Hybrid and heterogeneous photonic integration

Increasing demand for every faster information throughput is driving the emergence of integrated photonic technology. The traditional silicon platform used for integrated electronics cannot provide all of the functionality required for fully integrated photonic circuits, and thus, the last decade has seen a strong increase in research and development of hybrid and heterogeneous photonic integrated circuits. These approaches have enabled record breaking experimental demonstrations, harnessing the most favorable properties of multiple material platforms, while the robustness and reliability of these technologies are suggesting entirely new approaches for precise mass manufacture of integrated circuits with unprecedented variety and flexibility. This Tutorial provides an overview of the motivation behind the integration of different photonic and material platforms. It reviews common hybrid and heterogeneous integration methods and discusses the advantages and shortcomings. This Tutorial also provides an overview of common photonic elements that are integrated in photonic circuits. Finally, an outlook is provided about the future directions of the hybrid/heterogeneous photonic integrated circuits and their applications.