Ripple reduction in piezoelectric micropumps by phased actuation in parallel and damping

Piezoelectric micropumps enable miniaturization in microfluidics for lab-on-a-chip applications such as Organs-on-chips (OoC). However, achieving a steady flow with these micropumps is a significant challenge because of the reciprocating motion of the displacing component. Although dampers are widely preferred for reducing ripples, they are not...

Proportional Microvalve Using A Piezoelectric Unimorph Microactuator

Microvalves are important flow-control components in many standalone and integrated microfluidic circuits. Although there is a large body of work regarding<br/>microvalves, there is still a need for an easyto-fabricate, small-footprint, low-power device that can control both liquids and gases at moderate pressures. This paper details the...

Photonic hybrid assembly through flexible waveguides

Fully automated, high precision, cost-effective assembly technology for photonic packages remains one of the main challenges in photonic component manufacturing. Next to the cost aspect the most demanding assembly task for multiport photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is the high-precision (±0.1 μm) alignment and fixing required for optical I...

On-chip positionable photonic waveguides for chip-to-chip optical interconnects

This paper reports on the progress related to a multichannel photonic alignment concept, aiming for sub-micrometer precision in the alignment of the waveguides of two photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The concept consists of two steps: chip-to-chip positioning and chip bonding provide a coarse alignment after which waveguide-to-waveguide...

Bimorph actuators in thick SiO₂ for photonic alignment

This paper proposes and tests a design of electro-thermal bimorph actuators for alignment of flexible photonic waveguides fabricated in 16 μm thick SiO². The actuators are for use in a novel alignment concept for multi-port photonic integrated circuits (PICs), in which the fine alignment is taken care of by positioning of suspended...

Mechanically flexible waveguide arrays for optical chip-to-chip coupling

Suspended photonic waveguide arrays for submicrometer alignment

This paper presents a new alignment concept for the alignment of multichannel photonic intergrated circuits (PICs) using flexible photonic waveguides on one of the PICs that are positionable by integrated micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) actuators. The concept aims for high precision and high degree of assembly process automation. The...

Systematic approach for tolerance analysis of photonic systems

Passive alignment of photonic components is an assembly method compatible with a high production volume. Its precision performance relies completely on the dimensional accuracies of geometrical alignment features. A tolerance analysis plays a key role in designing and optimizing these passive alignment features. The objective of this paper is to...