A method enabling height-control of chips for edge-emitting laser stacking

Abstract

In this paper we present a stacking method that enables the mounting of edge-emitting laser (EEL) devices at compulsory positions for feeding a coupling waveguide at a low temperature, i.e., 110 °C. Bonding laser chips are integrated to an interposer with embedded waveguides using an electrically conductive adhesive (ECA), i.e., silver-filled epoxy resin that relied on the surface tension phenomenon. A simple dispensing technique based on the capillary effect was used to generate adhesive droplets for bonding purposes. The ability to control the bonding height from 3 to 25 µm was demonstrated. While the post-bond in-plane offsets of the bonding EEL chip are determined by the accuracy of the bonder (i.e., within 2 µm range), the bonding height can be engineered, with a deviation within 1 µm, by balancing the external bonding forces with the surface tension of a certain adhesive volume. The reliability of the bond, i.e., bond strength of 106 gf, and heat dissipation function of the ECA, were also validated. The results obtained in this work imply that the use of this low-temperature, height-controllable approach for the stacking of EEL continues to look highly promising.