Inter-layer light transition in hybrid III-V/Si waveguides integrated by µ-transfer printing

We demonstrate low-loss and broadband light transition from III-V functional layers to a Si platform via two-stage adiabatic-crossing coupler waveguides. A 900-µm-long and 2.7-µm-thick III-V film waveguide consisting of a GaInAsP core and InP cladding layers is transferred onto an air-cladding Si photonic chip by the µ-transfer printing (µ-TP) method. An average optical coupling loss per joint of 1.26 dB is obtained in C + L telecommunication bands (1530-1635 nm). The correlation between alignment offset and measured optical coupling loss is discussed with the frequency distribution of µ-TP samples. We also performed a photoluminescence measurement to investigate the material properties in the GaInAsP layer to see if they are distorted by the strong bending stress produced during the pick-up and print steps of the µ-TP process. The peak intensity reduction of 80-90% and a wavelength shift of 0-5 nm (blue shift) were observed after the process. The series of fundamental studies presented here, which combine multiple analyses, contribute to improving our understanding of III-V/Si photonic integration by µ-TP.