Optical fiber-to-chip interconnection

An apparatus comprising:

• a photonic integrated circuit including a plurality of vertical-coupling elements disposed along a main surface of the photonic integrated circuit;
• an optical subassembly attached to the photonic integrated circuit;
• a ferrule frame that is configured to enable a fiber connector to be removably connected to the ferrule frame and aligned with the optical subassembly;
• wherein the fiber connector is connected to an array of optical fibers, and the optical subassembly is configured to transfer light between the array of optical fibers and the vertical-coupling elements on the photonic integrated circuit;
• wherein the ferrule frame is aligned to the optical subassembly using an active alignment process in which light is transferred between at least one optical fiber in the array of optical fibers and the photonic integrated circuit through the optical subassembly and at least one of the vertical-coupling elements, and a position of the ferrule frame relative to the optical subassembly is adjusted based on at least one characteristic of the light transferred between the at least one optical fiber and the photonic integrated circuit;
• and
• wherein the ferrule frame is securely connected to the optical subassembly after the active alignment process.

An apparatus comprising:

• a plurality of photonic integrated circuits, each photonic integrated circuit including a plurality of coupling elements;
• a plurality of optical subassemblies, each optical subassembly attached to a corresponding one of the photonic integrated circuits;
• a plurality of ferrule frames, each ferrule frame configured to enable a corresponding fiber connector to be removably connected to the ferrule frame and aligned with a corresponding one of the optical subassemblies;
• wherein each fiber connector is connected to an array of optical fibers, and the corresponding optical subassembly is configured to transfer light between the array of optical fibers and the corresponding coupling elements on the corresponding photonic integrated circuit;
• wherein each ferrule frame enables the array of optical fibers to be aligned with the corresponding optical subassembly with a precision of at least 10 μm accuracy.

An apparatus comprising:

• a storage device storing instructions;
• and
• at least one data processor configured to execute the instructions and implement a process comprising controlling a machine to align a ferrule frame to an optical subassembly using an active alignment process;
• wherein the optical subassembly is optically coupled to a photonic integrated circuit;
• and
• wherein the ferrule frame is configured to enable a fiber connector to be removably connected to the ferrule frame, the fiber connector is attached to an array of optical fibers, and the ferrule frame is configured to enable the optical fibers to be aligned to the optical subassembly to enable light to be transmitted between the optical fibers and the photonic integrated circuit.