Micro-Transfer printing of thick optical components using a tether-free UV-curable approach

Micro-Transfer printing (μTP) has been widely used to integrate photonic components, such as lasers, modulators, photodetectors, micro-LEDs, on Si photonic platforms. There is a push toward the μTP of optical components in photonics packaging as it enables wafer-scale integration with high alignment accuracy. We demonstrate for the first time the μTP of thick optical components, such as micro-lenses, in the range of 250 to 1000 μm thickness. We explore the reliability of bonding such components using an ultraviolet (UV) curable epoxy and compare them with the current state of the art. The results show that the average shear strength of lenses bonded with InterVia is 19 MPa which is higher than currently used optical epoxies. Also, μTP process has no effect on the surface roughness and microstructure of lenses. Using our approach, we demonstrate how thick silicon and fused silica lenses can be integrated into photonic integrated circuits (PICs) using a tether-free process that is highly scalable and robust.