POET Technologies Inc. and Vanguard Automation GmbH today announced a collaboration to enable the integration of Micro-Lenses on the POET Optical Interposer to maximize coupling efficiency while maintaining POET’s wafer-level passive assembly process.
“The number one requirement for the POET Optical Interposer is to maintain a passive, wafer-level assembly process for POET-designed optical engines and light source products. It is the key to our ability to offer significant scale and cost benefits to our customers,” said Dr. Suresh Venkatesan, Chairman & CEO of POET. “Our optical interposer together with Vanguard Automation’s Facet-Attached-Micro-Lenses creates a powerful platform for electro-optical engines for transceivers, co-packaged optics, light engines and sensing devices. Incorporating Micro-Lenses improves the coupling efficiency of light as it passes from one photonic device to another, which in turn reduces power consumption of the combined solution. The precise alignment and printing of the Micro-Lenses at wafer-level offers significant scalability and enhances our ability to address new markets with a uniquely powerful solution.”
“We are excited to collaborate with POET Technologies to implement Vanguard Automation’s photonic integration and packaging solutions,” said Thorsten Mayer, CEO and Managing Director of Vanguard Automation GmbH. “The ability to print Facet-Attached-Micro-Lenses at wafer level with POET’s Optical Interposer technology offers a unique electro-optical platform and combines the complementary strengths of both companies.”
POET Technologies and Vanguard Automation will initially collaborate to integrate the Micro-Lenses on POET’s LightBar™ products, aimed at AI-ML accelerators and bio-sensing applications to validate power efficiency improvements and the viability of chip-scale, wafer-level manufacturing using Micro-Lenses. POET expects to start sampling LightBar products incorporating Vanguard Automation’s Micro-Lenses to customers in the second half of 2023.