Embedding a photonic integrated circuit in a semiconductor package for high bandwidth memory and compute

A package comprising:

• an electronic integrated circuit (EIC);
• a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) disposed on a substrate and electrically coupled to the EIC through one or more electrical connections, the PIC comprising a semiconductor die having an active portion electrically connected to the EIC and configured to consume electrical power when activated, and a passive portion comprising an optical transmission medium configured to propagate optical signals to or from the active portion of the PIC, the passive portion comprising one or more photonic ports at a surface of the PIC;
• a layer of a packaging compound at least partially encapsulating the EIC and the PIC;
• an optical path through the layer of packaging compound to the one or more photonic ports at the surface of the PIC;
• and
• a fiber array unit (FAU) attached to the package and arranged to couple optical signals to or from the PIC via the one or more photonic ports,
• wherein the optical path comprises a cavity formed on a side of the semiconductor die that is opposite from the substrate, the cavity being filled with an optically transparent medium with an optical refractive index substantially matching that of the optical transmission medium such that the optical signal can be received from or transmitted to the passive portion of the PIC through the cavity,
• wherein the active portion of the PIC comprises an optical modulator or a photodetector or both, and the EIC comprises a driver or a transimpedance amplifier or both, the drive being coupled to the optical modulator on the PIC and configured to drive the optical modulator such that information contents are modulated on the optical signal, and the transimpedance amplifier being coupled to the photodetector and configured to operate on the photodetector such that modulated optical signals are converted to electrical signals.