Cisco Technology, Inc.

Intel Corporation

Kumar Satya Harinadh Potluri

Ashley J Maker

Vipulkumar K Patel

Jock T Bovington

John Heck

Hari Mahalingam

Paul Yu

A fiber array unit (FAU) includes a substrate, a plurality of optical fibers, and a lid. The substrate includes: an optical window extending through a layer of non-transparent material, a plurality of grooves, and an alignment protrusion configured to mate with an alignment receiver. The plurality of optical fibers are disposed in the plurality of grooves. The alignment protrusion is configured to align the plurality of optical fibers with an external device when mated with the alignment receiver. The plurality of optical fibers is disposed between the lid and the substrate.

Fiber coupler with an optical window

Embodiments herein describe a fiber array unit (FAU) configured to optically couple a photonic chip with a plurality of optical fibers. Epoxy can be used to bond the FAU to the photonic chip. However, curing the epoxy between the FAU and the photonic chip is difficult. As such, the FAU can include one or more optical windows etched into or completely through a non-transparent layer that overlap the epoxy disposed on the photonic chip. UV radiation can be emitted through the optical windows to cure the underlying epoxy. In one example, the windows can also be used for dispensing epoxy. In addition to the optical windows, the FAU can include alignment protrusions (e.g., frustums) which mate or interlock with respective alignment receivers in the photonic chip. Doing so may facilitate passive alignment of the optical fibers in the FAU to an optical interface in the photonic chip.

In various embodiments, optical fibers may be placed into V-shaped grooves in a substrate. A lid may then be placed on top of the optical fibers to hold them accurately in place, and the lid may be attached to the substrate using a reflow solder technique. Epoxy may then be applied as a strain relief. Because the V-shaped grooves and optical waveguides are manufactured with precision on the same substrate, precise alignment between these two may be achieved. Because the epoxy is applied after reflow, the epoxy may not be exposed to reflow temperatures, which might otherwise cause the epoxy to distort during the cure process.

Reflow compatible optical packaging

A submount assembly comprises a first substrate having a first surface and an opposing second surface, wherein a plurality of first grooves are formed into the first substrate from the first surface. Each first groove is dimensioned to receive a portion of a respective optical fiber of a plurality of optical fibers, and to arrange the optical fiber with a predetermined first height relative to the first surface. The submount assembly further comprises a plurality of first conductive traces on a side of the first substrate corresponding to the first surface, and a semiconductor laser contacted with the first conductive traces. The semiconductor laser has a predetermined second height relative to the first surface. The submount assembly further comprises a plurality of second conductive traces at the second surface and a plurality of first vias extending through the first substrate from the first conductive traces to the second conductive traces.

Submount for semiconductor laser and optical fibers

Embodiments herein describe a fiber array unit (FAU) configured to couple a photonic chip with a plurality of optical fibers. Epoxy can be used to bond the FAU to the photonic chip. However, curing the epoxy between the FAU and the photonic chip is difficult. As such, the FAU can include one or more optical windows etched into a non-transparent layer that overlap with epoxy wells in the photonic chip. Moreover, the FAU may include a transparent substrate on which the non-transparent layer is disposed that permits UV light to pass therethrough. As such, during curing, UV light can be pass through the transparent substrate and through the optical windows in the non-transparent layer to cure the epoxy disposed between the FAU and the photonic chip.

Growing community of inventors

Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Kumar Satya Harinadh Potluri