Microlens integration on photonic integrated circuits: a platform for achieving relaxed packaging tolerances and hybrid integration of external functionality

Jeroen Missinne; Rik Verplancke; Yao-Tung Chang; Jef Van Asch; Harindra Kannojia; Viktor Geudens; Athanasios Kyriazis; Geert Van Steenberge

doi:10.1117/12.2692645

12 March 2024 Microlens integration on photonic integrated circuits: a platform for achieving relaxed packaging tolerances and hybrid integration of external functionality

Jeroen Missinne, Rik Verplancke, Yao-Tung Chang, Jef Van Asch, Harindra Kannojia, Viktor Geudens, Athanasios Kyriazis, Geert Van Steenberge

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12891, Silicon Photonics XIX; 128910E (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2692645
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2024, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss 3 examples in which microlenses can be a useful tool to address challenges in coupling between a fiber array and photonic integrated circuit (PIC). The (arrays of) microlenses used in this work were realized by the photoresist reflow method and can either be monolithically integrated on the back side of a PIC or separately fabricated microlens blocks can be mounted on the device side of a PIC. The first example involves the implementation of silicon microlenses etched at the back side of a sensing PIC (operating in C-band) aiming at relaxed alignment tolerances and keeping the device side free of interfacing fibers. The second example involves the implementation of a 4-mm long working distance expanded beam (30 μm mode field diameter, C-band) interface for telecom/datacom applications which also greatly relaxes lateral and longitudinal alignment tolerances between grating couplers on PIC and a fiber array. The final example involves the integration of an isolator in this long working distance expanded beam interface. The isolator stack consisted of a polarizer (0.55 mm thick), a non-reciprocal Faraday Rotator (485 μm thick film latching Faraday Rotator) and half-wave plate (HWP, 91 μm quartz) glued on top of each other. We obtained broadband operation exhibiting a very low (between 1 and 1.5 dB) insertion loss and good extinction ratio (between 17 and 20 dB) in C-band (around 1550 nm).

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(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

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Jeroen Missinne, Rik Verplancke, Yao-Tung Chang, Jef Van Asch, Harindra Kannojia, Viktor Geudens, Athanasios Kyriazis, and Geert Van Steenberge "Microlens integration on photonic integrated circuits: a platform for achieving relaxed packaging tolerances and hybrid integration of external functionality", Proc. SPIE 12891, Silicon Photonics XIX, 128910E (12 March 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2692645

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