NSF Young Investigator: Cointegrated Polymer Waveguide Optical Interconnections for Wafer-Level MCM Systems

出于对光学上上级 适用于光学共整合的聚酰胺 直接与有源CMOS互连波导 先进多芯片模块（MCM）的互连基板， 该研究试图制造第一个光波导， 聚苯基倍半硅氧烷（PPSQ），一种可旋转浇注的低温 用作薄膜和厚膜的加工硅梯形聚合物 用于微电子的电介质。 这种材料可能提供 用不太稳定的光学聚合物可获得的低损耗， 提供热稳定性和工艺宽容度（图案化，湿， 干蚀刻）超过聚酰胺。 这项研究评估了 PPSQ与平坦化和覆盖物的适合性 用于提供多层系统的聚合物层 直接在Si上制造高密度波导阵列 新兴的有源MCM衬底器件。

Motivated by the need for robust polymers optically superior to polyamides yet suitable for cointegration of optical interconnection waveguides directly with the active CMOS interconnection substrate of advanced multi-chip modules (MCMs), the research seeks to fabricate the first optical waveguides with polyphenylsilsesquioxane (PPSQ), a spin castable, low temperature processed silicon ladder polymer used as a thin and thick film dielectric for microelectronics. This material potentially offers the low loss obtainable with less stable optical polymers while offering thermal stability and process latitude (patterning, wet, dry etching) exceeding that of polyamide. This research assesses the suitability of PPSQ together with planarizing and superstrate polymer layers for providing a multilayer system supporting fabrication of high density waveguide arrays directly over the Si devices of emerging active MCM substrate.