Work

Automated assembly of hybrid-integrated, chip-scale laser systems

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Hybrid photonic integration provides a platform to design and implement novel functionalities unavailable to active or passive material systems alone. We present an automated alignment and assembly process for hybrid-integrated laser systems, comprising silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) edge-coupled to gallium arsenide (GaAs) gain chips (GCs). We design and optimize spot size converters (SSCs) to increase the alignment tolerances between the PICs and GCs. Our automated assembly process has achieved experimental coupling losses of 2.7 dB between the PICs and GCs, closely matching the simulated values. Packaged hybrid lasers, when coupled to a lensed fiber, exhibit slope efficiencies of ∼ 97 mW/A. These results show the feasibility of scaling the production and widespread application of these hybrid laser systems by automating their assembly, which should drive down packaging costs and accelerate research.

Source: Optics Express

DOI: 10.1364/oe.558968

Authors: Taylor Levaur, Xiaolei Zhao, Lance Sweatt, Mohan Ghimire, Lin Zhu

Language: English

Topic: Photonic and Optical Devices

Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,270

Funders: National Science Foundation, Army Research Office

Awards: QuIC-TAQS: Voltage-Tunable Hybrid Microwave-Acoustic Interconnects for Multi-modal Quantum Memories, G5429423084, ExpandQISE: Track 2: Expanding Quantum Research and Education at Winston-Salem State University with Research on Hybrid Microwave-Optical Quantum Devices