Through-etched silicon carriers for passive alignment of optical fibers tosurface-active optoelectronic components

Silicon carriers for passive alignment of optical fibers to surface-active optoelectronic components with micrometer precision are presented. The carr iers are through-etched by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) to make vertica l fiber alignment holes that go through the chip. On the top surface of the carrier, high-precision electrodes and eutectic AuSn-solder bumps are depo sited by evaporation and electroplating. Surface active opto-components, ve rtical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) or photodetectors are flip-c hip mounted on the solder bumps, and are self-aligned to the carrier during the soldering process. Finally optical fibers are inserted and glued in th e fiber holes, thereby aligning them to the opto-components. Alignment expe riments with multi-mode VCSELs show a coupling efficiency of > 90%. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.