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Researchers have developed a highly precise method for tightly assembling multiple micrometer level optical devices onto a single chip.

This new method can one day enable the mass production of chip based optical systems, making it possible for more compact optical communication devices and advanced imaging devices.

Dimitars Jevtics of Strathclyde University in the UK said: "The development of electronic technology based on silicon transistors has made the system on chip more powerful and flexible." "However, the optical system on a chip needs to integrate different materials on a chip, so we have not seen the same scale development as silicon electronics."

In the Optica Publishing Group's "Optical Materials Express" magazine, Jevtics and colleagues described their new transfer printing process and demonstrated their ability to place devices made from multiple materials on a single chip. All of these devices are integrated into a footprint similar in size to the device itself.

Unlike other methods that are usually limited to a single material, this new method provides a material toolbox from which future system designers can select and reference.

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For example, on chip optical communication will require the assembly of light sources, channels, and detectors onto components that can be integrated with silicon chips. Our transfer printing process can scale up by integrating thousands of devices made of different materials onto a single wafer. This will enable micrometer scale optical devices to be integrated into future high-density communication computer chips or chip biosensing laboratory platforms

One of the biggest challenges of assembling multiple devices on a chip is to try to put them very tightly together without interfering with devices already on the chip. To achieve this goal, researchers have developed a method based on reversible adhesion, in which the device is removed from the growth matrix and released onto a new surface.

Researchers have also created a multi wavelength nanolaser system by placing semiconductor nanowires on silicon dioxide. This new transfer printing method can one day produce chip based optical systems made of multiple materials in large quantities.

This new method uses a soft polymer stamp installed on the robot's motion console to remove the optical device from the substrate on which it was manufactured. Place the placed substrate under the suspension device and align it accurately using a microscope. Once correctly aligned, the two surfaces will come into contact, releasing the device from the polymer marker and depositing it onto the target surface. The advancement of precise micro assembly robot technology, nanomanufacturing technology, and micro image processing technology has made this method possible.

Jevtics said, "By carefully designing the geometric shape of the seal to match the device and controlling the viscosity of the polymer material, we can design the device to determine whether it will be lifted or released." "After optimization, the process will not cause any damage and can be scaled up through automated operations, compatible with wafer scale manufacturing

To demonstrate this new technology, researchers integrated aluminum gallium arsenide, diamond, and gallium nitride optical resonators onto a single chip. These optical resonators exhibit good optical transmission performance, indicating good integration work.

They also used printing methods to manufacture semiconductor nanowire lasers, placing the nanowires in a spatially dense manner on the surface of the main body. The separation between nanowires measured by scanning electron microscopy shows spatial accuracy within the range of 100 nanometers. By placing semiconductor nanowires on silicon dioxide, they can create a multi wavelength nanolaser system.

As a manufacturing technology, this printing method is not limited to optical devices, "Jevtics said. We hope that electronic experts can also see the possibility of its application in future systems

As the next step, researchers are striving to replicate these results with more devices to prove their effectiveness on a larger scale. They also hope to combine their transfer printing method with their previously developed automatic alignment technology, in order to quickly measure, select, and transfer hundreds of isolation devices for imaging purposes