Toray Industries, Inc. announced the development of advanced materials and technologies for mounting indium phosphide and other optical semiconductors on silicon substrates, essential for silicon photonics applications. This innovation addresses growing energy demands in data centers driven by AI-powered high-speed communications, which have increased the need for efficient optical communications systems with lower energy loss than conventional systems.
Silicon photonics, which integrates optical circuits on silicon substrates, faces the challenge of mounting indium phosphide and other III-V compound semiconductors onto silicon at high speed. Mass transfer technology is crucial for achieving this on a large scale.
Toray, in collaboration with Toray Engineering Co., Ltd., developed materials for laser-based high-speed transfer of optical semiconductors and bonding processes for direct attachment to silicon substrates. Their advancements have increased the bonding speed of optical semiconductors to 6,000 units per minute—significantly faster than traditional flip-chip bonding.
Key Developments
- Advanced Transfer Materials: Toray created new transfer materials capable of moving indium phosphide-based optical semiconductors, measuring 640 microns by 90 microns and less than 3 microns thick, with a single laser pulse. This innovation improves yield and throughput.
- Enhanced Catch Materials: The new catch materials withstand high temperatures (over 200°C) and chemical cleaning processes required for bonding. These materials were designed using Toray’s expertise in heat-resistant polymers, ensuring the fast-captured chips can be securely bonded to silicon substrates.
- Process Technology Breakthroughs: Toray successfully demonstrated the entire process from laser transfer to direct bonding on silicon, achieving positional accuracy within ±2 microns and rotational deviations of ±1°. The company is working on verifying chip operations and refining the technology for mass transfers involving other semiconductor materials.
This development, partially funded by the JPNP 20017 project from Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, aims to lay the groundwork for post-5G communications systems. Toray is committed to leveraging its core expertise in synthetic organic and polymer chemistry, biotechnology, and nanotechnology to drive innovation and contribute to societal progress.
