Standardized low loss fiber array to PIC interface demonstrated with Photonic Wire Bonds

Karlsruhe, Germany and Lausanne, Switzerland, September 16th, 2024 – Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) have been demonstrated with very low on-chip loss in the past, for example with LIGENTEC’s low loss silicon nitride (SiN) PIC platform. The connection of these integrated photonic circuits to optical fiber arrays is often a challenge in terms of performance and cost. Vanguard Automation GmbH and LIGENTEC SA have now demonstrated a low loss coupling by using standard PDK elements.

Vanguard Automation GmbH (a Mycronic company), the developer of 3D-printed Photonic Wire Bonding (PWB) and Facet-Attached Micro-Lens (FaML) technology for photonic integration and packaging and LIGENTEC SA, producer of all nitride core PICs announces the results of their successful collaboration to bring photonic integration with PWBs to LIGENTEC’s low loss SiN PIC platform.

Through the development of a standardized chip design with edge couplers available in the LIGENTEC PDK, Vanguard Automation and LIGENTEC have achieved seamless connectivity between an SMF fiber array and SiN PICs. A total insertion loss of less than 1.5 dB has been demonstrated. LIGENTEC’s high quality SiN PIC production process and Vanguard Automation’s reliable and repeatable 3D-printing process for the production of PWBs, ensures the delivery of high-yield photonic integration solutions.

“Our strategic collaboration with LIGENTEC highlights our technology’s versatility, enabling us to deliver photonic connectivity solutions to PICs via 3D nano-printed PWBs”, Dr. Laura Horan, Product Management Lead at Vanguard Automation. “This flexible and high performance interconnection method is another step to simplify the development of PIC based solutions while preserving the benefits of our low loss platform”, said Michael Geiselmann, CCO of LIGENTEC.

Vanguard Automation GmbH and LIGENTEC SA will be showcasing their innovative technologies at the 50th European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC 2024) exhibition in Frankfurt later this month. Join us at our booths C104 (Vanguard) and B100 (LIGENTEC) to see firsthand the outcome of our collaboration.

Microscope image of the fiber-to-chip assembly featuring LIGENTEC SiN chips and Vanguard Automation PWBs