Precision Optics Assembly System

申请人的目标是改变光学范式，从大型和复杂的自由空间高性能光学装置到在一个集成制造网格中制造的紧凑和全面的设备。目标是实现一个综合的光学制造环境，其中离散批量工艺与新的混合多材料增材制造方法相结合。在此背景下，计划与许多合作伙伴合作，组装各种无源和有源光学元件，以构建多功能光学平台。在这次合作中，申请人希望制造一个聚合物注塑光学平台，包括电气和热基础设施，其中上述无源和有源光学元件应集成在一起。此外，他们将集中研究光学元件的自适应组装和自组装工艺以及基于光学平台的小型化光纤泵浦激光振荡器的实现等主题。为了实现上述多尺度特征尺寸的小型化光学系统的制造工艺研究，申请人需要一种多功能精密光学拾取/组装机组合，用于各种集成光学元件、子系统和整个功能系统的预处理、表征和连接。该设备必须提供所有必要的工具和算法，用于微光学元件的无源和有源组装，如薄膜滤光片、光电二极管和激光二极管、光学光栅、晶体或微镜。要组装的组件的尺寸范围涵盖了几个数量级，从小于1微米的细节到直径约100毫米的基板尺寸。装配机器必须能够处理这些大范围尺寸和重量的零件。同时，它必须在50-100纳米范围内提供非常高的精度和精度，以放置和连接这些部件，用于光学耦合，例如激光二极管到光纤或微型滤波器到光学芯片上的波导。一方面，机器必须足够灵活，以便研究和开发不同的装配步骤。另一方面，必须有可能在稍后阶段将机器集成到计划的自主制造网格中，以便在同一光学系统上与不同的制造机器和工艺一起工作。除此之外，机器必须提供对其传感器和运行装配过程的过程数据的透明访问，并允许外部程序影响装配过程，以研究自适应装配过程。拟议的大会制度将被五个主要用户集团和一些其他合作者广泛利用。它将位于一个共同的基础设施，以获得最佳的访问和操作。运营和服务将由申请人协调在一个单一的小组水平。

The applicants aim at a change of paradigm in optics from large and complex free-space high-performance optical setups to compact and comprehensive devices manufactured in one integrated manufacturing grid. The goal is to realize a comprehensive optics-manufacturing environment, in which discrete batch processes are combined with new hybrid multi-material additive manufacturing methods.In this context, collaborations with many partners are planned to assemble a variety of passive and active optical components to build a versatile optical platform. Within this cooperation, the applicants want to fabricate e.g. a polymer injection-molded optical platform including an electrical and thermal infrastructure where the aforementioned passive and active optical components shall be integrated. Furthermore, they will concentrate on topics like adaptive assembly and self-assembly processes for optical components and the realization of a miniaturized fibre-pumped laser oscillator based on the optical platform.To enable the aforementioned research in fabrication processes of miniaturized optical systems with multiscale feature sizes, a versatile precision-optics pick-and-place/assembly-machine combination for the pre-processing, characterization and joining of various integrated optical elements, sub-systems, and entire functional systems is needed by the applicants. This device has to provide all necessary tools and algorithms for the passive and active assembly of micro-optical components such as thin-film filters, photo- and laser-diodes, optical gratings, crystals or micro-mirrors.The size range of the components to be assembled covers several orders of magnitude from details below 1 µm up to substrate sizes of about 100 mm diameter. The assembly machine has to be able to handle these large ranges of sizes and weights of the parts. At the same time, it has to deliver a very high accuracy and precision in the 50-100 nm regime to place and join these parts for the optical coupling of e.g. laser-diodes to optical fibres or miniaturized filters to waveguides on optical chips. On one hand, the machine has to be flexible enough to allow for the research and development of the different assembly steps. On the other hand, it must be possible to integrate the machine at a later stage into the planned autonomous manufacturing grid to work together with different manufacturing machines and processes on the same optical systems. Apart from this, the machine must provide a transparent access to its sensor and process data of running assembly processes and allow external programs to influence the assembly process for the research of adaptive assembly procedures.The proposed assembly system will be broadly utilized by the groups of the five main users and a number of additional collaborators. It will be located in a common infrastructure for optimal access and operation. Operation and service will be organized on a single group level coordinated by the applicants.