Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Optoscribe develops glass chip for low-loss coupling to silicon photonics

Optoscribe Ltd. introduced glass chip for low-loss coupling to silicon photonics (SiPh) grating couplers.

The new OptoCplrLT is designed to overcome fiber-to-SiPh photonic integrated circuit (PIC) coupling challenges to enable high volume automated assembly and help drive down costs. 

The device was created using Optoscribe’s proprietary high-speed laser writing technique. It features low-loss light turning curved mirrors, which are uniquely formed in the glass, to direct the light to or from SiPh grating couplers. This prevents the need for bend-tolerant fiber solutions, which are often expensive, challenging and have some significant limitations in size and profile.

To help address footprint challenges, OptoCplrLT has a low-profile interface of less than 1.5mm in height, which allows compact interface layouts that alleviate packaging constraints. It is also compatible with industry-standard materials and processes; for example, the glass chip has a coefficient of thermal expansion matched to the silicon chip, helping to maximise performance.

Russell Childs, CEO of Optoscribe, said: “With data center operators and transceiver manufacturers seeking innovative solutions to help address fiber-to-SiPh PIC coupling challenges, we are pleased to introduce OptoCplrLT™ to help meet market demands of performance, cost and volume, as well as helping to overcome such hurdles including SiPh transceiver packaging and integration.”