JAN. 25 Charlotte, North Carolina–Digital Optics Corp. has announced successful completion a project to develop manufacturing technologies that combine electronic and miniaturized optoelectronic components on semiconductor wafer assemblies.

The company has developed a photonic chip, in which passive components such as lenses and mirrors are fabricated on wafers using photolithography. Complex optical assemblies are built up through wafer-to-wafer bonding, and “flip-chip” techniques are used to add active components such as lasers and other electronic elements. The approach allows Digital Optics to fabricate quite complex optoelectronic modules without either costly manual assembly of individual components or the need to precisely align and adjust the components of each module individually.

Initial application of the technology is expected to be in devices for short-range data communications and highly integrated sensor modules. Eventually, the technology is expected to lead to new generations of low-cost, high-performance optoelectronic systems.