Method and system for hybrid integrated 1XN DWDM transmitter

An integrated DWDM transmitter apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

• a first support component;
• a silica-on-silicon substrate overlying the first support component, the silica-on-silicon substrate including a silica layer overlying a silicon layer, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first support component being substantially matched to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the silicon layer;
• an optical multiplexer within the silica layer, the optical multiplexer including a plurality of input waveguides and at least an output waveguide;
• a second support component attached to a side surface of the first support component;
• one or more semiconductor laser array chips overlying the second support component, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the one or more semiconductor chips being substantially matched to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the second support component, each of the one or more laser array chips including multiple lasers, each of the multiple lasers being optically coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of input waveguides;
• and
• a plurality of micro heaters, each of the plurality of micro heaters being located adjacent to a corresponding one of the multiple lasers.

A method for making an integrated DWDM transmitter apparatus, the method comprising:

• forming an optical multiplexer in a silica-on-silicon substrate, the silica-on-silicon substrate including a silica layer overlying a silicon layer, the optical multiplexer including a plurality of input waveguides and at least an output waveguide;
• providing a first support component, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first support component being substantially matched to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the silicon layer;
• attaching the silica-on-silicon substrate to the first support component;
• providing a second support component;
• mounting one or more semiconductor laser array chips to a top surface of the second support component, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the one or more semiconductor laser array chips being substantially matched to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the second support component, each of the one or more semiconductor laser array chips including multiple lasers;
• aligning each of the multiple lasers to a corresponding one of the plurality of input waveguides for providing an optical coupling;
• and
• attaching the second support component to the first support component.

An integrated dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) transmitter apparatus that converts multiple electrical signals to a multiple-channel DWDM signal, the apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of input terminals for receiving the multiple electrical signals;
• a first support component;
• a silica-on-silicon substrate overlying the first support component, the silica-on-silicon substrate including a silica layer overlying a silicon layer, a coefficient of thermal expansion of the first support component being substantially matched to a coefficient of thermal expansion of the silicon layer;
• a second support component attached to the silica-on-silicon substrate and the first support component;
• one or more semiconductor laser array chips overlying the second support component, the one or more semiconductor laser array chips being coupled to the plurality of input terminals for receiving the multiple electrical signals and converting the multiple electrical signals to corresponding multiple optical signals, each of the one or more laser array chips including multiple lasers;
• and
• an optical multiplexer coupled to the one or more semiconductor laser array chips for converting the multiple optical signals to the multiple-channel DWDM signal, the optical multiplexer being located in the silica-on-silicon substrate, the optical multiplexer including:
• a plurality of input waveguides each of which coupled to a corresponding laser for receiving a corresponding optical signal;
• and at least an output waveguide for outputting the multiple-channel DWDM signal.