveguide to be on the same horizontal plane, and setting the height of the second waveguide to be smaller than the height of the first waveguide; and / or the width of the second waveguide to be smaller than the width of the first waveguide, it is possible to facilitate the positioning of the failure point, reduce the impact on the first waveguide, and ensure the chip performance.

[0015] Optionally, the wavelength of the visible light transmitted by the second waveguide is 400-780 nanometers. By setting the wavelength of the visible light transmitted by the second waveguide to 400-780 nanometers, it is possible to better respond to process defects or stress failures, facilitate rapid and accurate positioning of failure points, and greatly facilitate failure defect analysis.

[0016] Optionally, the spacing between the second waveguide and the first waveguide is 4-8 microns. By setting the spacing between the second waveguide and the first waveguide to be 4-8 microns, a safe distance is maintained between the two, the light modes do not affect each other, and the light mode is prevented from shifting toward the first waveguide, while the morphology of the first waveguide can be effectively reflected to ensure the overall performance.

[0017] Optionally, the first waveguide is a silicon nitride waveguide; and / or the second waveguide is a silicon nitride waveguide. The beneficial effect is that the first waveguide and / or the second waveguide can be set to silicon nitride, which can improve chip performance.

[0018] Optionally, a silicon dioxide layer is disposed above the substrate;

[0019] The first waveguide and the second waveguide are both arranged in the silicon dioxide layer. The beneficial effect is that by arranging the silicon dioxide layer above the substrate and arranging the first waveguide and the second waveguide in the silicon dioxide layer, the chip performance and stability can be improved.

[0020] In a second aspect, the present invention further provides an optical chip, comprising any possible combination of optical components according to the first aspect.

[0021] In a third aspect, the present invention further provides a communication device, comprising the optical chip of the second aspect.

[0022] In a fourth aspect, the present invention further provides a fault detection device, comprising the communication device, a detection sensor and a marking module according to the third aspect;

[0023] The detection sensor is arranged on the communication device, and the detection sensor is electrically connected to the marking module;

[0024] The detection sensor is used to detect failure points on the surface of the communication device;

[0025] The marking module is used to mark the failure point.

[0026] For the beneficial effects of the second to fourth aspects, reference may be made to the description of the first aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an optical component provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a light mode of light with a wavelength of 450 nanometers in a second waveguide provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of an optical mode of light with a wavelength of 1550nm in a silicon nitride main waveguide provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a detection device provided in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be understood by people with general skills in the field to which the present invention belongs. "Including" and similar words used in this article mean that the elements or objects appearing before the word include the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects.

[0032] In view of the inconvenience of optical chip failure location, the optical chip provided by the present invention can enable chip defects to be accurately located, and failure location can be achieved without the use of destructive methods, which can effectively shorten the chip iteration cycle, thereby reducing product costs. The technical scheme in the embodiment of the present invention is described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiment of the present invention. Among them, in the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to be used as limitations on the present invention. The singular expressions "a", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that in the following embodiments of the present invention, "at least one", "one or more" refers to one or more than two (including two). The term "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0033] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of the present invention include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Thus, the statements "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", and "in some other embodiments" that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized in other ways. The term "connected" includes direct and indirect connections, unless otherwise stated. "First" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated.

[0034] In the embodiments of the present invention, "exemplarily" or "for example" is used to indicate an example, illustration or description. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present invention should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific way.

[0035] like Figure 1As shown, the present invention provides an optical component, comprising: a substrate (such as a silicon substrate layer 11) and a first waveguide (such as a silicon nitride main waveguide 12) and a second waveguide (such as a visible light waveguide 13) arranged on the substrate; the second waveguide is arranged around the first waveguide and there is a gap between the second waveguide and the first waveguide; the first waveguide is used to conduct invisible light; the second waveguide is used to conduct visible light, and the visible light is used to locate the failure point. The failure point is determined by increasing the visible light conducted by the second waveguide. If the waveguide size of the communication band is too small due to process defects and causes failure, the size of the visible light waveguide will inevitably be smaller and thus fail; Or if the waveguide of the communication band is broken or misaligned due to stress defects, the size of the visible light waveguide will inevitably be broken or misaligned. At this time, the visible light emitted by the visible light waveguide can be sensed by the naked eye or detection sensor, so that the chip defect can be accurately located, thereby quickly and accurately locating the failure point, which greatly facilitates the failure defect analysis. Compared with the prior art, failure location can only rely on the destructive wafer cutting method to observe the cross-sectional diagram of multiple suspected defect occurrence points for failure analysis. Since failure location can be achieved without the use of destructive methods, it can effectively shorten the chip iteration cycle, thereby reducing product costs. It is worth noting that the failure threshold of the second waveguide is lower than that of the first waveguide. When the waveguide is broken or misaligned due to process defects or stress defects, the second waveguide is more likely to break than the first waveguide, so that the visible light transmission in the second waveguide is directly interrupted or significantly weakened from the break point, and visible light cannot be detected in the waveguide following the break point, thereby locating the failure point. It should be understood that when the visible light is completely transmitted in the second waveguide, it means that there is no failure point; when the optical path is interrupted in the middle of the second waveguide, it means that the interruption point (i.e., the break) is the failure point. In addition, the optical path is different from the circuit. Even if a break occurs, the light can still be transmitted in the waveguide.

[0036] In some embodiments, in order to better locate all failure points around the first waveguide, the number of the second waveguides is N, where N is a positive integer; the N second waveguides are distributed around the first waveguide. It is worth noting that when the second waveguides are distributed around the first waveguide, they only need to not affect the transmission of light in the first waveguide, and the position and number of the second waveguides can be closer or increased or decreased according to needs.

[0037] In some specific embodiments, Figure 1 As shown, when N is equal to 2, preferably, a second waveguide is respectively provided on two opposite sides of the first waveguide, and the two second waveguides can be symmetrically arranged and can also be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0038] In some embodiments, in order to facilitate the positioning of the failure point, reduce the impact on the first waveguide, and ensure chip performance, the bottom surface of the second waveguide and the first waveguide are on the same horizontal plane; the height of the second waveguide is smaller than the height of the first waveguide; and / or the width of the second waveguide is smaller than the width of the first waveguide.

[0039] In some embodiments, in order to better respond to process defects or stress failures, facilitate rapid and accurate positioning of failure points, and greatly facilitate failure defect analysis, the wavelength of visible light transmitted by the second waveguide is 400-780 nanometers (including endpoint values).

[0040] Exemplarily, the wavelength of the visible light guided by the second waveguide is 450 nanometers, which is much smaller than the common wavelengths in communication applications (e.g., 1310 nanometers and 1550 nanometers, i.e., the wavelengths of the invisible light guided by the first waveguide). Therefore, the size of the waveguide used to guide visible light is smaller and can better respond to process defects or stress failures.

[0041] In some embodiments, in order to maintain a safe distance between the first waveguide and the second waveguide, the light modes will not affect each other, avoid the light mode from shifting toward the first waveguide, and effectively reflect the morphology of the first waveguide to ensure overall performance, the spacing between the second waveguide and the first waveguide is 4-8 microns (including the endpoint values). Exemplarily, the first waveguide and the second waveguide maintain a safe distance (such as 6 microns) to avoid the light mode from shifting toward the first waveguide, while effectively reflecting the morphology of the first waveguide. It is worth noting that the setting of the spacing needs to refer to the width of the first waveguide. For example, when the width of the first waveguide is large, the spacing needs to be increased. When the width is narrow, the spacing can be reduced according to actual needs. It is only necessary to ensure that the existence of the second waveguide does not affect the transmission of light in the first waveguide.

[0042] In some embodiments, in order to improve chip performance, the first waveguide is a silicon nitride waveguide; and / or the second waveguide is a silicon nitride waveguide.

[0043] In some embodiments, in order to improve chip performance and stability, such as Figure 1 As shown, a silicon dioxide layer 14 is disposed above the substrate; the first waveguide and the second waveguide are both disposed in the silicon dioxide layer 14 .

[0044] Based on the above optical components, such as Figure 1 As shown, the present invention also provides an optical chip, comprising the above optical component.

[0045] For ease of understanding, this embodiment further describes the specific implementation process of the optical chip in combination with a specific application scenario system, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0046] A second waveguide (i.e., visible light waveguide 13) for transmitting visible light is provided on both sides of the waveguide of the optical chip. The wavelength of visible light (e.g., 450nm) is much smaller than the common wavelengths in communication applications (e.g., 1310nm and 1550nm). The size of the waveguide for transmitting visible light is therefore smaller, and can better respond to process defects or stress failures. Specifically, if the waveguide size of the communication band is too small due to process defects and causes failure, the size of the visible light waveguide will inevitably be smaller and fail; if the waveguide of the communication band is broken or misaligned due to stress defects, the size of the visible light waveguide will inevitably be broken or misaligned.

[0047] On the other hand, because the size of the second waveguide is small, it will not affect the optical mode of the communication band, nor will it cause additional loss or affect the performance of the original optical chip. At the same time, the conduction state of the visible light waveguide can be directly observed by the naked eye, so the failure point can be quickly and accurately located, which greatly facilitates the failure defect analysis, and will not cause any damage to the optical chip, nor will it affect the subsequent testing and data analysis of the optical chip.

[0048] An example is given below. In this example, the waveguide material of the optical chip is silicon nitride. Its simplified cross-sectional view is as follows: Figure 1 As shown. A second waveguide is set on both sides of the silicon nitride main waveguide to transmit visible light with a wavelength of 450nm. The bottom of the visible light waveguide is at the same level as the silicon nitride main waveguide, but its height and width are smaller than the silicon nitride main waveguide, and the distance between the silicon nitride main waveguide and the second waveguide is sufficient, so the light modes in the first waveguide and the second waveguide will not affect each other. The light mode field distribution calculated by the simulation software FDTD (finite difference time domain) has well proved the feasibility of this solution. As shown Figure 2 As shown, the light with a wavelength of 450nm is well confined in the second waveguide and maintains a safe distance (6 microns) from the first waveguide, preventing the light mode from shifting to the first waveguide, while effectively reflecting the morphology of the first waveguide. On the other hand, Figure 3 In the experiment, the light mode with a wavelength of 1550nm was not affected by the second waveguide at all, which ensured the overall performance of the optical chip.

[0049] The advantage of this embodiment is that the fault location is accurate, the on and off of the visible light waveguide can reflect the state of the main waveguide, the fault diagnosis is efficient, and multiple and multi-point slicing for fault analysis is avoided. Moreover, the optical chip will not be damaged, and the optical chip to be tested is completely preserved.

[0050] It is worth noting that the core of the present invention lies in the setting mode of the visible light waveguide, and is not limited to the specific design of the visible light waveguide. The present invention has negligible impact on the cost and performance of the functional chip itself. The on-chip visible light waveguide process is directly compatible with the existing optical chip process. At the same time, the intuitive characteristics of visible light can well reflect the on-chip light path and direction, which greatly helps the analysis and location of faults and makes up for the defects of the existing technology.

[0051] Based on the above optical chip, the present invention also provides a communication device, including Figure 1 The optical chip shown.

[0052] Based on the above communication equipment, such as Figure 4 As shown, the present invention also provides a fault detection device, including the above-mentioned communication device 41, a detection sensor 42 and a marking module 43; the detection sensor is arranged on the communication device 41, and the detection sensor 42 is electrically connected to the marking module 43; the detection sensor 42 is used to detect the failure point on the surface of the communication device 41; the marking module 43 is used to mark the failure point.

[0053] In addition, the suffixes such as "module", "component" or "unit" used to represent elements are only used to facilitate the description of the present invention, and have no specific meanings. Therefore, "module", "component" or "unit" can be used mixedly.

[0054] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional units and modules is used as an example for illustration. In practical applications, the above-mentioned function allocation can be completed by different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The functional units and modules in the embodiments can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units. In addition, the specific names of the functional units and modules are only for the convenience of distinguishing each other, and are not used to limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0055] In summary, the optical component, optical chip, communication equipment and detection device disclosed in the present invention determine the failure point by adding a second waveguide to conduct visible light, which not only enables chip defects to be accurately located, but also achieves failure location without the use of destructive methods, and can effectively shorten the chip iteration cycle, thereby reducing product costs.

[0056] Although the embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments. Moreover, the present invention described herein may have other embodiments and may be implemented or realized in various ways.

Claims

1. An optical component, characterized in that: The invention comprises: a substrate and a first waveguide and a second waveguide arranged on the substrate; The second waveguide is arranged around the first waveguide and has a distance between the second waveguide and the first waveguide, wherein the distance is used to limit the second waveguide from responding to a process defect or stress failure of the first waveguide; The first waveguide is used to guide invisible light; The second waveguide is used to transmit visible light, and the visible light is used to locate the failure point; The bottom surface of the second waveguide is on the same horizontal plane as the first waveguide, and the size of the second waveguide is smaller than that of the first waveguide; The second waveguide can reflect the morphology of the first waveguide and locate the failure point of the first waveguide.

2. The optical component according to claim 1, characterized in that The number of the second waveguides is N, where N is a positive integer; N second waveguides are distributed around the first waveguide.

3. The optical component according to claim 2, characterized in that When N is equal to 2, a second waveguide is respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the first waveguide.

4. The optical component according to claim 1, characterized in that The height of the second waveguide is smaller than the height of the first waveguide; and / or the width of the second waveguide is smaller than the width of the first waveguide.

5. The optical component according to claim 1, characterized in that The wavelength of the visible light guided by the second waveguide is 400-780 nanometers.

6. The optical component according to claim 1, characterized in that The spacing between the second waveguide and the first waveguide is 4-8 microns.

7. The optical component according to claim 1, characterized in that The first waveguide is a silicon nitride waveguide; and / or the second waveguide is a silicon nitride waveguide.

8. The optical component according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: A silicon dioxide layer is disposed above the substrate; The first waveguide and the second waveguide are both disposed in the silicon dioxide layer.

9. An optical chip, characterized in that: Comprising the optical component as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: Comprising the optical chip as claimed in claim 9.

11. A fault detection device, characterized in that: comprising the communication device, the detection sensor and the marking module as claimed in claim 10; The detection sensor is arranged on the communication device, and the detection sensor is electrically connected to the marking module; The detection sensor is used to detect failure points on the surface of the communication device; The marking module is used to mark the failure point.

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