Optomechanical system for photonic chip characterization

Abstract

It is presented in this work a description of an optomechanical setup to be used for the characterization of planar photonic chips. The system allows the fine tuning of an optical fiber position on an input grating, controlling its XYZ position and its angle of incidence. A similar configuration is used for the output extraction, while a fiber array can be used an alternative to monitor multiple output channels. Such a configuration can be useful for characterization of arrayed sensing devices or Optical Phased Arrays. The system can be used in the visible range and in the IR spectrum as well, provided the input light source is changed. All the setting are controlled manually, and it is prepared to easily perform a sequential analysis of a set of identical circuits, fabricated in a parallel configuration on the same chip. As most of the components are individually and commercially available thought the Thorlabs website, the set up can be easily replicated, so all the system designs are made available in Open Access modality in SolidWorks format. Examples of characterization process and the obtained results are reported to demonstrate the use of the system and to support a tolerance analysis.