The value of a 2D FAU lives in repeatable sub-micron placement. This page summarises the precision, fiber and pitch capabilities, and the high-level process behind them.
Optical coupling efficiency is set by how precisely each fiber sits relative to its target. Aeropex v-grooves are fabricated to sub-micron pitch tolerances so that coupling is consistent across the entire two-dimensional array — not just at a few channels.
The v-groove is the geometric reference that locates every fiber in x, y and z. Controlling its pitch, depth and straightness is what turns a set of individual fibers into a single, deterministic optical interface.
V-groove pitch accuracy class — the tolerance that keeps channel-to-channel coupling uniform.
Fiber core position accuracy class across the assembled array.
The phase-one platform is centred on standard 125 µm fiber, with both 250 µm and 125 µm array pitch.
Standard 125 µm single-mode and multimode fiber, with cladding diameter control to ±1 µm for consistent v-groove seating.
Two-dimensional grid pitch at 250 µm — the standard density for coupling to VCSEL and photodiode arrays.
Adjacent-fiber 125 µm pitch for maximum channel density per unit optical area.
V-groove pitch accuracy to ±0.5 µm class and fiber core position to ±1.0 µm class.
Polished and 8° angle-polished end faces to control back-reflection and coupling geometry.
Environmental and mechanical screening programs to validate long-term stability.
A high-level view of the fabrication flow. Specific methods and process parameters remain proprietary and are shared under NDA.
Precision fabrication of the silicon v-groove array on a glass or fused-silica substrate.
Strip, clean and cleave fibers to controlled length and end quality.
Seat fibers into v-grooves and fix them in a stable, stress-controlled assembly.
Polish the end face and verify pitch, position and finish by optical metrology.
Keeping pitch, depth and core position consistent across hundreds of channels so no single fiber limits the array.
Maintaining manufacturable yield as pitch tightens toward 125 µm — where placement, bonding and polish tolerances compound.
Managing material expansion and stress so alignment holds across temperature and lifetime.
Achieving consistent, low-defect polish across a two-dimensional face — critical for back-reflection and insertion loss.
Beyond the standard 2D array platform, Aeropex is developing two next-generation branches — a detachable interface and an expanded-beam optical interface — aimed at the next wave of serviceable, contamination-tolerant optical interconnect.
A re-mateable 2D fiber interface. Instead of a permanently bonded array, the DFAU can be separated from and re-joined to its photonic counterpart through a precision registration system — restoring alignment on every mate cycle.
The engineering challenge is repeatable sub-micron re-alignment: kinematic registration, controlled contact force, and wear- and contamination-resistant mating surfaces that hold position across many cycles.
An array that integrates a micro-lens element at each channel, expanding and collimating the beam at the coupling interface instead of exposing a raw fiber core.
The engineering challenge is the micro-lens array itself: fabricating and registering a lens at every channel, managing added optical surfaces and back-reflection, and holding density while accommodating lens geometry.
Expanded-beam coupling is the enabler that makes robust, re-mateable high-density interfaces practical — EBO's relaxed alignment tolerance and contamination resistance are what allow DFAU's detachability without sacrificing performance. Both branches build on the same v-groove and micro-optical foundation as the core 2D FAU platform.
Both branches are in R&D / exploration and are available for joint-development discussion. Detailed data is shared under NDA.