FOCUSLIGHT V-GROOVES
Lateral deviation from nominal position (grid error)
Figure 4: Example of a full wafer analysis of lateral deviation from nominal position (grid error). Grid error refers to the displacement of an element from its intended position. It indicates the deviation of each element from its target location within the overall layout.
glass, silicon, ceramic and fused silica, offering flexibility for integration with different PIC platforms. Equally important, wafer-level metrology can be performed before singulation, ensuring each device meets alignment and geometry tolerances before entering assembly. This enables higher throughput and more consistent performance and can reduce assembly complexity – benefits that are increasingly important for scaling optical packaging production.
can support mixed fibre configurations, and surface treatments and embedded mechanical features can be incorporated to enhance performance under application-specific environmental conditions. Furthermore, the large substrates used for manufacturing wafer-level simultaneous structured v-grooves reduce unit costs and support high- volume production. MEASURED PERFORMANCE: FROM CONCEPT TO VOLUME Beyond design versatility, consistent and verifiable manufacturing performance is essential for scaling these solutions into volume production. One of the critical challenges in scaling advanced packaging is maintaining alignment precision across large numbers of channels while supporting mass production on larger substrates. Wafer- level simultaneous structuring produces highly uniform feature placement across an entire wafer, with deviation values tightly following a narrow distribution around the nominal design values. Such uniformity improves reproducibility in manufacturing and supports high-yield manufacturing. In practice, this precision enables passive
alignment approaches to achieve coupling efficiency consistent with the design specifications, reducing the complexity of assembly processes. Importantly, the methodology supports wafer sizes up to 300 mm and channel counts above 96 fibres per array, allowing a single process platform to address a wide range of multi-channel optical interface designs. By integrating full-wafer metrology before singulation, the process ensures each singlet meets defined mechanical and optical tolerances, contributing to consistent performance and high production yield. Figure 4: Example of a full wafer analysis of lateral deviation from nominal position (grid error). Grid error refers to the displacement of an element from its intended position. It indicates the deviation of each element from its target location within the overall layout. THE FUTURE OF PIC INTERFACES The evolution of PIC-fibre interfaces is driven by the need for precision, scalability, and interoperability. Future optical systems will require alignment solutions that achieve submicron tolerances while integrating seamlessly into high-volume manufacturing. Wafer-level structuring — combining high precision, design flexibility, and scalability — offers a practical path to meeting these performance and production goals. Looking ahead, the continued advancement of PIC-fibre interface technologies will be key to enabling ever-larger photonic integration. Sustained innovation in precision, scalability, and flexibility will shape solutions that not only meet today’s requirements, but also anticipate the demands of what comes next.
FLEXIBILITY FOR OPTICAL PACKAGING INNOVATION
As PIC-based systems diversify – from telecom and datacom to emerging fields such as quantum technologies – fibre alignment platforms need to accommodate a broader range of optical and mechanical requirements. Wafer- level simultaneous structuring processes offer the design freedom needed to address these evolving demands. By leveraging this, engineers can specify a wide variety of groove parameters, including vertex angles, depths, and profile shapes, to optimise coupling efficiency and mechanical strength. Variable or stepped grooves
References: Focuslight Technologies, V-Groove Capability Guidelines 2025.
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ISSUE 42 | Q3 2025
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