Vertical coupling micro-optics
Highly efficient vertical chip edge couplers
These vertical optical couplers, 3D-printed on the edge of a silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit (PIC), demonstrate free space waveguide edge coupling as a robust and efficient approach for photonics packaging. The exhibit shows how complex, freeform microoptical coupling structures can be directly fabricated at the chip edge to enable precise in- and out-coupling of light without additional active alignment steps.
Quantum X align, Nanoscribe’s high-precision 3D optics printer, enables the direct fabrication of these microoptical coupler designs by exploiting automated alignment with nanometer-scale accuracy.
Facts & figures
Aligned 3D printing on a
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silicon nitride photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip
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with polynomial vertical optical couplers
Print parameters:
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MF Print Set (microscale structures)
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Photoresin IP-n162 with refractive index 1.62
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Print time: 1 min 20 s per vertical coupler
Key benefits of high-resolution, aligned 3D printing
- Direct 3D printing of advanced microoptical designs on chip edges
- Automatic alignment with detection accuracy down to ≤ 100 nm
- High throughput wafer- and die-scale printing on chips across large areas
Scale up optics manufacturing with high-resolution 3D printing and automated alignment on fibers, chips, and wafers – enabling reliable, low-loss photonic coupling as well as sensing and imaging applications.