Aim Photonics

The American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics (AIM Photonics) operates as a pivotal public-private partnership, established in July 2015 to advance the United States' capabilities in integrated photonics. The initiative was born from a 2014 Department of Defense interest, leading to a Funding Opportunity Announcement from the Air Force Research Laboratory. This culminated in a significant award of $110 million from the DoD, augmented by over $500 million from state and private contributors, making it the largest public-private commitment to integrated photonics globally at the time. The consortium is administered by the Research Foundation for The State University of New York, acting on behalf of NY CREATES. Dr. Michael Liehr was the inaugural CEO, bringing extensive experience from IBM and in managing university-industry consortia. Dr. John Bowers of UCSB, a key figure in the institute's conception, served as the Deputy CEO for nearly the first six years.

AIM Photonics functions as a national manufacturing innovation institute, one of nine established by the Department of Defense, with the goal of creating a comprehensive end-to-end ecosystem for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). This ecosystem encompasses design, fabrication, advanced packaging, and testing, aiming to lower the barrier to entry for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), academic institutions, and government agencies. The business model centers on providing access to otherwise prohibitively expensive, state-of-the-art facilities. Revenue is generated through flexible pricing structures for its services, including hourly rates, project-based fees, and collaborative partnerships. A core offering is the Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) service, which significantly reduces prototyping costs by sharing wafer space among multiple users. The institute operates two main facilities in New York: a 300mm wafer fabrication facility in Albany and the world's first open-access 300mm PIC Test, Assembly, and Packaging (TAP) facility in Rochester.

The institute provides a suite of services and products crucial for PIC development. This includes Process Design Kits (PDKs) that work with industry-leading electronic design automation (EPDA) software, enabling a streamlined design-to-manufacturing workflow. The TAP facility offers a wide range of capabilities such as opto-electronic testing for device performance, fiber attach, heterogeneous integration, and a full suite of metrology tools for quality control. By providing this infrastructure, AIM Photonics helps clients accelerate their product development cycle for applications like high-speed data communications, LIDAR, quantum computing, and advanced biomedical sensors. The institute's focus is on advancing technologies from Manufacturing Readiness Level (MRL) 4 through 7, with a clear pathway to high-volume production.

Keywords: Photonic Integrated Circuits, PIC manufacturing, public-private partnership, silicon photonics, semiconductor fabrication, Multi-Project Wafer, MPW, Test Assembly and Packaging, TAP facility, Department of Defense, photonics ecosystem, advanced manufacturing, design enablement, opto-electronics, integrated optics, NY CREATES, LIDAR development, quantum photonics, high-speed data communication, US manufacturing institute