High-Accuracy Fiber Alignment for KEEQuant’s Quantum Photonics Research

The future of continuous variable quantum key distribution (CV-QKD) aims to integrate whole transceiver systems onto Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). To contribute to this development, KEEQuants research and development department is conducting advanced experiments with PIC-based optical platforms.

A key challenge in this process is the efficient coupling of light into and out of the chips, which requires sub-micrometer alignment accuracy between the optical fibers and the on-chip waveguides. Achieving such precision demands a highly stable and flexible positioning system.

For this purpose, the SMARPOD P-SLC-17 provides multiple degrees of freedom and preciseness, enabling the accurate placement and fine adjustment of fibers relative to the coupling facets of bare, unpackaged PICs. Its mechanical stability and versatility allows handling chips of various physical dimensions, ensuring repeatable and low-loss optical coupling for experimental characterization and performance testing.

Due to its flexible design, the stage enables precise coupling with single fibers, fiber arrays or chip-to-chip interfaces using integrated spot size converters (SSC). Therefore, PICs from various suppliers, material platforms and architectures can be aligned and tested within a single, versatile setup.