An optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) is a circuit incorporating both optoelectronic and electronic devices on a single semiconductor substrate. They have great advantages in improving the speed and noise characteristics of optoelectronic devices through the elimination of parasitic reactances, implementing multifunction and multi-channel signal processing capabilities and also realizing high reliability and low cost. This paper describes basic technologies for OEIC fabrication, present status of the technology of Ga As-based OEICs operating at the wavelength near 0.8μm, their applications and future prospects.
A variety of processing techniques for planar integrated structures as well as new optoelectronic devices suitable for integration, which include planar, low-capacitance metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiodes and low-threshold quantum well lasers, have been developed and applied to the fabrication of OEIC transmitters and receivers that can operate at a bitrate of 2 Gbps. Also four-channel arrays of these OEICs have been fabricated. Applicability of these OEICs to high-speed optical links and advanced optical components including 4×4 optical switches has been demonstrated and also the possibility of optical interconnections using OEICs in the future is suggested. Further technological requirements include the simplification of integrated structure for transmitters and the development of fabrication technique for In P-based OEICs usable at long wavelengths. A new integrable quantum well laser structure and a simple Ga In As PIN/FET receiver have been proposed.
