FormFactor, Inc. (NASDAQ:FORM), an electrical test and measurement supplier to the semiconductor industry, announced today the company has deployed an integrated CM300xi probing solution for wafer-level testing of silicon photonics (SiPh) devices. Teams from GLOBALFOUNDRIES, FormFactor and Keysight worked together to ensure the system is flexible to meet engineering needs and to deliver high throughput in volume production.

Silicon photonics can enable the transfer of enormous amounts of data at high speeds using optical signals instead of electrical signals. The silicon photonics market is gaining momentum for data center, automotive, and other applications because it allows optical devices to be made cost effectively –reducing power and size — using silicon semiconductor fabrication techniques. The global silicon photonics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.3% between 2017 and 2025, according to Inkwood Research.

The Cascade CM300xi from FormFactor, combined with Keysight Technologies’ Photonics Application Suite measurement software, provides industry-first capabilities of automated alignment and simultaneous optical-optical and optical-electrical device tests.  Key features of the system include:

• Six-axis automated optical fiber positioning for precision alignment
• Two-stage solution for both coarse and fine alignment
• Optical alignment algorithms integrated with high-speed hardware control to shorten test times
• FormFactor’s SiPh software to simplify integration with Keysight’s Photonics Applications Suite and optical instrumentation
• Customized scripting and test programs to optimize the system for fast, accurate measurements
• Keysight’s high speed, single sweep polarization-dependent-loss (PDL) test that enables high accuracy and repeatability testing without prior polarization alignment.

“GF’s silicon photonics leverages standard silicon manufacturing techniques to improve production efficiency and reduce cost for customers deploying optical interconnect systems,” said Jeffrey Lam, Vice President of product, test and failure analysis, at GF. “We’re excited to be at the forefront in deploying new test capabilities, including wafer level solutions to ramp this important technology.”

“With our long history of working with FormFactor to deliver wafer measurement solutions and decades of experience in photonic testing we are pleased to further equip the silicon photonics industry,” said Joachim Peerlings, Vice President and General Manager Networks & Data Centers, Keysight Technologies. “With Keysight’s Photonics Application Suite and instrumentation, we’ve built a proven, integrated measurement system that enables customers to quickly develop test routines that provide deep insight into photonics devices during R&D and design validation and has the flexibility and scalability for cost effective high-volume production.”

“Emerging technologies like silicon photonics offer FormFactor the opportunity to develop fully integrated probe systems. GF is a forward-thinking company in their adoption of these new test technologies,” said Mike Slessor, President and CEO of FormFactor. “Our collaboration with both Keysight and GF Singapore delivers a solution that truly addresses the unique test and measurement challenges of silicon photonics devices.”