Alignment of adiabatic optical interfaces
System and methods for aligning optical elements to form adiabatic couplings are disclosed. An alignment device includes a common platform and a plurality of electrically-controlled mounts affixed to the common platform. Individual fibers of a first set of fibers that are to be aligned with a second set of fibers are coupled into respective ones of the plurality of electrically-controlled mounts. The platform as a whole is positioned in 3D space to align the first set of fibers with the second set of fibers, within a threshold level of alignment. Then, individual ones of the electrically-controlled mounts are adjusted to further align respective fibers of the first set of fibers with a corresponding fiber of the second set. In some embodiments, scattered light and/or signal strength are used as feedback measurements to guide the alignment process.
1 . A method of aligning optical elements, the method comprising:
attaching a first set of optical elements to a platform of an alignment device, wherein the platform is configured to move in 3D space, and wherein each of the optical elements of the first set are individually attached to the platform via respective ones of a plurality of electrically-controlled mounts mounted on the platform;
manipulating the platform with the first set of optical elements attached such that tapered ends of the first set of optical elements are positioned adjacent to, or touching, tapered ends of a second set of optical elements to which the first set of optical elements are to be coupled; and
individually adjusting, using the respective ones of the electrically-controlled mounts, positioning of respective ones of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements to align the respective ones of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements with the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
said manipulating the platform adjusts the positioning of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements according to a first precision level;
said individually adjusting the respective ones of the tapered ends via the electrically-controlled mounts adjusts the positioning of the respective ones of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements according to a second precision level; and
the second precision level enables adjustments that are an order of magnitude smaller than are enabled at the first precision level.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the second precision level enables adjustments in positioning in a 2D plane orthogonal to the platform in increments of approximately 500 nanometers or less.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the electrically-controlled mounts comprise a piezoelectric material or an electrostatic device configured to individually adjust the positioning of the respective ones of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said manipulating the platform comprises adjusting a positioning of the platform relative to the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements:
in a vertical direction,
in a horizontal direction, or
in a depth direction.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein said manipulating the platform comprises adjusting a positioning of the platform relative to the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements:
about an X-axis,
about a Y-axis, or
about a Z axis.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
a first stage of the method of aligning the optical elements comprises said manipulating the platform to adjust a pitch, roll, and yaw of the platform and to adjust a placement of the platform vertically, horizontally, and depth-wise with respect to the second set of optical elements; and
a second stage of the method of aligning the optical elements comprises said individually adjusting the positioning of the respective ones of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements in a 2D plane while the platform is held stationary.
8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
capturing images of relative positioning of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements relative to the second set of optical elements; and
determining, via machine vision using the captured images, one or more platform movements to be performed as part of said manipulating the platform.
9 . D) The method of claim 8 , wherein the machine vision is configured to determine:
a taper shape of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements and a tapered shape of the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements;
a taper location of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements and a taper location of the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements; or
a taper angle of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements and a taper angle of the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements.
10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
emitting light into the first or second set of optical elements, wherein the captured images show light leakage or light scattering from the tapered ends of the first or second set of optical elements,
wherein the machine vision uses the light leakage or light scattering shown in the captured images to determine the one or more platform movements to be performed.
11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting light signals from a transmitting device to a receiving device via the adjacently positioned first and second sets of optical elements; and
determining, based on measured signal characteristics, individual optical element adjustments to be performed via the electrically-controlled mounts.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method of aligning the optical elements results in an adiabatic coupling of the respective ones of the tapered ends of the first set of optical elements with the tapered ends of the second set of optical elements.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
securing, a given optical element of the first or second sets of optical elements to a structure of an optical device that includes the given optical element, wherein said securing is performed by applying an adhesive to the given optical element to secure it to the structure of the optical device.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
immersing the first and second sets of optical elements that have been aligned and at least partially secured via respective adhesives in a photo-active liquid polymer; and
forming additional respective securing structures over the aligned tapered ends of the first and second sets of optical elements by applying photons of light to the photo-active liquid polymer to form the additional respective securing structures.
15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first or second sets of optical elements are part of:
a diamond optical device;
a lithium niobate optical device;
an aluminum nitride optical device;
a silicon optical device;
a silicon nitride optical device; or
a fiber optic cable.