Fiber-Interconnect Silicon Chiplet Technology for Self-Aligned Fiber-to-Chip Assembly

A passive self-alignment and assembly approach for optical fibers is proposed and demonstrated using a combination of silicon micromachining and 3D printing to achieve efficient and accurate near-vertical coupling to a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with monolithic ridge waveguides and grating couplers. The alignment process is repeatable and the peak efficiency is comparable to the active fiber alignment efficiency (86% or −0.67 dB of that obtained from active alignment). The overall alignment accuracy is in the submicron range due to the formation of mechanical self-aligning structures. The overall approach is compatible with numerous applications, including fiber-to-chip and fiber-to-package assemblies as well as in the testing of photonic devices.