HyperPIC: on the road to mid-infrared photonic integrated circuits

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) have revolutionized the telecom and datacom markets in the way similar to the earlier integrated electronics revolution. After two decades of rapid development, PICs are now poised to enter new application areas, such as IoT, smart environments, agriculture, automotive, digital health monitoring, security and safety. Leaving the telecom wavelengths centered at 1.55 μm, these applications require expanding into the visible and mid-IR spectral ranges, with the mid-IR being particularly important for unique chemical vapor fingerprints. In this work, we discuss recent advancements by VIGO Photonics, Warsaw University of Technology, and Lukasiewicz Institute of Microelectronics and Photonics in developing the new PIC platform, optimized for mid-IR spectral range. Key components like mid-IR light sources, detectors, and Ge-on-Si waveguiding elements are presented and discussed in the context of heterogeneous integration into a fully functional photonic chip. The potential and market perspectives of the MIRPIC platform, and the first mid-IR PICs foundry developed under the IPCEI HyperPIC program by VIGO Photonics are also announced.