High power and high sensitivity PLC module using a novel corner-illuminated PIN photodiode

A high power, high sensitivity PLC module, comprising an LD and a PD surface mounted on a PLC platform, has been realized by a novel passive alignment technique. We used a spot-size transformed LD and a corner-illuminated PD to form a highly efficient optical coupling between the devices and a PLC waveguide. We used the unique marker alignment method to ensure accurate positioning of them. The positioning precision achieved in the lateral direction was within 1 μm for the LDs and within 10 μm for the PDs. The rotational precision was within 0.4 degrees for both chips. We realized high power operation (>8 mW) with a high receiver sensitivity (0.3 A/W). In this paper, we describe a high power, high sensitivity PLC incorporating a novel passive optical alignment technique for LDs and PDs