High-density and alignment-tolerant integration of monitoring photodetector arrays onto polymeric guided-wave components

We report on a hybrid integration concept which allows high-density and alignment-tolerant surface mount assembly of top-illuminated photodetector (PD) arrays onto polymeric guided-wave components by means of a micromachined submount with an integrated mirror. This research aims at the development of polymeric waveguide based devices with an embedded optical power monitoring capability for applications in optical fiber communication networks. A prototype integrated multichannel optical power monitor comprising an eight-channel PD module and a polymeric waveguide splitter array was demonstrated which exhibited an average insertion loss of 5.2 dB, a PD coupling efficiency of -2.6 dB, and a crosstalk value of -17.1 dB between adjacent channels. Low polarization and wavelength sensitivity (σ<0.1 dB) was confirmed over a spectral range of 40 nm in both telecom wavelength windows