Nanoprecision Products, Inc.

Cudoquanta Florida, Inc.

Senko Advanced Components, Inc.

Robert Ryan Vallance

Shuhe Li

Michael K Barnoski

Rand Dannenberg

Gregory L Klotz

Yang Chen

Matthew Gean

King-Fu Hii

Tewodros Mengesha

Jeremy Burke

Laurence Ray McColloch

Eric Marsh

Yongsheng Zhao

Chris Morgan

Joseph Kim Bond

Po-Tsung Wu

Fred Bosch

Ryan H Woodward

Eric Jaquay

King-Fu Hll

To couple light between an optical fiber and a grating coupler of a photonic integrated circuits, a mirror is provided to turn light to/from the optical fiber to allow the axis of the optical fiber to be oriented at small angles or parallel to the surface of the PIC, and lowered close to the surface of the PIC. The mirror is further configured to reshape light from a flat polished optical fiber to produce a mode field resembling the mode field of an angled polished optical fiber, to match the design angle of existing grating couplers that are designed to work with angled polished optical fibers. The mirror and optical fiber alignment structure in the optical connector are integrally/simultaneous formed by precision stamping.

Optical connection of optical fibers to grating couplers

An optical fiber array module that can accommodate variations in diameters of the optical fibers in the fiber array within anticipated tolerance, to accurately and securely retain the optical fibers in grooves in the module without using any solder interface or epoxy interface between the optical fibers and the supporting components. The fiber array module of the present invention relies on elasto-plastic interfaces for mechanical deformation, as opposed to solder reflow or epoxy curing, to accommodate variations in diameters of the optical fibers in the fiber array as supported in grooves between a substrate and a cover.

Metallized optical fiber array module and fabrication method thereof

A hermetic optical fiber alignment assembly includes a ferrule portion having a plurality of grooves receiving the end sections of optical fibers, wherein the grooves define the location and orientation of the end sections with respect to the ferrule portion. The assembly includes an integrated optical element for coupling the input/output of an optical fiber to the opto-electronic devices in the opto-electronic module. The optical element can be in the form of a structured reflective surface. The end of the optical fiber is at a defined distance to and aligned with the structured reflective surface. The structured reflective surfaces and the fiber alignment grooves can be formed by stamping.

Hermetic optical fiber alignment assembly having integrated optical element

A passive optical alignment coupling between an optical connector having a first two-dimensional planar array of alignment features and a foundation having a second two-dimensional planar array of alignment features. One of the arrays is a network of orthogonally intersecting longitudinal grooves defining an array of discrete protrusions that are each in a generally pyramidal shape with a truncated top separated from one another by the orthogonally intersecting longitudinal grooves, and the other array is a network of longitudinal cylindrical protrusions. The cylindrical protrusions are received in the grooves, with protrusion surfaces of the cylindrical protrusions in contact with groove surfaces and the top of the discrete protrusions contacting the surface bound by the cylindrical protrusions. The optical connector is removably attachable to the foundation to define a demountable coupling, with the first array of alignment features against the second array of alignment features to define an elastic averaging coupling.

Elastic averaging coupling

An optical bench subassembly including an integrated photonic device. Optical alignment of the photonic device with the optical bench can be performed outside of an optoelectronic package assembly before attaching thereto. The photonic device is attached to a base of the optical bench, with its optical input/output in optical alignment with the optical output/input of the optical bench. The optical bench supports an array of optical fibers in precise relationship to a structured reflective surface. The photonic device is mounted on a submount to be attached to the optical bench. The photonic device may be actively or passively aligned with the optical bench. After achieving optical alignment, the submount of the photonic device is fixedly attached to the base of the optical bench. The optical bench subassembly may be structured to be hermetically sealed as a hermetic feedthrough, to be hermetically attached to a hermetic optoelectronic package.

Optical bench subassembly having integrated photonic device

An edge coupler having an optical bench with a mirror array. Each mirror bends, reflects and/or reshapes incident light. The edge coupler is optically coupled to the optical elements in a PIC chip which direct light to the edge of the PIC chip. The edge coupler provides a demountable, passively aligned coupling between an optical fiber array and the PIC chip. The edge coupler may be a free space edge coupler without any optical element between the mirror array and the optical elements of the PIC chip, or may include grooves each receiving a section of optical fiber with its longitudinal axis along the first light path and terminating substantially at or extending beyond the edge of the edge coupler. The optical fiber array may include an optical fiber connector terminating and supporting the ends of the optical fibers in optical alignment with the mirror array of the edge coupler.

Demountable edge couplers with micro-mirror optical bench for photonic integrated circuits

An alignment coupler is provided to facilitate active alignment of the optical bench to the optical connector. The optical bench and the coupler together form an optical bench based connector. A method of demountable connection of an optical connector to an optical bench based connector, comprising: providing a coupler, wherein the coupler has an opening sized to receive an optical bench with clearance for relative movement between the optical bench and the coupler to facilitate alignment, and wherein the coupler is provided with a passive alignment structure structured to demountably couple to the connector; demountably coupling the coupler to the connector; placing the optical bench in the opening of the coupler; actively aligning the optical path between the optical bench and the connector to reach a desired optical alignment between the optical bench and the connector, by adjusting a position of the optical bench within the clearance of the opening of the coupler; fixing the position of the optical bench relative to the coupler at the desired optical alignment, whereby the optical bench is optically aligned to the connector using the coupler, thereby allowing subsequent demountable coupling of the optical bench to the connector by demountable coupling of the coupler.

Demountable connection of an optical connector and an optical bench based connector using an alignment coupler

A hermetic optical subassembly includes an optical bench having a mirror directing optical signals to/from an optical waveguide, a carrier supporting a photonic device, and an intermediate optical bench having a mirror directing optical signals between the photonic device and the optical bench. The optical bench and the intermediate optical bench optically aligns the photonic device to the waveguide along a desired optical path. In one embodiment, the photonic device is an edge emitting laser (EML). The mirror of the optical bench may be passively aligned with the mirror of the intermediate optical bench. The assembled components are hermetically sealed. The body of the optical benches are preferably formed by stamping a malleable metal material to form precise geometries and surface features. In a further aspect, the hermetic optical subassembly integrates a multiplexer/demultiplexer, for directing optical signals between a single optical fiber and a plurality of photonic devices.

Hermetic optical subassembly

A process of making a coupling device for physically and optically coupling an optical fiber to route optical signals to/from optical receiver/transmitter. The coupling device includes a structured reflective surface that functions as an optical element that directs light to/from the input/output ends of the optical fiber by reflection, and an optical fiber retention groove structure that positively receives the optical fiber in a manner with the end of the optical fiber at a defined distance to and aligned with the structured reflective surface. The open structure of the structured reflective surface and fiber retention structure lends itself to mass production processes such as precision stamping. The coupling device can be attached to an optical transmitter and/or receiver, with the structured reflective surface aligned to the light source in the transmitter or to the detector in the receiver, and adapted in an active optical cable.

Coupling device having a structured reflective surface of stamped malleable metal for coupling input/output of an optical fiber

A process and tool for reshaping and resizing grooves that were pre-formed in a pair of ferrules halves of an optical fiber ferrule. The pre-formed grooves are further subject to a separate, subsequent reshaping and resizing step using the tool and a gauge that may be a bare section of optical fiber or a pin. The ferrule halves are aligned, and using the pre-formed grooves as guides for the gauge optical fiber or gauge pin, the ferrule halves are compressed together with the gauge optical fiber or gauge pin therebetween, thereby reshaping and resizing the respective grooves on the ferrule halves. After reshaping and resizing, the resultant groove that is finally formed on each ferrule halve would be precisely shaped, sized and located with respect to the external alignment surface of each ferrule halve. The ferrule halves may be used to terminate an optical fiber cable.

Process for reshaping and resizing grooves in optical fiber ferrules

Optoelectronic module assembly having an optical fiber alignment assembly coupled to an optoelectronic device assembly

An expanded beam ferrule includes a first ferrule halve having first reflective surfaces and a second ferrule halve having second reflective surfaces, which together retain optical fibers. The pair of reflective surfaces output collimated light parallel to the mid-plane of the ferrule. An external sleeve aligns the external surface of two similar ferrules, with corresponding second reflective surfaces of the ferrules facing each other. Output light from an optical fiber held in one ferrule is bent twice by the pair of reflective surfaces, with beam divergence after the first bent, and collimation after the second bent. The collimated light is transmitted to the facing second reflective surface in a facing second ferrule aligned by the sleeve, which is subject to optical reshaping in reverse to that undertaken in the first ferrule, so as to converge and focus light to input to the optical fiber held in the other ferrule.

Optical fiber connector ferrule assembly having dual reflective surfaces for beam expansion and expanded beam connector incorporating same

A hermetic optical fiber alignment assembly, including a first ferrule portion having a first surface provided with a plurality of grooves receiving the end sections of optical fibers, wherein the grooves define the location and orientation of the end sections with respect to the first ferrule portion, and a second ferrule portion having a second surface facing the first surface of the first ferrule, wherein the first ferrule portion is attached to the second ferrule portion with the first surface against the second surface, wherein a cavity is defined between the first ferrule portion and the second ferrule portion, wherein the cavity is wider than the grooves, and wherein a suspended section of each optical fiber is suspended in the cavity, and wherein the cavity is sealed with a sealant. The sealant extends around the suspended sections of the optical fibers within the cavity. An aperture is provided in at least one of the first ferrule portion and the second ferrule portion, exposing the cavity, wherein the sealant is feed through the aperture. In another aspect, the hermetic assembly provides optical alignment and a hermetic feedthrough for an opto-electronic module. In a further aspect, the hermetic assembly provides alignment and a terminal for access to an opto-electronic module.

Growing community of inventors

Newbury Park, CA, United States of America

Robert Ryan Vallance