Opto-Electronic Chip Package Interposer Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing interconnection technologies face challenges in providing high bandwidth, low power consumption, and low cost as integrated-circuit technology scales, particularly in integrating optical integrated circuits with conventional integrated circuits in chip packages, which limits the scalability and performance of future high-density, high-performance systems.
Innovation Solution
A chip package design that includes an integrated circuit with electrical connectors, an interposer, and an optical integrated circuit, where the optical integrated circuit communicates optical signals through an optical-fiber receptacle and connector, enabling high-bandwidth communication by integrating optical and electrical circuits in close proximity using a high-trace density interposer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If optical integrated circuits are integrated with conventional integrated circuits in existing chip packages, then bandwidth and communication performance are improved, but integration difficulty and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an interposer as an intermediary component between the optical integrated circuit and the conventional integrated circuit. This interposer contains through-substrate vias and trace routing that facilitate electrical and optical signal transmission between the two different circuit types, thereby enabling their integration without direct coupling and reducing the overall integration difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The chip package is segmented into distinct functional modules: an optical integrated circuit module, a conventional integrated circuit module, and an interposer module. Each module can be fabricated, tested, and assembled independently, which simplifies the integration process and allows for specialized optimization of each segment while maintaining high bandwidth communication capabilities.
2Productivity
If electrical interconnects are used for off-chip communication, then device compatibility is maintained, but bandwidth and energy efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional electrical interconnects with optical communication pathways for off-chip data transmission. By using optical signals instead of electrical signals, the system achieves significantly higher bandwidth and improved energy efficiency, as optical communication consumes less power and can transmit data at higher rates over longer distances without signal degradation.
3Productivity
If photonic components are scaled to meet high-density requirements, then communication capacity increases, but integration with conventional circuits becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional packaging architecture where the interposer provides vertical routing through-substrate vias that connect optical and electrical circuits across multiple layers. This vertical dimension allows for high-density interconnection without increasing the planar footprint, enabling photonic components to be scaled for high communication capacity while maintaining manageable integration complexity through vertical stacking rather than lateral expansion.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution facilitates multi-terabit per second optical communication, overcoming bandwidth and energy efficiency limitations of electrical interconnects, and is compatible with high-performance electrical circuits, meeting escalating off-chip bandwidth demands while maintaining solder-reflow compatibility.
Implementation Method 1
optical communication can be used to communicate large amounts of data
Implementation Method 2
optical-fiber receptacle and connector mechanically and optically coupled
Data Source
AI summary
A chip package includes an optical integrated circuit (such as a hybrid integrated circuit) and an integrated circuit that are proximate to each other in the chip package. The integrated circuit includes electrical circuits that modulate data, communicate data, and serialize/deserialize data, and the optical integrated circuit communicates optical signals with very high bandwidth. Moreover, a front surface of the integrated circuit is electrically coupled to a top surface of an interposer, and a top surface of the integrated circuit is electrically coupled to a front surface of the optical integrated circuit. Furthermore, a bottom surface of the optical integrated circuit faces the top surface of the interposer, and the front surface of the optical integrated circuit is optically coupled to an optical-fiber receptacle, which in turn is optically coupled to an optical-fiber connector.