Aerotech Inc. announced a collaboration with Santec and SENKO Advanced Components to develop the PICAlign architecture, an active alignment approach intended to address manufacturing challenges in high-volume co-packaged optics production.
As data centers and AI computing systems move toward higher bandwidth and improved power efficiency, co-packaged optics is being adopted for next-generation network designs. Scaling co-packaged optics brings significant manufacturing challenges, including aligning large numbers of optical fibers to photonic integrated circuits with nanometer-level precision across six degrees of freedom.
Conventional active alignment methods developed for faceplate pluggable transceivers are less well suited to the higher channel counts and tighter assembly requirements of co-packaged optics modules. Expanded-beam optics used in detachable connectors can ease linear alignment tolerances but typically require tighter angular alignment. A single co-packaged optics module may require more than 100 active alignment steps, increasing the need for repeatable speed and accuracy in production.
In response to these challenges, Aerotech, Santec and SENKO developed the PICAlign architecture, an active alignment system that integrates high-speed motion control, synchronized data acquisition and alignment algorithms.
The solution, debuting at Photonics West 2026, supports precise, rapid active alignment of multichannel arrays in six degrees of freedom, improving test and assembly workflows for next-generation photonics and co-packaged optics technologies. The system integrates:
- Aerotech’s iXR3 Motion Controller for deterministic, high-speed 6-DOF positioning
- Santec’s OPM-200 Optical Power Meter and SLS-200 Stabilized Light Source for simultaneous multichannel optical power sampling
- Flexible alignment algorithms that support custom objective functions and constrained optimization for complex channel configurations
- SENKO’s detachable PIC coupler solution, enabling connector detachability and reducing the need for repeated optical alignments during the CPO packaging process
Together, these capabilities help reduce alignment-related constraints in the CPO supply chain and support more scalable, cost-conscious deployment of optical networks. By pairing detachable connector technology with integrated alignment and control, Aerotech, Santec and SENKO are advancing photonics manufacturing approaches.
This architecture synchronizes high-frequency optical power sampling with high-resolution motion feedback, producing a real-time multidimensional dataset that supports rapid optimization. Using serial kinematic mechanics, the system provides improved dynamic response and nanometer-scale repeatability relative to traditional hexapod designs.
Performance highlights:
- Alignment to within ~0.2 dB of the global optimum in under 1 second
- Multichannel monitoring across all device channels, not only outer-loop channels
- Custom objective function to prioritize PM fibers and critical channels
- Reliability exceeding 30,000 hours MTBF for continuous production
For more information, visit aerotech.com.
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