Direct optical wire bonding through open-to-air polymerization for silicon photonic chips

Abstract

We developed an inter-chip optical link using direct optical wire (DOW) bonding by open-to-air polymerization. An arch-shaped wire was drawn from a tip in a similar way to a metal wire, but the wire was formed from a polymer solution that solidified in the air during wiring. The DOW bonding was examined for silicon photonic chips where grating couplers are integrated for input/output coupling. Cone-shaped studs were formed at the ends of the wire, and their geometry was optimized using finite-difference time-domain simulation to give a mode conversion function. Although the polymer wire had a multimode scale of 7 µm, the wire bonding between the grating couplers showed a relatively low insertion loss of 5.8 dB at a wavelength of 1590 nm compared to a conventional connection using single-mode fiber blocks. It also showed a larger wavelength tolerance within the range of ∼1520–1590 nm. DOW bonding between a grating coupler and a single-mode fiber were also examined to verify the feasibility of out-of-plane connection with edge-coupling devices. The grating-to-fiber wire link also exhibited a large wavelength tolerance.

Recent advances in meniscus-on-demand three-dimensional micro- and nano-printing for electronics and photonics

“…The researchers determined the geometric parameters of the wire via preliminary experimentation and simulation. The connections showed a relatively low insertion loss (5.8 dB) at a wavelength of 1590 nm and a larger wavelength tolerance than conventional connections [68]. As conducting polymers are biocompatible, printed freestanding arrays can be used for connections between organisms and electronic devices.…”

Fiber-to-Chip Three-Dimensional Silicon-on-Insulator Edge Couplers with High Efficiency and Tolerance

“…Therefore, the existing 3D edge couplers can be optimized to improve their coupling efficiency. The tapered length of the edge coupler has a certain influence on the coupling efficiency of the edge couplers [ 32 , 33 , 34 ]. When the tapered length is overly long, it is not conducive to the integration of large-scale PICs, while when the tapered length is short, it is not conducive to achieving the efficient adiabatic transmission of edge couplers.…”

Silicon photonic devices for scalable quantum information applications

“…6h and 6i). Using polymer waveguides with 3D geometry, photonic wire bonding can bridge photonic circuits on different chips [167][168][169][170]. With this technique, 1.6 dB coupling loss between silicon chips [167], 1.7 dB coupling loss between a four-core fiber and a silicon chip [168] and 0.4 dB coupling loss between an indium phosphide chip and a silicon photonic chip [169] were demonstrated.…”