SiTrans

Silicon is the most important raw material for modern microelectronics and photovoltaics. Manufacturing and processing methods are established and proven. Integrated photonics, i.e. the use of photonic processes and microelectronics in a single silicon chip, on the other hand, is only in the transition to industrial application. This integration of light-based functions into silicon requires new processing methods. Accordingly, the generation of optical waveguides in silicon or laser activity of thin films on silicon are current research fields.
In the project, microwelding on crystalline silicon with lasers of a wavelength of 2 μm will be developed. Due to the complex laser-material interaction, this requires a laser source that covers a wide range of possible pulse durations, repetition rates and pulse energies. Active Fiber Systems GmbH will provide ifw Jena with a Tm-doped UKP fiber laser for the duration of the project. This device will achieve pulse energies up to 100 μJ, a maximum average power of 20 W, a pulse duration of several picoseconds up to 150 fs and a central wavelength of about 2 μm. Through this system, the technical requirements for the envisioned demanding UKP applications can be met.