III-V Lab is an industrial Research Laboratory created in 2004 by Alcatel-Lucent (now Nokia) and Thales. Nokia is one of the leaders in communication technologies (mobile, fixed, IP and Optics technologies), applications and services, while Thales is a major electronic systems company acting in areas such as defense, aerospace, airlines security and safety, information technology, and transportation. In 2010, III-V Lab was extended with the entrance of LETI from CEA in the capital, as well as 20 people from the LETI, opening the way to hybrid III-V on Si integration. CEA is one of the largest public research organizations in France, acting mainly in the fields of low carbon energies, information technologies, health technologies, large research infrastructures and global security. Under the guidance of its members, III-V Lab conducts R&D activities in the field of micro/nano-electronics and photonics semiconductor components for different application: telecoms, defense, security, safety, space etc.

These activities cover the following topics:

• Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) for telecoms;
• Micro/nano-electronic circuits for telecoms: 40Gb/s, 100Gb/s and over;
• GaN microelectronic circuits for microwave and power applications;
• High resolution infrared imagery sensors;

Located in Palaiseau, near Paris, its facilities include 4,000 m2 of clean rooms. Its staff is composed of around 100 permanent Researchers, plus around 25 PhD Students. 

III-V Lab will coordinate PICTURE project by assuming the management activities. III-V Lab will be heavily involved in the design, fabrication and characterization of different building blocks as well as the two PIC transceivers. III-V Lab will also develop the selective area epitaxy on InP/SiO2/Si templates and demonstrate a CWDM transmitter PIC. 

III-V Lab earned a rich experience on the design, fabrication and characterization of silicon photonic integrated circuits, and in particular on hybrid III-V/Si lasers in close collaboration with CEA. For example, III-V Lab and CEA demonstrated the first widely wavelength tunable III-V lasers on silicon waveguides, and tuneable lasers integrated with Mach-Zehnder modulators. Currently, III-V Lab participates in the IST projects Sequoia and Plat4M, as well as the French ANR projects N-GREEN and PICSEL.

• III-V lab has been previously involved in the following projects related to III-V integration of devices and PICs on silicon

1. French ANR MICROS (2010-2014): One of the major achievements of this project was the demonstration of a first generation hybrid III-V on silicon CW tunable laser over 45 nm at 1.55 µm for coherent transmission applications.
2. FP7 FABULOUS (2012-2015): The objective of this project is to realise an integrated ONU transceiver for access applications. III-V Lab is involved in the integration of a semiconductor optical amplifier on the transceiver.
3. ANR ULTIMATE (2012-2015): The objective of this project is to demonstrate a 4x100 Gb/s transmitter based on silicon photonics for long-haul telecommunications at 1.55 µm. III-V Lab is responsible for the layout design and for the integration of III-V on silicon.
4. FP7 PLAT4M (2012-2017) The objective of this project is to build up industrial silicon photonics platforms in Europe. III-V Lab is involved in the III-V integration on silicon and on datacom demonstrators.
5. FP7 SEQUIOIA (2013-2017): The objective of this project is to demonstrate hybrid quantum dot/quantum dash UNITYon silicon. III-V Lab is coordinating this project. 

• The following expertise, equipment facilities will be used in PICTURE

III-V Lab masters the different steps needed to manufacture III-V components from design to characterization:

• Design and modeling: electro-optical modeling for DFB, DBR and FP lasers, modulators and photo-detectors, electrical and thermal modeling of RF and power components;
• Epitaxy: MOCVD, MOVPE, MBE and GSMBE, including re-growth, selective area growth (SAG), butt-joint » and buried layers. Materials: GaN, AlGaN, InAlN, GaAs, InP, InGaAs, GaSb etc…
• Process: metal and dielectric layer deposition, electronic lithography, stepper, etching (IBE, RIE, ICP, e-beam…);
• Reliability: aging test-benches for electronic components and lasers ;
• Hybridization: III-V on Si or other (molecular adherence, Indium bumps) ;
• Modules: design and fabrication of power RF electronic circuits and modules, lasers / photo receiver modules (pigtailed or not), PIC modules.

III-V Lab has also the capacity to produce limited quantities of epitaxial wafers, components, modules or subsystems). Such capacity is particularly adapted to address in a flexible way the rapid evolution of the market, offering to its members or partner industrial companies an early access to the components for their system development and even preliminary deployment; in a second step, depending on the market evolution and quantities required, the technology is either spun off or transferred to an industrial company with larger production capacities. Recent examples:

• Transfer of QWIP and InGaAs FPA technologies to Sofradir (December 2012)
• Creation of the mirSense start-up company to which the QCL technology was transferred (April 2015)