DiLaN: Diode Laser manufacturing process using Nano-imprint lithography

宽带通信的不可阻挡的增长为低成本、单模半导体激光器创造了一个巨大的市场（每年100亿单位），这些激光器发射约1.3-1.55微米，作为光纤通信到户（FTTP）的光源。目前部署的技术（如无源光网络，PON）的线路速率为1.25-2.5 Gb/s。然而，满足大规模扩展的带宽需求将需要实施新的PON标准，这需要更高的性能，更低的成本激光源。该项目的英国工业合作伙伴已经是该市场重要的材料和芯片规模供应商。我们的项目致力于用低成本、高通量的纳米压印工艺取代激光制造过程中高成本的纳米级光刻步骤，从而实现激光芯片制造成本节省20-30%。然而，据我们所知，纳米压印光刻技术尚未在半导体激光批量生产中实施，因此需要建立、鉴定和生产工程师一种新的工艺来释放生产率的提高，从而降低风险。

The inexorable growth in broadband communications has created an enormous market (>100M units pa) for low cost, single-mode semiconductor lasers emitting around 1.3-1.55um as sources in fibre optic communicationsto the Premises (FTTP). Current technologies deployed (such as Passive Optical Networking, PON) operate at line rates of 1.25-2.5 Gb/s. However, satisfying the massively expanding bandwidth demand will require implementation of new PON standards that require higher performance, lower cost laser sources. The UK industrial partners in this project are already significant materials and chip scale suppliers to this market. Our project addresses the replacement of a high cost nm-scale lithography step in the laser manufacturing process with a low cost, high throughput nano-imprint process to realise a cost saving of 20-30% in the Cost of Manufacture of the laser chip.However, to our knowledge, the nano-imprint lithography technique has not been implemented in volume semiconductor laser manufacturing, and so there is significant de-risking activity required to establish, qualify and yield engineer a new process to unlock the productivity gains.