Method for attaching optical components onto silicon-based integrated circuits

Abstract

Hybrid integration of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and/or other optical device components with silicon-based integrated circuits. A multitude of individual VCSELs or optical devices are processed on the surface of a compound semiconductor wafer and then transferred to a silicon-based integrated circuit. A specific sacrificial or removable separation layer is employed between the optical components and the mother semiconductor substrate. The transfer of the optical components to a carrier substrate is followed by the elimination of the sacrificial or separation layer and simultaneous removal of the mother substrate. This is followed by the attachment and interconnection of the optical components to the surface of, or embedded within the upper layers of, an integrated circuit, followed by the release of the components from the carrier substrate. It is possible to place and interconnect VCSELs directly within the physical structure of the integrated circuit, thus greatly reducing the power requirements, the distance of interconnecting lines, and the resultant operational speed. A variation allows the selective placement of groups of physically-connected VCSELs, and the collection and placement of large numbers of fabricated VCSELs onto foreign substrates using a vacuum plating tool.